
For The Manuel Family
Donation protected


As few of you may know (but most do not), my sister Samantha has been having a very difficult time over the past few months. She was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, which in short means that her body is producing too much spinal fluid. That increased fluid puts a lot of extra pressure on her brain. This pressure causes debilitating headaches, but worse it directly affects her vision, and if it does not get under control it could cause permanent vision loss.
The increased pressure on the brain has caused swelling of her optic nerve, which results in shifting her eye position unnaturally, and that causes double vision, blurred vision and a general inability to trust in what she sees. When riding in a car to and from appointments, she gets extremely anxious because it looks to her like things on the side of the road (people on the sidewalk, other cars in the next lane) are directly in front. She cannot do much of anything at this point until this is corrected, and with this disorder, the cause is unknown. She of course can't drive, and she is currently out of work indefinitely unless and until this gets corrected. Her team of neurologists have her on very strong medication (which has its own negative side effects) and they are monitoring her progress, but she may have to undergo additional surgical procedures before receiving any consistent relief, and the longer this goes on makes these more likely.
My sister and her family would appreciate any help you can provide, because Samantha is out of work indefinitely, and the medical bills from all the diagnostic testing they have done to date are piling up quickly, with a lot more bills anticipated, especially if surgery does become necessary. Given the debilitating nature of this condition, the uncertainty of recovery, and losing an entire income for the foreseeable future, this has been a very tough situation for them. Thank you for anything you can do. Even if you can't donate, please share this story for Samantha, Ed, Michelle and Elizabeth Manuel
Organizer and beneficiary
Dawn Weber
Organizer
Maricopa, AZ
Edward Manuel
Beneficiary