My twin sister Erin was dealt a challenging hand when she was born into this world, but you won't hear her complain. She suffers from epilepsy, a group of related disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent seizures; and cerebral palsy, which is due to abnormal brain development,  resulting in symptoms such as exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs, and involuntary motions. But if that wasn't enough, she also lives with an arduous intellectual disability, which makes thinking and understanding difficult for her. Her basic life skills (conceptual, social, and practical skills) suffer as a result. Due to her conditions, Erin began having seizures at 11 years old. The seizures cause her to briefly lose consciousness and muscle control, and can happen without any readily apparent trigger. So if a seizure occurs while she’s standing or walking, she can sometimes fall. Everyone involved with Erin's care is aware of her condition, and she always has one or more people grasping her belt firmly as she walks, but gravity is a cold, cruel *&%#$ sometimes and unfortunately she took a major spill this February. 


Erin's fall this February resulted in painful damage to her face and mouth. She not only needs a new bridge with ten new teeth, but also needs rebuild work on other repairable broken teeth. To our shock, Medical Assistance (MA) is denying us the insurance funds to repair her teeth. They are not offering a penny. Meanwhile, the lowest quoted estimate from our local dentist was $10,200 (and high bids exceed $12,000).



Erin doesn't have a lot of freedoms in this world. But like many of us, one thing that keeps her spirit high is delicious food! She glows with happiness when we’re getting together as a family and she gets a special sweet treat. Erin is one tough cookie (& she does love cookies). She has been through some major surgeries these past years. Erin had a brain mass removed, and had two emergency gallbladder surgeries. All this with hardly a complaint… unless you happen to be out of french fries, or cupcakes! :-) But seriously though, these injuries have not only damaged Erins contagious, sparkling, sweet smile, but they have affected her ability to chew her food properly— she can only have soft foods, and/or things cut up into tiny pieces.


Erin now has a new helmet, designed for hockey goalies  actually, that covers her whole face (Stormtrooper-grade!). It provides this protection without restricting her visibility of the floor where she’s about to take her next step, unlike her old helmet that she was wearing during the bad fall. However, the fact that we purchased the new walking helmet was was not enough reassurance for MA to provide the insurance funds to repair her teeth. Unless we can “prove” that she won’t fall again (what?!?!), they have simply decided they won't pay. Summed up, they have asked us to prove the unprovable. 

We know this is large amount of money, and even if we we raised only half of our goal to help restore Erin's smile, we would be so extremely grateful. Every little bit helps, and we thank you so much for taking the time to get to know Erin, and her story. 

Donate if you can, but even a like or a share will spread the word and help my sister laugh in the face of gravity! 

Thank you again, 
Kimi (Erin's sister)


Fun Facts/Erin's Favorite Things:
• She loves classic movies like Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz, and Charlotte’s Web.
• Erin loves animals, especially exotic birds like parrots and cockatoos.
• Her trademark French braid is a must before leaving the house in the morning. She also enjoys wearing necklaces, bracelets and stick-on earrings.
• Erin will remember your first and last name (and sometimes maiden name ) after meeting you only once, and remember it for years. We run into people from our childhood and she'll recite their full name after not seeing them for 20+ years.