Give Adrenna A Voice

Give Adrenna A Voice

Dear Friends & Family~ 

It is said that sitting silently beside a friend who is hurting may be the best gift you can give. So, when our good friend and sister, Adrenna Savare was taken to the emergency room with symptoms associated with a migraine headache, immediately we all wanted to be there by her side, in spirit if not in person. 

Adrenna had frequently complained of lightheadedness accompanied by severe migraines over the years but each time she went to the doctor they couldn’t find anything wrong. Finally, two years ago she was diagnosed with a paralyzed vocal cord, something none of us had ever heard of before. 

You might think that vocal cord paralysis just means a loss of voice but as we quickly learned, these little instruments are also responsible for protecting your airway, keeping food, drink, and even your saliva from entering your windpipe and cutting off the flow of air.

The doctors at the time could not determine what caused the paralysis and offered a lot of speculation; a virus, nerve damage, and even cancer could have been responsible but after extensive examinations, they could not find the cause of the problem.

Sadly, since they were unable to get to the root cause of her condition, it was impossible for them to offer any immediate or even long-term solutions. The condition continued to affect her breathing and over time her overall health.

At the time, Adrenna weighed 150 pounds but we helplessly stood by and watched her weight dwindle away to a paltry 109 pounds. She sought medical help everywhere she could but still there was no diagnosis offered and without a diagnosis, there was no treatment available to help improve her condition.

When she went into the emergency room once again on September 6th, the doctor ran numerous tests but found nothing wrong. Soon she was referred to a specialist who came to examine her vocal cords and quickly realized that now her second vocal cord had also been paralyzed. Her condition had worsened and there was still no explanation offered that could lead to a constructive course of treatment.

Now she is considered to be at a high risk of respiratory failure so she has been hospitalized .Without any course of treatment, they had to give her a tracheotomy just so she could breathe. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and we are very grateful to the very skilled surgeon and specialists who were able to operate and make this possible but Adrenna’s battle is far from over.

Over the years, she has been referred to numerous medical experts who have spent a considerable amount of time searching for answers so she could get better. It was only after two years of these visits, numerous tests, and various different diagnoses that they were able to even scratch the surface and identify the primary symptom of her condition. However, there is still much more to learn and explain about her condition and it is progressively worsening with every day and we have yet to find the underlying cause.

Now to add to her Stridor (vocal cord paralysis) Adrenna is now suffering from Acute Respiratory Failure. She is facing even more tests and examinations that her medical insurance is reluctant to pay for. As Adrenna is the primary breadwinner in the household this puts a very heavy burden on her family. More tests need to be run and more research is required in order to start her on the road to recovery. As of now, they are only treating symptoms but without a diagnosis and a definitive course of treatment there is little hope of improving her condition or even reversing its effects.

We all care very deeply about Adrenna; she has touched many lives and has always helped anyone that she could. Our hope is that through this fundraiser we will have the ability to return her kindness and generosity a hundred fold.

Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest, it’s about who  in your life, said “I’m here for you,” and PROVED it. Let’s all help Adrenna to get her voice and her life back.