One of the great lights of our extended family and social group is in trouble. Dawn Moeloa has an advanced case of Moyamoya, which has rendered her bedridden for the last nine months. The surgery she’s waited for for a year has been indefinitely postponed, and financial stress threatens her ability to survive long enough to get her surgery.

What is Moyamoya?

Moyamoya is a rare, progressive condition caused by blocked arteries in the basal ganglia, resulting in a tangle of tiny collateral blood vessels spreading through the brain in an attempt to get around the blockage. As a result, the patient experiences debilitating chronic migraines, seizures, strokes and stroke-like symptoms, and memory loss. Moyamoya is incurable and is untreatable with medication past a certain stage. The treatment is then one of two high-risk brain surgeries to correct the condition. A more complete explanation of the condition can be found here, and an in-depth look at the surgery Dawn will be having (and its risks) can be found here.

What Brought Us to This Point?

It is believed that due to a head injury at 19, Dawn suffered a stroke (the markers of which were not detected until much later), which formed the initial blockage in her carotid artery. She has since suffered chronic migraines, mini-strokes (TIA or Trans-Ischemic Attacks), blindness, nausea, aphasia, fainting, and other related problems. Because it is rare in the population and more rare among adults, it took nearly twenty-plus years of medical detective work by her and her military and then VA doctors to finally reveal the source of the progressively-worsening problem: Moyamoya. She received her diagnosis in 2019, and at the time her neurologist's strategy was to treat the symptoms with medication. As it progressed, however, the medication became less and less effective, and in 2021 she was given the option of surgery. It was tentatively targeted for August of 2021, but a series of bureaucratic SNAFUs and medical complications have pushed this back again and again. The pain, blood flow problems, and vision problems have made reading and thinking difficult. She is also having equilibrium difficulties, as well as frequent seizures and TIAs, which make it dangerous for her to walk unattended for fear of falling down and suffering a concussion (something which has already happened several times in recent months).

She and Greg (her fiance and partner) were forced to move to a one-income household in January of 2022. Then this past December, they were hit by the unexpected end to Greg's contract. These work interruptions have exhausted their savings. The currently available slate of jobs in his field requires further certifications, and in the interim, the family is in danger of losing their ability to keep their home due to the inability to pay the bills.

What We’re Asking For

Due to all of the above, we are attempting to raise enough money for the family to sustain itself for the next six months, by which point family finances should be back on track, and (hopefully) the final surgery date will be near at hand. The budget we’re working from covers food, utilities (electricity, internet, cell phones, water, and garbage), insurance (auto, life, and homeowner’s), property taxes, gasoline, pet food, and expenses for Greg to secure the further professional certifications he requires.

Please help us ensure that this astonishing woman can survive long enough to get the surgery that will (hopefully) keep her alive and able to fill the world around her with the love, joy, and light that she uniquely brings to every situation.

Thank you for your time.

Signed,

Dawn's Friends and Family