#NadiaStrong

Nadia Mendoza is 12 years old and lives in Brazoria, Texas.  She is a very artistic, kind and loving child.  She loves her DS games, Pokemon (Whoop!), drawing, hanging out with her friends and her twin brother Aidan.  The week of January 18th, 2016 Nadia started off with a headache.  The headache seemed like a usual headache.  It was treated like you would with any other headache and it went away.  On Friday, January 22, Nadia was taken the Memorial Hermann Childrens Hospital in Houston, Texas because the headaches would not ease up.    Within a few hours, drs found a tumor the size of an apple and she was immediately admitted to the Pediatric ICU unit.  Brain surgery was scheduled the following day.  What a shock!  One day you have a healthy 12 year old pre teen and the next day doctors are telling you that your child needs brain surgery.  The next day Nadia had some brain swelling that was minor but drs wanted to put her on steroids and do the surgery Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 7:30 a.m.  During the day on Saturday the 23rd Nadia asked lots of questions.  She wanted to know why she had to have a brain tumor out of all the children in the world.  Was she going to be ok?  Would she be sick after surgery?  Could her friends come to the hospital to see her on Monday?  She was scared but also very brave.  Nadia was very quiet before surgery on Sunday, January 24th.  She was very nervous as any of us would be.  She was wheeled back to surgery around 8 a.m.  The surgery lasted 10 hours!  The drs said everything went well, her stats were all normal during the surgery.  They removed most of the tumor but didn't want to disturb the brain stem where part of the tumor was located.  They left a very small portion there.  Nadia was diagnosed with Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma.  It was a grade 1 brain tumor and it was NOT cancer.  But Nadia still has not woken up after surgery.  She is in a coma.  We don't know what the future holds.  This is all very new and nothing any of us have ever experienced.  We are taking it one day at a time, depending on everyone's prayers!  Augie does have a full time job but he does not have vacation time.  When he takes off of work, he does not get paid.  April is a photographer.  If she does not do photography sessions, she does not get paid.  They do have medical insurance with a deductible and their maximum out of pocket beyond the deductible is reasonable.  Even with medical insurance, there are things insurance does not cover, especially with therapies.  Nadia will need extensive therapy! They are trying to qualify for social security while she is inpatient to help with copays, and have medicaid as a secondary insurance, but this will take months. You are usually denied the first time, and it usually takes a few months before they will finally start seeing benefits. Unfortunately they only go back three months, so if they don't qualify with the next two months they will be responsible for a very large amount for their 20% due to her three surgeries. The bills have already started coming in and are adding up fast. Once Nadia is out of the hospital and out of therapy she will still need outpatient therapy, and although there are many programs that help pick up some expenses that primary insurance does not, there is not guarantee that they will qualify. Most braing tumor patients average $50k-$100k for their outpatient treatment a year if they are unable to qualify for assistance, and this is with insurance. The problem is that most insurance companies only allow so many days of therapy a year then the patient has to pick up and pay out of pocket for the rest of the therapy needed. We are praying Nadia doesn't need much outpatient therapy and will do extremely well in inpatient therapy.  Right now the immediate need is help with parking every day and food expenses.  Parking expenses are averaging $600.00 a month. But the biggest issue is the loss of income.  Augie has not been able to work his regular schedule do the emergencies and additional surgeries she has been through.  April is not working, but is hoping that once Nadia is able to get in therapy that she will be able to resume some sessions in Houston. She is also trying to take a few sessions on the weekends when there is family available to stay with Nadia in order to make ends meet. They will also need a vehicle large enough for a wheel chair, as the rehab doctors anticipate it could be up to a year before Nadia is able to walk again on her own. The sooner that she gets into rehab at Shriner's the better. That is the main reason for this Go Fund Me.  And Im sure there are expenses that we aren't even aware of.  This a first for everyone!  The money will be used to pay for food, parking, gas, insurance deductible, their 20% of what insurance does not pay, and for any bills that they need to pay while they are not working their regular schedules.   All of the money will go directly to Augie and April.  I honestly think that there will have to be fundraising efforts in the future beyond Go Fund Me.  Thank you very much in advance for your support!  The amount of support that has been given is awesome!  This Go Fund Me was necessary to accomodate all of those that have asked to help out.  If you do not want to use Go Fund Me, that is fine too.  Please message through this web site and other arrangements can be made.  Or you can use Augie and Aprils paypal which is [email redacted]. You can also send directly or send something to Nadia please mail to them at:
Ronald McDonald House
C/O Nadia Mendoza Rm 16
Holcombe Blvd
Houston, Texas 77030
If you do use paypal, please make sure that it is sent as a donation and that Augie and April aren't charged any fees.  If you do not want to donate or cannot donate, please keep them in your prayers. They are having a hard time waiting on their sweet Nadia to wake up from her coma. This money is going to be used just to make Augie, April, Aidan and Nadia's life a little easier while having to find their "new normal".  If you want to follow Nadia on Facebook for updates , search for #NadiaStrong.  We thank you so much for all the prayers and donations. The amount of people praying around the world is amazing, and nothing will thrill Nadia more than knowing how many lives she has touched and how many people who have had faith in her and prayed for her.