Stephanie's Surgery Fund
Donation protected
Most children look up to superheroes as the strongest and bravest people they know. My sister, Anna, and I grew up looking at our mother as the strongest and bravest person we knew. She has a way of always putting everyone else first and making sure that they know she will always be there. Our mom, Stephanie Grigg-Remillard, started having debilitating headaches in 2007 and never let that stop her from being the best mother she could be. She always found a way to make sure that my sister and I were happy, healthy, had endless support, and got a million hugs and kisses each day. Even through an ugly divorce and years of being in and out of the hospital, she has always kept a positive attitude and a smile on her face. We have recently found out that she needs a major craniotomy which still hasn’t stopped her from being a wonderful mother day in and day out.
Stephanie grew up in Slinger, WI with her two loving parents and three siblings. She attended Slinger High School and the Northern Michigan University in Ishpeming, Upper Michigan, where her extended family still lives. Stephanie moved to Kewaskum, WI when my sister and I were born and we have lived here ever since. She is currently the Library Director at the Campbellsport Public Library, she has been spreading a love of reading and learning there for 13 years now.
When someone you love is sick, you will do anything to help them. When you grow up with a sick mother, you have a different childhood than most. Since 2007, my sister and I have been doing whatever it takes to get our single mother through day-to-day activities. On top of school and work, my sister and I did the majority of the housework, cooking, grocery shopping, and taking care of our mom. We were 12 and 13 years old, worrying about how there was going to be enough food on the table, and how the countless ER trips and unbelievable medical bills would be paid for.
In August of 2007, our mother started having debilitating headaches and no one could figure out why. After going to every local doctor and being on countless medications and still having no answers, my family took a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, Stephanie was placed in the three-week headache program to try to find some answers. During this time she was also going through a very difficult divorce and custody battle. The hospital in Michigan misdiagnosed her and put her on over 20 medications per day, which did more harm than good to her; the amount of medications she was taking, led to multiple organ failures.
After more hospital visits and seeing numerous doctors, we decided to make the trip to Cleveland, Ohio in 2012 to see doctors at Cleveland Clinic. This was another three-week hospital stay where she was detoxed off of all the medications she was previously taking. They ran a multitude of tests and started her on a brand new medication routine. The doctors at Cleveland Clinic finally were able to correctly diagnose her and find the right combination of medications to dull the pain and get her through the day. Stephanie is diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemicrania Continua. The medications for both of these are capped out after a certain amount of MG and she is already at that point. We are out of options for medications that can dull the pain, let alone help her make it through the day.
Trigeminal Neuralgia is one of the most agonizing diseases known to humans. It is a nerve problem that involves one or more of the main trigeminal nerves and causes severe pain. Stephanie experiences this pain because she has a nerve wrapped around a vein near her spinal cord. Hemicrania Continua is a persistent unilateral headache and the doctors believe that the Trigeminal Neuralgia is exacerbating the Hemicrania Continua, which is causing more pain. She has had a headache every single day for nine years with no let up. The headaches cause endless problems including nausea, runny nose, and trouble talking, walking, sleeping, and eating. Daily activities are extremely difficult and on her bad days she requires a lot of assistance.
The Trigeminal Neuralgia was recently found in an MRI scan that was taken on my mom and she finally has concrete proof of the condition, and a hope for a cure. Trigeminal Neuralgia is curable through a major craniotomy, which can be costly and has high risks. Between all of the doctor bills from the past nine years, my mom has already had to file for bankruptcy and lives paycheck to paycheck. My family’s goal is to raise enough money to be able to go to a trusted, well-renowned surgeon and not have to worry about how we will afford to save my mom’s life.
If there are any questions or for an alternate way to donate please contact us at [email redacted]
Thank you so much,
Abby and Anna Remillard
Stephanie grew up in Slinger, WI with her two loving parents and three siblings. She attended Slinger High School and the Northern Michigan University in Ishpeming, Upper Michigan, where her extended family still lives. Stephanie moved to Kewaskum, WI when my sister and I were born and we have lived here ever since. She is currently the Library Director at the Campbellsport Public Library, she has been spreading a love of reading and learning there for 13 years now.
When someone you love is sick, you will do anything to help them. When you grow up with a sick mother, you have a different childhood than most. Since 2007, my sister and I have been doing whatever it takes to get our single mother through day-to-day activities. On top of school and work, my sister and I did the majority of the housework, cooking, grocery shopping, and taking care of our mom. We were 12 and 13 years old, worrying about how there was going to be enough food on the table, and how the countless ER trips and unbelievable medical bills would be paid for.
In August of 2007, our mother started having debilitating headaches and no one could figure out why. After going to every local doctor and being on countless medications and still having no answers, my family took a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, Stephanie was placed in the three-week headache program to try to find some answers. During this time she was also going through a very difficult divorce and custody battle. The hospital in Michigan misdiagnosed her and put her on over 20 medications per day, which did more harm than good to her; the amount of medications she was taking, led to multiple organ failures.
After more hospital visits and seeing numerous doctors, we decided to make the trip to Cleveland, Ohio in 2012 to see doctors at Cleveland Clinic. This was another three-week hospital stay where she was detoxed off of all the medications she was previously taking. They ran a multitude of tests and started her on a brand new medication routine. The doctors at Cleveland Clinic finally were able to correctly diagnose her and find the right combination of medications to dull the pain and get her through the day. Stephanie is diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemicrania Continua. The medications for both of these are capped out after a certain amount of MG and she is already at that point. We are out of options for medications that can dull the pain, let alone help her make it through the day.
Trigeminal Neuralgia is one of the most agonizing diseases known to humans. It is a nerve problem that involves one or more of the main trigeminal nerves and causes severe pain. Stephanie experiences this pain because she has a nerve wrapped around a vein near her spinal cord. Hemicrania Continua is a persistent unilateral headache and the doctors believe that the Trigeminal Neuralgia is exacerbating the Hemicrania Continua, which is causing more pain. She has had a headache every single day for nine years with no let up. The headaches cause endless problems including nausea, runny nose, and trouble talking, walking, sleeping, and eating. Daily activities are extremely difficult and on her bad days she requires a lot of assistance.
The Trigeminal Neuralgia was recently found in an MRI scan that was taken on my mom and she finally has concrete proof of the condition, and a hope for a cure. Trigeminal Neuralgia is curable through a major craniotomy, which can be costly and has high risks. Between all of the doctor bills from the past nine years, my mom has already had to file for bankruptcy and lives paycheck to paycheck. My family’s goal is to raise enough money to be able to go to a trusted, well-renowned surgeon and not have to worry about how we will afford to save my mom’s life.
If there are any questions or for an alternate way to donate please contact us at [email redacted]
Thank you so much,
Abby and Anna Remillard
Organizer and beneficiary
Abby Remillard
Organizer
Kewaskum, WI
Abby Remillard
Beneficiary