My birthday wish is to help my sister Angela

Hi my name is Shanna Lee and Angela is my loving sister. There are no words that can express the love and admiration that we have for her. Those who know Angela would describe her first as inspirational, caring, and family orientated. She is loved by all who know her. Angela has struggled with her health tremendously the past 20+ years, though ever remaining positive and doing everything in her power to maintain her health. As many of you are aware her health dramatically declined this past year and she is becoming paralyzed waist down. Doctors are yet to diagnose why this is happening, not for lack of trying, but as they say she is a very rare case. After many many tests and seeing multiple specialist with no answers. We are hoping she has answers soon, even if it’s means travelling to the Mayo Clinic. With numerous complexities in her health and life struggles it is difficult.

My birthday wish this year and every year is to have my sister as healthy as can be, have good quality of life, and be with me for many years to come.

Angela is a medical anomaly, and referred to as some as rare, one of a billion, and a unicorn. She has primary full body lymphedema which on its own is a debilitating and life altering condition, type one diabetes, keinboch’s disease, and 20 other comorbidities. She is now going paralyzed from the waist down. Again she continues to grieve the loss of her further independence. She relies on medical equipment and gives thanks when she is able to do the simplest tasks that most take for granted. She and my brother in law have had to modify their lifestyle, their home, and their dreams. Most physicians cannot fully understand her physical diagnosis let alone her daily struggles on the holistic health. Yet my sister continues to help others, stay as positive as she can, and inspire others. If there was an award for that she’d get gold. It pains us to see her holistic health deteriorate and because things are changing quickly and no one can diagnose her she cannot keep up with the equipment to give her life quality. This has placed extra stress to an already stressful situation for both her and her spouse. Please consider being a Good Samaritan to a beautiful person who truly did not want me to create the go fund me for fear that people would misjudge her as a ‘charity case’. She is the last to ask for help, trust me. But like I said to her ‘it takes a village’. Humanity was meant to be people working together. Please work together with her!

Angela wrote this on her FB page a few days ago. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks! After verbalizing 3x to my neurosurgeon the second spinal angiography wasn't necessary he went ahead with it and when he was closing the major artery he completely blocked my artery!!! I kept telling the nurse in recovery there was something wrong with my leg and she kept ignoring me. The nurses from the day surgery area got the neurosurgeon to come check on me and he said it was fine (they wanted me to stay the night in a discussion 3 weeks prior, I canceled my home care, Trev was going to work etc). An hour before I was to be at the hospital I got a call that there were no beds (thanks a lot, especially since I cannot be alone after this procedure b/c I can bleed out, have a stroke, permanently paralyzed etc). Thanks to my amazing mother & father for picking me up, taking me home and taking care of me until Trev got home. The next day I could barely stand on my leg, I contacted the neurosurgeon and his nurse said to come to the hospital the next morning for an ultrasound. I saw the technicians face and knew something wasn't right. She called the neurosurgeon and he came down and ordered a CT scan then told me to get to St. Paul's hospital emergency and I'd see an associate of my vascular surgeon. I had emergency surgery as my leg was dying. I've been at St. Paul's hospital since September 13th and what a mess the neurosurgeon made of my leg. The surgeons here had to take another vein from my leg to make a patch and the surgeon was worried they left me with a weak vein as it was that damaged!!!!! They are keeping a close eye on me, I.V pain meds, I.V anti nausea, I.V antibiotics and the list goes on and on. I pretty much feel my right leg about 5% and am having a terrible tough time walking as you can imagine. Once I'm healed from the second surgery aspect I won't be going home but to live in rehab!!! It was hard enough progressing and going paralyzed as it is but this is crazy!!!! It must be said the staff at St. Paul's 5A ward and Emergency have been nothing but phenomenal and I'm so grateful.

Bright side of things, my amazing vascular surgeon is giving the push for the Mayo Clinic as my "rare spinal problem" cannot be figured out across the country and 16 months of dead end tests and no answers is long enough. I was called a unicorn this week

Thank you to my amazing family & friends who have been so supportive, loving and helpful!!!! I definitely could not do this without you! I'm extremely frustrated in so many ways and this is a huge set back and recovery time but I still count my blessings every day as I have so many.

I must add, this is one awful neurosurgeon. I truly have the best medical team a very particular young lady could ask for!! I respect and am so appreciative for all my many specialists and amazingfamily doctor, home care CCA's & nurses, P.T's, O.T's, lymphedema therapists and the list goes on and on. They all listen and are extremely helpful and supportive.”

I hope that you all find her as inspiring as I do! Please consider contributing to an amazing person who never asks for anything but counts her every blessing.