Hello, my name is Rose Criado-Gregory. I am Arlene Melendez's mom. As some of you know, my daughter has been battling a lot of medical conditions.

On Monday, 03/13/2023, Arlene was hospitalized due to a loss of feeling in the right side of her body. It’s very painful for her to walk, sleep and stand. After all tests, MRI, spinal tap, and additional scans, we were hit with devastating news. Arlene has MS (multiple sclerosis) in her spinal cord.

Today, 03/24/23, we received another bad news and were told she has another lesion in the area where the last tumor was removed back in 2021.

My daughter has been through so much and this has hit our family very hard. With the treatments, hospital bills, and her time off work, we’re needing help.

Many with spinal cord problems and MS have numbness on one side of the body and weakness on the opposite side. They may lose standing balance or have a gait problem characterized by ataxia, such as the inability to walk a straight line. Paralysis and loss of sensation in some parts of the body are common.

There's currently no cure for MS, but this is what Arlene is going through and to see my daughter in so much pain breaks my heart because she has a heart of Gold.

Arlene is in constant pain, and even with the medications she is taking, it’s not helping. And so if you are able to even donate $1.00 to help with her medical expenses, we would all be grateful.