Help Lisa Recover from Brain Surgery

My name is Kendra and I am creating this fundraiser for my mom, Lisa.

Lisa is a loving mother to myself, my brother, and my sister as well as the best Mimi to my daughter and son. I am making this fundraiser not only for my mom but for my siblings who are 17 and still live with her which means if my mom is struggling, so are they.

On May 4, 2023 Lisa had a sudden onset of the most intense pain she has ever experienced all localized on the left side of her face and on her jaw line. After seeing several specialists, getting 3 MRI’s of her brain, and getting a biopsy the doctors finally were able to diagnose her with Trigeminal neuralgia (TGN) which is commonly nicknamed the “Suicide Disease”. TGN causes unpredictable bouts of severe pain that makes everyday living unbearable. After diagnosis, the doctors prescribed her medication that had a possibility of relieving her pain but it was not guaranteed and this medication came with a host of side effects. With Lisa being desperate for relief, started the medication. The medication caused her so much fatigue she would get exhausted by just getting out of bed, it is hard to make it through the day when you start that tired. As if the side effects weren’t enough, the medication barely even touched her pain. With all of these doctor appointments, tests, and severe pain it led to her exhausting all of her PTO days at work. Knowing that this was only the beginning of her journey, she had to be placed on FMLA to secure her job so she could make it to her appointments. As FMLA does secure her from getting fired for having to miss work, she does not get paid for the days she has to take off to get to appointments or for the days she physically can not work because of the severe pain, so this has caused extreme financial hardship. On Saturday, November 4th, Lisa had an appointment with her neurosurgeon from U of M in Ann Arbor, MI and he told her that since they have exhausted all resources and Lisa has had no relief that they will be scheduling her to have a brain surgery called a Microvascular Decompression. This surgery is scheduled for November 29, she will need to stay in the hospital for 3 days post surgery and then will need to be off work for 4 weeks. Lisa will not be getting paid for any of this time that she needs to take off of work for recovery which is why I am reaching out for her asking for help so she can recover without worrying about her bills falling more behind than they already are. Lisa has struggled to keep up with house bills, car payments, and struggling to keep food on the table for herself and my siblings. Please help if you can while Lisa gets through this rough time of her life, so she has the peace of mind to recover. Thank you so much.