Anyone close to Aya knows how much her life has changed over the past two and a half years. During this time, I have watched my daughter manage a level of pain and limitation no young woman should have to face. As her mother, it has been difficult to see how hard she works to keep going despite everything. Aya is now a senior at Northeastern University, pursuing her degree in International Business while fighting through pain that most people never see.

After multiple scans, tests, two surgeries, specialist appointments, and countless visits, Aya finally received a diagnosis of Lyme disease that explains her severe joint pain and the disability it has caused. What began as occasional knee pain has quietly grown into a long-term disability. There were months when Aya could not walk more than ten steps on her own. My once healthy, vibrant, and active girl now relies on a disability scooter for anything beyond a short distance. She has not taken a pain-free step since this began.

I have become her full-time caregiver, helping her through the more difficult days, driving her to appointments, and taking on much of the ongoing search for doctors, specialists, and treatment options. She has periods where she can do a bit more on her own, but she also experiences flare ups that are extremely painful and limit how much she can stand, walk, or participate in daily routines. She has not been able to drive for over two years, so she relies on me for transportation and many everyday tasks. Watching her independence change in this way has been heartbreaking, but we continue doing everything we can to keep her moving toward healing.

Aya is fighting every single day to maintain some sense of normalcy, but I don’t want her to spend the rest of her youth managing symptoms. She deserves to heal. She deserves her life back.

Over these two and a half years, Aya has undergone:

None of it brought improvement. After her first surgery, she spent four months in physical therapy just to learn how to bend her knee again, one of the earliest signs that something far more serious was happening inside her body.

We finally have answers: Aya has Lyme disease, and it has progressed to a chronic and debilitating stage.

Aya was always an active girl, competitive swimming shaped her entire childhood and teen years. To see her now unable to walk, unable to live independently, and unable to enjoy the life she once had is devastating in a way that is hard to put into words.

But there is hope. We found a highly regarded treatment center in Germany that specialises in advanced Lyme disease protocols, combining targeted antibiotics with hyperthermia therapy. This approach has helped countless people who have tried numerous options within traditional care, and it offers treatment that Aya has not been able to access here. Aya is expected to stay for at least one month, receiving intensive treatment that is entirely out of pocket. I would also need to take medical leave during that month to be with her and support her through treatment. We have put every resource we have into trying to help her heal, but after years of medical expenses and failed treatments, we have reached the end of what we can manage on our own. The treatment involves substantial costs, yet it is the only option that offers her a real opportunity to heal.

This GoFundMe is our effort to give Aya the chance to return to being the strong, bright, independent young woman she has always been. Any contribution will bring us one step closer to giving her back the life she deserves. We truly appreciate your kindness, generosity and support for our dear Aya.