Assistance and Prayers Needed for my Cousin Sheana
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Hi my name is Lindsey and I have created this page to help my cousin, Sheana. Until Easter of this year, Sheana was a relatively healthy, happy, and fun-loving young woman living with a rare Leukodystrophy called Vanishing White Matter disease. But, on Easter Day, she got sick with the flu and her situation rapidly deteriorated. Now her family is facing greatly unexpected medical bills and very expensive equipment and they really need our help.
Sheana's local neurologist identified her problem as gall bladder disease, however, because of her underlying neurological condition, the other doctors didn’t believe she was having pain because of her gall bladder and refused to address it. She was caught between doctors and no one to help her with the pain until she went unresponsive with sub clinical seizures.
She had to be intubated in the local ICU and then flown to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) because the VCU Medical Center would not accept her. Once they finally got her seizures under control, the doctors at HUP were able to surgically remove her gall bladder and temporarily stop the seizures. However, because of her underlying neurological condition, any stress to her body easily puts her back into seizure status. She has had an uphill battle getting the seizures under control and coming off of the ventilator. She remains hospitalized in the neurological ICU at HUP, and it remains to be seen how long and under what circumstances Sheana will be able to return home.
Once Sheana can go home, the next hurdle will be purchasing the necessary equipment for home and the special vehicle needed to transport Sheana from now on. Sheana is much weaker than she was before, which means she won't be able to lift herself up anymore to help her parents move her. This will make movement around her home and transportation to doctors incredibly challenging for her parents, who will need this special vehicle because it has a unique electrical system that can lift Sheana up safely into the vehicle. This vehicle costs about $70,000.
Anyone who knows Sheana knows how special she is and how her family has tried to offer her the best in life. So, it is not surprising that her step-father has virtually shut down his personal business to be with her, while her mother is living in the ICU. Given that these remarkable people usually lives in Virginia, commuting/living in PA since April has taken a huge financial toll on this family.
We ask that you send positive thoughts and prayers to Sheana and her family during this incredibly difficult time. If you find it in your heart to make a donation towards the financial stress that this family is, and will be, facing it will be so greatly appreciated. Please consider donating to helping this family, so as the bills start rolling in, they can just focus on the recovery, health, and healing of their daughter.
I am so grateful for my caring, supportive extended family and we all offer you heartfelt thanks for your generosity.
Sheana's local neurologist identified her problem as gall bladder disease, however, because of her underlying neurological condition, the other doctors didn’t believe she was having pain because of her gall bladder and refused to address it. She was caught between doctors and no one to help her with the pain until she went unresponsive with sub clinical seizures.
She had to be intubated in the local ICU and then flown to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) because the VCU Medical Center would not accept her. Once they finally got her seizures under control, the doctors at HUP were able to surgically remove her gall bladder and temporarily stop the seizures. However, because of her underlying neurological condition, any stress to her body easily puts her back into seizure status. She has had an uphill battle getting the seizures under control and coming off of the ventilator. She remains hospitalized in the neurological ICU at HUP, and it remains to be seen how long and under what circumstances Sheana will be able to return home.
Once Sheana can go home, the next hurdle will be purchasing the necessary equipment for home and the special vehicle needed to transport Sheana from now on. Sheana is much weaker than she was before, which means she won't be able to lift herself up anymore to help her parents move her. This will make movement around her home and transportation to doctors incredibly challenging for her parents, who will need this special vehicle because it has a unique electrical system that can lift Sheana up safely into the vehicle. This vehicle costs about $70,000.
Anyone who knows Sheana knows how special she is and how her family has tried to offer her the best in life. So, it is not surprising that her step-father has virtually shut down his personal business to be with her, while her mother is living in the ICU. Given that these remarkable people usually lives in Virginia, commuting/living in PA since April has taken a huge financial toll on this family.
We ask that you send positive thoughts and prayers to Sheana and her family during this incredibly difficult time. If you find it in your heart to make a donation towards the financial stress that this family is, and will be, facing it will be so greatly appreciated. Please consider donating to helping this family, so as the bills start rolling in, they can just focus on the recovery, health, and healing of their daughter.
I am so grateful for my caring, supportive extended family and we all offer you heartfelt thanks for your generosity.
Organizer and beneficiary
Lindsey Shellhammer Pennington
Organizer
Chincoteague, VA
Gina Williams
Beneficiary