Help Cheri with her recovery

Cheri in her early 30s found out she needed to have an operation on the right side of her brain for a group of blood vessels that started to bleed causing pressure inside her head. As a result, she started to have grand maul seizures and severe headaches.

In 2001 she had brain surgery to remove the vascular malformation and as a result lost the ability to control her left leg.  Cheri was determined with her rehabilitation and told the doctors that she was going to ride a bike and ski again by the following winter.

For the next 10 months we worked every day, she started by walking to the front door, then to the sidewalk and progressed until she could walk around the block.  During her recovery she decided she wanted to become a massage therapist.  She started her massage schooling while using a walker to get around until she was strong enough to walk on her own. 

She became a successful massage therapist, succeeded in her goals, and was able to get back the use of her left leg. For the next 21 years she lived a healthy and active life style and helped so many of her clients with her massage techniques.  She loved her new profession and her clients loved her!

In 2021 we noticed something was starting to affect the movement in Cheri’s left leg and arm.  She had an MRI and found that the cavernous angioma removed in 2001 had started bleeding again and would require another surgery. Unfortunately, the spot that was bleeding on her brain was impacting the area that controls the left side of her body. The surgery was a success and the bleeding stopped, but it left Cheri with limited use of the left side of her body. 

She’s been attending traditional physical and occupational therapy since the surgery and has only been able to get back a small percentage of the use of her left side. They have done a wonderful job of teaching Cheri how to live with her current situation, but with her limited movement has lost the ability to follow her passion of being a massage therapist.  

Recently, we were introduced to a different theory to physical therapy that is not covered by insurance.   During an initial consultation,  the therapist noticed Cheri was very uncomfortable and worked with her for 30 minutes. When he was done he asked her to open her hand and she did!  This is something Cheri hasn’t been able to do since her surgery.  She has only been able to squeeze with her left hand. This group has made more progress with her in her recovery in just a few sessions than all the other therapy from this past year. 

Everyday Cheri is in pain due to the right side of her body compensating for lack of mobility on her left side. The days following the new therapy session was one of the few times she felt relief from her constant pain.  Cheri has always been a caring person and willing to help others and she is now in need of help herself. The cost of this therapy is overwhelming without the aid of medical insurance. 

My hope is that we can all come together to raise enough money to get her therapy that will result in her being able to use the left side of her body again and relieve her from daily pain. 

Thank you for taking time to read about Cheri’s journey.  We are appreciative of any donation that will help Cheri get back what she has lost.  We will be open and transparent about her recovery so everyone is kept informed of her progress.