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HOPE FOR MMS (Hodgkins Lymphoma & Transverse Myelitis Fighter)

For more than 5 years My sister has been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma; a vicious cancer that attacks your body's lymph nodes. In her case the cancer invaded the lymph nodes in her neck and required years of very aggressive and very expensive medical treatments. Treatments that would serve to help her as she struggled to win her fight for life. After 5 painful and exhausting years of fighting, she successfully beat the cancer into remission on two separate occasions. For the 16 months that followed, aside from the occasional complication or two, she was able to begin to enjoy her life again. Within the last year Melissa developed troubling new symptoms and was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis. Transverse Myelitis is a rare and extremely painful neurological disorder brought on by the 5 years of radiation treatments she had been given as part of the overall course of action taken more than a year ago to treat her Hodgkin's lymphoma. This agonizing side-effect brought with it an entirely new set of challenges. The Transverse Myelitis caused her body's immune system to attack her spinal cord. It formed lesions on her entire spine which, as you might imagine, causes unbearable pain, inflammation and swelling. What started as annoying numbness, tingling and loss of sensation in one toe, quickly progressed and moved through her entire body and leaves her now with no feeling or mobility from the chest down. Presently, Melissa can no longer stand, walk or even wiggle her toes. She is completely dependent upon other people to do pretty much everything for her. Simple things we all take for granted are a daily struggle for her and the excruciating pain from the spinal lesions make it impossible for her to find a pain-free position while just lying down. Currently she is being treated with chemo-therapy in an effort to reduce the swelling around her spinal cord. She also spends hours at a time in a Hyper Baric chamber in order to help provide the oxygen she needs because at this time her body's systems are too weak to do it all on their own. She has recently begun physical therapy at an inpatient facility to hopefully help her regain the use of her legs. Melissa is one of the strongest, most beautiful, vibrant and kind hearted people you will ever meet and her gorgeous smile lights up a room. I am making this page to try and raise money to get an FES bike which will send electrodes through her legs in hopes of one day re-gaining mobility, as well as a standing frame in which she would pump herself into a standing position so her body doesnt forget what it is like to have weight baring down! PLEASE every PENNY HELPS! The mental, physical and emotional toll this has taken on my sister has been DEVASTATING and the financial just makes it all the worse... Prayers are needed as well from EVERYONE!! Thank you so much!! 
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $20 
    • 11 yrs
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Organizer

Stephanie Smith
Organizer

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