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My name is Laura Kaglic, and I am the aunt and godmother of Ben Cisneros. As most of you know, it was discovered last month--when Ben had a seizure during one of his hockey games--that he had a brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation), which is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. This is what caused his seizure.
An arteriovenous malformation can develop anywhere in the body but occurs most often in the brain or spine. Even so, brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population.
As you also know, Ben had a successful surgery last week and is on the mend!
During the past few weeks, Jen and Paul, and several family members, have been with Ben during several angiograms, CT scans, MRI's, a 4-hour brain surgery, and several days in ICU. His future consists of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and tutoring for lost time at school. Not only that, because of the location of the AVM, Ben's vision has been affected. We won't know the full extent of the damage for a couple of months, but healing and therapy should help.
My nephew is one of the sweetest, kindest kids you could meet (although his sister Lily might disagree sometimes!). He is soft-spoken and has a ready smile. He has always been active in sports, especially hockey (a traveling hockey team) and soccer. He has many friends who miss him at school and practice.
Jen has been keeping a blog on his recovery as well: https://benavm.wordpress.com/
I am reaching out to friends and family in hopes that we can help raise funds for the Cisneros family in their time of need. Not only do they have deductibles and copays to meet, they also have therapy and tutoring to cover, not to mention lost wages for the family as they assist Ben with his requirements in and out of the home.
I will be ever so thankful, and I know my sister and her family will be too, for any amount of monetary assistance you can provide them, so that we can take that stress and burden off their shoulders and they can focus on Ben during this time.
An arteriovenous malformation can develop anywhere in the body but occurs most often in the brain or spine. Even so, brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population.
As you also know, Ben had a successful surgery last week and is on the mend!
During the past few weeks, Jen and Paul, and several family members, have been with Ben during several angiograms, CT scans, MRI's, a 4-hour brain surgery, and several days in ICU. His future consists of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and tutoring for lost time at school. Not only that, because of the location of the AVM, Ben's vision has been affected. We won't know the full extent of the damage for a couple of months, but healing and therapy should help.
My nephew is one of the sweetest, kindest kids you could meet (although his sister Lily might disagree sometimes!). He is soft-spoken and has a ready smile. He has always been active in sports, especially hockey (a traveling hockey team) and soccer. He has many friends who miss him at school and practice.
Jen has been keeping a blog on his recovery as well: https://benavm.wordpress.com/
I am reaching out to friends and family in hopes that we can help raise funds for the Cisneros family in their time of need. Not only do they have deductibles and copays to meet, they also have therapy and tutoring to cover, not to mention lost wages for the family as they assist Ben with his requirements in and out of the home.
I will be ever so thankful, and I know my sister and her family will be too, for any amount of monetary assistance you can provide them, so that we can take that stress and burden off their shoulders and they can focus on Ben during this time.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jennifer Cisneros
Beneficiary