Shellie's treatment at Cleveland Clinic

Your friend and mine, Shellie Smith, has been diagnosed with subcortical periventricular lesions. In short, she's got a bunch of holes in her brain, and we don't yet know why. She's seeing specialists at the Cleveland Clinic. They think the brain holes are connected to the illness that's kept her in bed for the better part of two years, but they're still working to understand what's going on.

You might notice the Cleveland Clinic is not in Iowa, where Shellie lives. She went to the Cleveland Clinic once already. The treatment they ordered has helped. She's been able to get up and spend more time with her children, spend more time with her friends, and have a better quality of life.

Now she needs to go back. She will be there for almost a week seeing more specialists and having more tests done. She needs help with out-of-pocket expenses, like the hotel and plane ticket.

Shellie needs world-class medical care. She hasn't been able to get the care she needs closer to home. If the underlying cause of the lesions in her brain can't be controlled, Shellie will likely die before her youngest child graduates from high school.