Support Emily's Journey to Recovery

I’m Sharon Zimmerman and I’ve set up this Go Fund Me for my granddaughter, Emily. Thank you for taking a moment to read about her journey.

Emily’s challenges began in early childhood when she started having trouble with back and leg pain, GI issues and weakness on her left side. At age nine, she had an MRI and was diagnosed with having had a stroke at birth which caused her to have left hemiplegia and an arachnoid cyst on her brain. Emily underwent physical therapy, occupational therapy and serial casting to try to help improve her day-to-day life and reduce her pain.

She was as active as any other kid her age, even participating in indoor rock climbing (and really good at it!) until she began to experience headaches and frequent fainting. These symptoms became worse and in early 2022 she was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Her symptoms have gradually become worse despite seeing many doctors and trying a variety of therapies. She is now less mobile, currently uses a wheelchair to get around, and takes part in school from home via an online curriculum.

POTS unfortunately can cause a range of debilitating symptoms. For the past few months, it has become increasingly difficult for Emily to eat due to pain in her esophagus. She was admitted to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago in early April where she saw many doctors and had several tests. Doctors believe she has a problem with her esophagus and motility and requires further testing once her weight and nutrition stabilize. She received an NG feeding tube to help her nutrition stabilize and gain weight.

After eight days at Lurie, she is now home with the feeding tube. She will be on the tube for a few months and will need additional testing for esophageal dysfunction/motility as well as physical therapy at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. I’ve set up this Go Fund Me in Emily’s name to help with expenses associated with her hospital stay and for additional testing and therapies in the coming months. Her doctors say she has a long road ahead of her, but with the care from the team at Lurie Children’s and Shirley Ryan, we are hopeful Emily can get back to doing the things she loves which are reading and writing, attending YA book festivals, and sewing cosplay costumes.