We were so sure she was gonna come home... And now here I am, my heart heavy and entirely shattered, my stomach in knots, as I write this to ask you all for your help.


Earlier this month (July 2020), my sister-in-law, Vivi, went to the ER in hopes to find answers to her intense “Deja Vu” episodes she’d been having for months.


It was just days after her baby girl, Jubilee’s, 1st birthday that she decided she needed medical help and allowed us to take her to the hospital ER for answers. And, since insurance was waiting to go into effect, her best option at the time was to seek medical attention at an ER.


During her visit, Vivi was admitted into the hospital, which resulted in a stay of approximately 10 days.


During that 10 days, we learned her “Deja Vu’ episodes were, in fact, seizures. 


After making arrangements with the hospital for her treatment and medication (and after a mix of going back and forth to the hospital), Vivi was discharged and sent home.


We thought we finally found the answer. We thought she was finally gonna get better.


Not long after taking her new medications, Vivi broke out in what appeared to be an allergic reaction. 


She experienced flu-like symptoms, which included:


– Fever

– Sore throat

– and a rash that broke out virtually all over her body.


We took her back to the hospital ER in fear that this allergic reaction could harm her.


The hospital ER provided Vivi with a few doses of a common antihistamine and sent her home that same day.


Not long after arriving back home, Vivi’s allergic reaction (a clearly visible rash) had gotten worse.


She, and her husband (my brother), agreed to rush her back to the ER as the spread of the rash and her other symptoms began to worsen by what seemed like the minute.


Not long after her arrival, we learned she had been diagnosed with Steven Johnson’s Syndrome:


A RARE, serious disorder of the skin and mucous membranes. It's usually a reaction to medication that starts with flu-like symptoms, followed by a painful rash that spreads and blisters. Then the top layer of affected skin dies, sheds and begins to heal after several days. (A condition so RARE, only approximately 20k cases per year…)


And this was when everything fell downhill.


Just days after being re-admitted into the hospital for her worsening condition, my brother was notified that Vivi was being rushed to a nearby trauma center where she was admitted into the BURN UNIT.


The original hospital caring for her had no idea how to stop her condition from getting worse. 


Not long after she arrived, and after undergoing excruciating pain, Vivi and my brother decided that an induced coma would be the best route toward her recovery given the severe amount of pain she was in.


We thought she’d get better and come home. Little did we know, that was the last time she would ever be awake again…


Just 2 days after she decided to be put into the induced coma, her health began to decline tremendously (and for the ultimate worse).


Come Thursday, July 30th 2020, her husband (my brother), and I were brought into that one room every hospital has where they deliver the bad news...


This was when the doctors told us that Steven Johnson’s Syndrome had taken over Vivi, my beautiful, sweet, smart, sister-in-law.


She was gone. 


While these doctors tried everything in their power to save her life, our poor sweet Vivi just couldn’t win the battle against the nonstop wounds caused by Steven Johnson’s Syndrome. 


My brother, Lawrence, her husband of 6 years and best friend of 10 years, had cried the hardest I had ever seen him cry.


We lost our brother back in 2006 to suicide. 


We lost our dad back in 2013 to a wrongful death that shouldn’t have happened.


Now, he’s lost his wife. His life partner. His best friend.


AND? Lawrence has 2 beautiful babies (that Vivi and he had together) to take care of, who now have to be raised without their mama.


Friends, family, and even strangers who may come across this...I’m asking for help.


We are asking for any financial help we can get for my brother –– he now has 2 mouths to feed, a  mortgage to pay, plus so much more all by himself. 


Anything helps.


I never thought I’d be writing this for my own sister-in-law or my brother…


But anything helps.


None of this was written without tears. 


Thank you all. Thank you so much. 


— Angie


P.S. Please don’t take SJS lightly. If you or a loved one ever experiences an allergic reaction from a medication, please do not hesitate to seek medical attention. And be sure they rule out SJS. 


My family and I hope Vivi’s story can save lives. 


Please share. 

Vivi, I’m so sorry 2020 wasn’t what you had wished for. I’m so sorry, beautiful girl