Hope, Health and Happiness

Hope, Health and Happiness

 With your donations I can rebuild my health and focus on my doctors plans to help continue to keep me functioning physically, mentally and emotionally. With your donations I will be able to move into a home that is one level and has easy access to the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living. With your donations I will be able to receive a service dog. With the service dog I know I will always be safe and access to my emergency medication. With your donation I will be able to move back to sea level. My doctors what to try as much as possible to lower my seizures.

I currently have 48-52 seizures pure month. They want be to get down to only having one or two over a 6 month period (no more than welcome a year).

The elevation does affect my health

With your donation I will be able to participate in a clinical trial for Epilepsy with the Neuropace that UCSF in California is starting.

When my brain illnesses were discovered:

 In 2012 while finishing my Junior year in college my life was changed forever. I was finishing the second semester of my Junior year and preparing to spend my summer in Indonesia doing my thesis on how Volcanic Eruptions affect climate change.

One day at school I blacked out and went to the ER. It was discovered I have an inoperable Cavernous Hemangioma and Status Epilepticus.

I moved to Colorado since my parents and siblings live there.

I still tried to fight my illness continued to work, do volunteer work, help a local artist etc.

I  underwent tests and clinical trials. I tried to keep a smile on my face every day but inside I felt hope and happiness dwindling away.

 By 2014 I had my first Brain surgery. It was a Temporal Lobectomy (basically removes as much of the short term memory area as possible to help stop my seizures)

For three months’ life felt back to normal no more seizures, taken down to one med I felt alive again. Unfortunately by month three my seizures came back and they were worse. They evolved closer to tonic-clonic seizures. From lasting for seconds to lasting for 40 seconds to 1min.

 I was put back onto medications and began the next set of tests to see what could be done for me. As the seizures increased their length increased and I developed cluster seizures (clusters: where more than one seizure occurs last for 5min or longer and occur one after another and ability to function, focus and fully wakeup does not occur after seizures end. )

 In September 2015 (9th and 16th) I underwent the last chance I had. To have a piece of my skull replaced with a battery operated machine that will have electrodes implanted into my brain in the location where seizures occur. I underwent two brain surgeries to have the RNS*Neuropace added to my skull and brain. (www.neuropace.com).

 Though the neuropace is an amazing technology advancement that has helped so many adults starting from 18yrs and up have seizures lowered and stopped, I fell into the small percentage where the Neuropace has not been able to lower them as much as was hoped.

 It has helped them see how many I every week. They discovered I am having them even when I don’t feel them but it answers the questions they were working on as to why my memory has become worse and even my long term has become affected. With new medicine trials, the continued advancements made with the neuropace with in 2-3yrs I could finally be feeling normal and have my seizures lowered to a point where I can live a normal life again.

 With your donations I can do what I can to help improve my health, mind, body heart and soul.

If you would like to know more about the RNS*Neuropace, Status Epilepticus and SUDEP please visit the Epilepsy Foundation.

 Thank you for your donations.

 God Bless
Namaste :-)