Support Brianna's Journey with Nuos Treatment

Hi I would like to raise money for my dear friend Brianna. She has Anoxic Brain Injury. A new treatment has come out called Nuos. Nuos allows any human being to communicate and compute by Brain. Instantly and without any surgery.

https://www.nuro.world/

Brianna was born and raised in Millbury, and a 2013 graduate of Millbury High School. She was an avid athlete and played Softball and Basketball for the Millbury schools and town leagues and more recently played on a Corn hole and Bocce league. She also danced at H&H Dance Academy in Millbury from the age of 3 to 18. Bree also worked at Horace Mann Educational Associates (HMEA), Millbury High School, Leo’s Restaurant, the Wonder Bar, and Scales Seafood in Millbury. As you can Bree, she was very active!

That all changed 2 days after her 27th birthday. On October 19, 2021, Bree had another episode of CVS (Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome), a disease that she had been battling for 7 years. As a result, she suffered from severe dehydration and went to a local Emergency Room at 1:00 am on October 20, 2021. At 11:13 am that morning, her mom received a call telling her that Brianna was in cardiac arrest and they were doing everything they could to resuscitate her. Ultimately, it took them 30 to 35 minutes to bring Bree back. During 30-35 minutes (that Bree “was gone”), her brain lost a lot of oxygen. Her family later learned that they had given her 2 medications – Zofran and Droperidol. Droperidol has a “black box” warning and is not to be given at the same time as Zofran. Additionally, when Droperidol is given, the patient must be on a heart monitor. She was never put on the heart monitor and was left in the hallway on a gurney with basically no routine follow-up. She was transferred to the ICCU where she remained on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma.

On October 29th, she went into cardiac arrest again when they let her potassium go too low but she was quickly stabilized. Later that day, she was flown to the cardiac-devoted ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

On October 31st, the results of an MRI showed that Bree’s brain, as a whole, sustained severe damage due to the loss of oxygen to her brain during the first cardiac arrest. The part of the brain that controls speaking, recognition & communicating sustained serious damage and they told her family that it is very unlikely that she would ever, comprehend, recognize, talk, walk, etc. The part of the brain that controls respiratory and organs sustained the least damage. The part that affects physical functions took a hard-hit and that outlook is bleak.

On November 3rd, after 14 long days, Bree finally opened her eyes. However, because of the sedation she was on and not knowing the exact extent of the brain damage, she just stared into space which they said could take months. The doctors did said that Bree’s brain was still technically asleep meaning she did remain in a coma but that her eyes opening was related to her brain stem activity.

On November 4th, Neuro PT came to see Bree and they gave us a very very slight glimmer of hope about her future cognitive and physical abilities but they were clear that it would be a long, long road.

On November 5th, the ventilator was removed and they inserted a tracheotomy and feeding-tube because they weren’t sure if she could swallow and to prevent choking.

Once she was physically stabilized, she was accepted to and transferred to a highly acclaimed Rehab facility an hour away on November 15, 2021 where they specialize in DOC “disorders of consciousness,” which was the primary focus moving forward.

A January 1, 2022 CT Scan revealed that the swelling on Bree’s brain had gone down but that her brain was shrinking. It was also determined that she was now blind and that her vision would most likely not come back. If it did, it would probably be limited to one eye or just shadows.

While at the Rehab facility, although it didn’t appear that the DOC program was ever utilized, and her therapy was minimal, she did show some positive signs despite what the doctors originally said would happen. She was “awake” and could now breathe on her own but she still had a trach for suctioning purposes. She was able to hold her head up, turn her head/wiggle her fingers/feet when prompted, smile, she responded to pain which was much more than ever expected, and she would mouth “no” and “owe”. It also seemed that some of her vision had returned. She was still unable to speak or move her limbs her own. Following a devastating event (caused by a staff member) that occurred while Bree was at there, she completely withdrew for about a month and shut down when anyone, even family was near her. As a result, her family thought it best to look for another facility to move her to.

On October 11, 2022, she was moved to a long-term care facility closer to home. Her parents and sister couldn’t be happier. She is still able to hold her head up and sometimes she will turn her head and/or lift her legs when prompted. She no longer mouths “no” and “owe”. Unfortunately, there is no way to know what, if anything, she actually can comprehend. She is totally nonverbal. She seems very happy there and she smiles constantly. She also shows response to pain by lifting her legs, pulling her arms up, making faces, or shedding tears. Unfortunately, because her therapy and bracing was stopped while she was at the Rehab facility, spasticity set in; her hands are completely bent down so she is no longer to give “thumbs up”, her arms are bent in and her legs are straight and totally unable to bend. It is difficult to unbend her arms when the staff needs to take her blood pressure - it’s a very long and slow process to do so and as soon as soon the BP is taken, her arms go back. Her hands and legs are completely “locked” and they don’t loosen or unbend at all.

Her family remains optimistic and would love nothing more than to care for her at home but they realize they just can’t do it at this time. After much prayerful consideration and deliberation, they decided that the best hope for Bree at this time, is for her to remain at the LTCF. In light of some signs of positive response, we all remain hopeful that Bree will recover completely but we also know that it is a long shot…a very long shot. However, we all pray every day that it will happen. Bree is so strong and is working so hard and we all believe she will win this battle!