My name is Clarissa and this is my 8 year old daughter HONEY. I am here writing this opening up completely vulnerable in hopes to share my little girl’s story and life over these last few months and couple of weeks in the hospital, it is a lot to go through and explain and if you’re able to stay long enough to read everything, thank you !

In August HONEY began having constant allergy and asthma flare ups that I considered to be normal with the changes in weather and would give her prescribed allergy meds and her albuterol inhaler. She caught a cold in August and was prescribed prednisolone steroid for her lungs but her symptoms continued. September came around and she was still sick having allergies and a lot of wheezing with sinus pressure so back to urgent care we went where she was prescribed antibiotics and another steroid by the name of prednisone for her symptoms and a diagnosis of sinusitis. We finished HONEY’S antibiotics and steroid and a week went by and her symptoms were still present. A few days before her birthday I noticed our upstairs restroom wall had some bubbling and the baseboard was cracking so I had maintenance open the wall where water damage and mold was discovered, our leasing office gave me a lot of push back on calling a company to test or treat the mold and left the wall open and mold spores exposed for almost two weeks. The smell of the mold was so overpowering and our entire upstairs of the home smelled musty, and the air was very damp and humid. HONEY’S symptoms completely worsened and she started having fatigue and headaches with terrible coughing spells to the point she couldn’t catch her breath and would drool and cry . The mold went overlooked , was sprayed with bleach and the wall was closed back up. I took HONEY and her three siblings to their pediatricians office where they had bloodwork done and results came back in October showing mold in their systems. I notified our leasing office and was told they had done their part and there was nothing more they would do. HONEY’S symptoms continued and i demanded to break my lease. I got approved to move to a new place a month out in November.

HONEY fell really sick the day after halloween which was November 1st. She had body aches, sore throat , fevers, migraines to the point of not being able to move or lift her head, light sensitivity, back pain and severe weakness. By the afternoon on November 4th she had a stiff neck, facial and neck swelling and could not walk on her own. I left work early and rushed her to TMC Hospital where an X-Ray confirmed HONEY had built up pressure in her airways from coughing for so long which forced air to escape underneath her skin. She was diagnosed with SUBCUTANEOUS EMPHYSEMA and hospitalized Tuesday November 4th. HONEY had tons of trapped air bubbles called SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOMEDIASTINUM all over her neck, chest, ribs and armpits that caused her so much pain as well as two large air pockets on both sides of her heart. They had her on oxygen,an ekg monitor, pain meds by IV, fluids by IV, breathing treatments every 2-3 hours and placed her on a steroid inhaler. HONEY had X-Rays everyday for four days to make sure the air around her heart wasn’t causing any pressure and that her body was able to reabsorb the air on its own. On Friday November 7th doctors said she was stable enough to discharge home aside from still having some air pockets, neck, back and armpit pain and still being to weak to walk or even use the restroom on her own. The following day Saturday November 8th HONEY’S pain had grown so bad again I called her pediatricians after hours line and was told by a nurse to take her to Banner E.R. HONEY’S pain, fever and symptoms were disregarded, an x ray was done to check the air pockets from the prior diagnosis and we were discharged home 5hours later. Sunday November 9th was a horrible day for her , her migraine was back along with her neck and back pain and she was still unable to walk. I wasn't able to control her pain with rotating tylenol and ibuprofen, she couldn’t get out of bed, and cried all day long but I was told to wait until Monday for her follow up appointment. Monday November 10th came and we couldn’t wait until 3 PM for her follow up, I rushed her to TMC where they again disregarded her ongoing symptoms. They said it was normal and just a migraine so they gave her an IV for fluids and pain meds along with what they called a “migraine cocktail” and sent us on our way again. HONEY slept a couple of hours and was in agonizing pain again. She would cry, scream and whimper in pain but could not stay awake. I again called the after hours line from her pediatricians office and was told to try and keep her comfortable through the night and take her in to see her doctor the following morning. Tuesday November 11th came and by her appointment HONEY’S legs and arms had stiffened up with her neck and she was in excruciating pain from her head, her doctor examined her and had us directly admitted to Banner Children’s Hospital. We met with the resident there and explained everything that had been going on since August. While we waited for records from TMC HONEY had an X-Ray done and was put on fluids and pain medicine to try and keep her comfortable through the night while they tried to come up with an idea and plan on the next steps. HONEY’S pain continued and she began losing control of her bladder and having accidents on herself . Wednesday November 12th We were woken up by doctors, nurses, residents, neurologists, and infectious disease doctors. The doctors and specialists let me know that they were stunned by all of her symptoms and that they needed to moved fast with bloodwork, neurological exams, EKG monitoring, constant vitals, and plans for an MRI of her brain, the brain scan came back normal and plans for further testing continued. Thursday November 13th, HONEY tested positive for VALLEY FEVER and an MRI of her spine was needed to make sure the disease hadn’t spread from her lungs to her spine. Friday November 14th an MRI of her spinal cord was done and came back ABNORMAL showing a lit up area of inflammation . The MRI showed a CERVICAL CORE LESION ON HER

C1 VERTEBRA down to her T1 VERTEBRA which the neurologist referred to as a SEVERE SPINAL CORD INJURY.

Saturday November 15th the doctors performed a LUMBAR PUNCTURE on HONEY and collected (CSF) CEREBROSPINAL FLUID. I was shown HONEY’S MRI scan and talked about starting HONEY on a heavy steroid and high dose of concentrated solution to prevent infection which would be a 5 day course by IV while admitted. Her CSF fluid was sent off to check for autoimmune diseases, cancer, infections, meningitis, inflammatory conditions, and bacteria’s. More blood work was done to rule out infections and diseases and the neurologist had started the steroid METHYLPREDNISOLONE SODIUM SUCCINATE and IVIG INTRAVENOUS IMMUNE GLOBULIN , while the Infectious disease doctor had started fluconazole to try and treat the valley fever since the steroids for the spinal inflammation could potentially worsen the valley fever. HONEY received her treatments Saturday November 15th through Wednesday November 19th which made her highly IMMUNOCOMPROMISED.

Prior to being discharged home HONEY started physical therapy. We were sent home to await results that could take up to two weeks or longer to start coming in. The neurologist that cared for HONEY over her 10 day stay in the hospital contacted me on Saturday November 22nd and let me know that a few results had come in. MOG, NMO and CANCER were all negative. OLIGOCLONAL BANDS came back positive and the neurologist was concerned for an almost certain diagnosis of MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS which is an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE and very rare in children. Based on the result the neurologist referred HONEY out to PHOENIX CHILDREN’S NEURO IMMUNOLOGY TEAM to make sure she will be under specialist that know more about her possible diagnosis and further testing that need to be done. HONEY will also need to follow up with care here in Tucson with INFECTIOUS DISEASE, NEUROLOGY, PULMONARY, ALLERGY, UROLOGY, OPHTHALMOLOGY , PHYSICAL THERAPY and PEDIATRIC APPOINTMENTS . As of now HONEY requires round the clock care since she is dependent on a walker and wheel chair and requires assistance with daily tasks, such as walking, using the restroom and taking showers. HONEY hasn’t been to school since Halloween day and I have had to miss a lot of work unpaid to be with her every step of the way which places my job at risk. I am a single mother of 4 children and these unforeseen times have been very hard on us all physically, mentally, emotionally and of course financially trying to take care of everyone and uphold the bills and a household without an income. This past week we ran in to mold issues at our new home we were set to move in to and it is currently unsafe to take Honey there. My baby girl’s world has been completely turned upside down on her and we are all just trying to navigate through the storm and stick together when everything around us seems to be falling apart. HONEY GIRL is strong and so brave and she has a long road ahead of her. As of right now I have no idea what the future holds, where we will be living, or what finances and medical bills will look like with her upcoming trips to Phoenix to meet with Neuro specialists as well as the constant appointments with specialists we will have here or the therapies and medial equipment she will require. Right now I’m unsure of how we will make it from one day to the next but I do know that with God all things are possible and that the power of prayer is real!

Our Lord can move mountains and I know he will provide and make miracles happen for my daughter. She is meant for more and has a purpose in this world !

If you can find it in your heart to donate it would mean the world to me and my family and go such a long way to helping HONEY’S medical journey, bills, transportation and traveling expenses as well as being able to make sure our new place is safe to bring her in to . If you are unable to donate I am grateful for you taking the time to read this far and ask you for your prayers for my girl and a quick share of the link . Thank you from the bottom of my Mama heart !