Help Aniya Get CBT Therapy & Support Dog
Hello everyone,
My name is Sharese Parris and I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of my 14yr old daughter Aniya.
on April 13, 2021 Aniya became very ill she came to my room stating she was having a sensory overload which has happened to her before, she laid down on my bed for awhile then she got up and went to her room. About an hour later she came back to me crying hysterically and telling me she felt like she couldn’t control her body on her own, and right in front of me she started having convulsing like behavior almost similar to a seizure, her neck was jerking back and forth, her arms shooting out every which way, eyes rolling in her head, crazy sounds coming out it was very scary. I grabbed her and sat her down and got her calm til whatever was happening stopped. The next day April 14, 2021 it started all over again but this time worst so I called her pediatrician and explained what was going on and she advised me to take her to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville TN to make she wasn’t having seizures. We arrive at the hospital the nurses took Aniya right away and secured her in a wheelchair because at this point she was still convulsing. After waiting for awhile she was taken to a room to be examined on the onset the attending physician said my daughter had a neurological condition called tics but he wanted to be sure so they ran some test to rule out seizures which thank God she doesn’t have we left Vanderbilt that night with no real answers as to what was wrong with my daughter, However we were referred to the pediatric neurologist at Vanderbilt Dr. David Issacs we were told she would not get an appointment until October 2021 which was unacceptable for me as her mom I made some phone calls and my daughter saw the neurologist within 2 weeks . On April 30th 2021 my daughter Aniya was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome and OCD , it was a devastating thing to hear because she’s just a kid who has never been sick or anything. The neurologist immediately put her on medication to help with the convulsing behavior and referred her to CBT ( cognitive behavioral therapy) at the Rogers Clinic. He told us that CBT Therapy was absolutely necessary for Aniya to live and deal with this disorder. Since her diagnosis Aniya has had to be extended in school, has to go therapy daily for hours the therapy she has to have is extremely expensive, when I called the Rogers Clinic to set up her intake appointment I received another blow after serving years in the military and having great insurance they don’t take any government insurance so I would have to self pay, the cost for 10 days is $6000 and has to be paid up front and Aniya needs to have 4-6 weeks of treatment. I can’t afford to pay for it I looked at many other clinics that offer the same thing however the wait to get in is almost a year. Right now she’s getting the bare minimum at a mediocre clinic and I need her to be able to get everything she needs. Last week we went back to the neurologist and he recommended that a service/ emotional support dog will help Aniya to keep her anxiety levels down thus helping to ease the convulsing behavior at a minimum. Well I inquired about these types of dogs and my insurance will not cover the cost which is $25000 that is the fee to put down the deposit for the dog and also to get the so trained for and with Aniya. All these cost for therapy and the support dog I can’t afford. This whole ordeal has been extremely overwhelming for me and my family especially for my daughter Aniya she is a talented artist and overall great kid.
I am a single mother of 7 children trying to deal with this situation the best I can. I am asking that whatever you can donate to help my daughter get the proper therapy that she needs and the support dog she needs in order to continue to live the best possible life she can.
Aniya and I thank you all in advance.
