Brain surgery and now recovery. Please help Anna!

Update: Sugery took place, and Anna is able to come back home to MN! As she recovers, bills are coming due from the travel to South Carolina and back. Hotel stays, gas stops, meals, supplies and hospital payments are due. Please help if you can. Your generosity is a blessing.

Back Story: It all started over spring break this past March, and the road has only gotten longer for my friend and her family: doctor visits, travel to clinics, hotel stays, and gas have taken a financial strain on this family. They need your help.

Shelly's youngest daughter Anna, a senior in high school, ended up hospitalized for 6 nights in Florida after they took her to the ER with a migraine and an episode of abnormal behavior.

As I write this for this amazing family, Anna continues to have daily headaches and continues to struggle with migraines, which take her away from being an active and normal teenager.

Due to an unknown diagnosis in March, Shelly had to apply for intermittent FMLA at her job as an educator to take her to medical appointments and care for her as they searched for answers.

Anna's back story: She has a history of headaches and has gone to a pediatric neurologist for years at the Noran Clinic in Mpls. Things changed last fall when she began dealing with debilitating headaches on a daily basis. She was at Mayo in February when they found out about a cyst in her brain.

From there, her pediatric neurologist sent her to a rheumatologist based on one of her blood test results, and they also ordered a lumbar puncture for more info. Those were just the starting point. There were more appointments, lots of research and then... a possible answer.

They were lucky to get an appointment for a consultation with Dr. P who specializes in symptomatic pineal cysts in South Carolina on 4/28.

Anna’s appointment in South Carolina was very informative. They discovered that their daughter Anna's cyst in her brain was causing her episodes. Her cyst now had a name. Doctors are still learning about pineal cysts, but one thing they do know is that any size cyst can be symptomatic. Thankfully, Anna is a good candidate to have her pineal cyst and gland removed.

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=pineal%20cyst%20symptoms&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:18d39c83,vid:a04k7Kp6UF4,st:0&vuanr=4

That appointment was informative, but flights, hotels, rental cars... all added up. Shelly was finally okay with me reaching out on her behalf to ask for help.

Current update: Surgery is happening! They will be traveling to S. Carolina by car and the length of the stay is going to be financially exhausting.

7/9 Pre-Appt. w/ Dr. P

7/11 Surgery with Dr. P

7/18 Follow-up with Dr. P

If you can help in any way, please consider. This is not minor surgery. After her surgery, it is recommended that she not attend school or work for 3 months post-op. This will be a gap year for Anna for sure.

It will, however, be a gap year that is headache and symptom-free. Anna will be able to be a young adult again. One without pain and suffering.