Alexis Chilcote Medical Fund

Hello everyone, my name is Ashley Atwood and I am trying to raise money to help out my bestfriends while they navigate through this tough journey with their daughter. Unfortunately not all the parents have have PTO and missing this much work already, on top of having to purchase food from the hospital or local restaurants is not cheap. While these funds will go to help time already missed from work- it will also go towards medical bills, any equipment that is needed to help with her recovery, gas to and from appointments, because right now we are unsure of what this journey will look like.

On Tuesday, January 30th, Alexis started complaining of a severe headache. In 2018, Alexis was diagnosed with Idiopathic Inter-Cranial Hypertension. When this diagnosis was given, a specific protocol was put into place for these episodes. Alexis and her parents followed said protocol. Later in the afternoon on Friday, February 2nd, they reached out to their neurology office to inform them that things were not improving. Neurology called them back Monday morning and after discussing her symptoms, they felt it was appropriate to take her to the ER for a spinal tap to reduce the pressure as they’ve done many times over the past 5 years. When the tap was completed, she was discharged.

On her way home she started complaining of pain, but not only the severe headache, this time it was spreading to her back and down her legs, causing her to become very weak. This was very abnormal, as after every other spinal tap, she had never experienced anything like this before. Unfortunately, Alexis spent the night awake, crying in pain because it wouldn’t subside and she could not get comfortable, something was wrong.

After the night of Alexis being in excruciating pain, her parents decided it was best to take her back to the ER. Once they arrived, they ordered a CT scan right away. Unfortunately, the scan came back showing that she had a potential cerebrospinal fluid leak that was causing fluid collection in the epidural layer lining of the spinal cord. They stated that this fluid buildup, which is very different from what she’s had previously, was compressing her spine causing the back pain, weak legs, and everything she did. The ER admitted her immediately to Helen Devos Children’s Hospital for further tests and pain control.

An MRI was ordered, as this would help the doctors get a better view of where all the issues are. After getting the results back and much discussion and tests, it was decided that Alexis would need to undergo back surgery as soon as possible to repair the active leak. If surgery was not done, the fluid would continue to compress her spine and could cause serious and permanent nerve damage. The scariest part was that the team of surgeons stated that her current condition necessitating the surgery had not been seen before, at least by the team here.

On Friday, February 9th, surgery was performed. They made about a 6-7” incision in her lower back where they cut into the spiny part of her vertebrae, from L3-L5 to expose her spinal cord. The surgeon was able to allow the compression to drain out as much as possible, repair the multiple leaks and put her vertebrae back together with titanium rods.

By the grace of God, her surgery was a success!!

While the surgery was successful, there are still several underlying issues, unanswered questions, and obstacles to overcome. She still has cerebrospinal fluid buildup and with the major surgery she just endured, the team feels it is best to wait for her body to heal a little bit to see what their next steps are. Until physical therapy is completed, and we know the outcome, at this time, she requires assistance with every aspect of everyday life, no matter the activity.

Alexis has been hospitalized for a week now. Because of the severity of her condition, her parents were by her side the entire time to ensure that their daughter would be ok.

This is where I ask for our friends, family, and community to come together and help one of our own get through this difficult time. This has been an emotional roller coaster for this whole family with all the uncertainty and unknowns. The last thing I want this family to have to worry about is anything financially. Any parent who is going through this should only need to focus their attention on the wellbeing of their child.

Alexis is currently a Senior at Tri County High School. As a Senior your goal is to strive for it all, we want more, we want to be the best because champs wear gold. Most of that mentality is changed to not only give just that 100% or 110%- but this is also the year you give it 150%, because this is your last year as a high school student before you enter adulthood.

At this time, we would not like to disclose all the restrictions given as we would like to give Alexis and her family time to process how in just one day, one hour and one minute, everything you planned and worked so hard for is gone in the blink of an eye, due to this very unfortunate medical emergency.

To stay positive, we place our faith into a higher power and pray that we can get to the bottom of the several underlying issues and unanswered questions. All we want is for Alexis to be back to 100% healthy.

Please don't feel obligated to donate, we never know what struggles every person is going through, so if you are unable to donate I ask you to please share this and PRAY! Thank you. <3