Support Sam's Fight Against Polymyositis

Love My Auto for Sam

Hello. My name is Dionne and I created this fundraiser to help my dear sister friend, Sami. Samantha Henry and I met in 1993 at Delaware State University over 30 years ago, where we shared the same dormitory, Laws Hall. One of things I quickly learned being at an HBCU, is the spirit of taking care of each other. I was five hours away from home, and new to everything related to real life! Sam, being a couple of years older and decades beyond her years, took me and a few others in our friend group under her wing throughout the duration of our time there. She has been a true friend who has evolved into a member of my forever family.

Sam is from the Montclair/East Orange areas of New Jersey where she got the perfect balance of wisdom and wit from her mom, along with her strong sense of family that infuses her loyalty as a friend. Sam was always the one who knew the tea, but didn’t spill it, gave advice but never judged and showed you a mirror but loved you anyway. She is a kind person, who has and does give her last without flinching because the woman is so full of compassion and selflessness. Sam is super intelligent and reflective, but just as much playful. I can still remember her sliding down the lab school playground slide on campus in one of her many fashionista outfits, carefree and confident. Her love of life and appreciation for each day is constant.

She was always heavily involved in volunteer work. She joined Americorps and built dual family homes for families who suffered from domestic violence in Delaware while in school. Even after graduation, she continued and developed a strong passion for volunteering to help children of domestic violence. People love to to be around her because her glow and ingenuity is contagious!

Tragically, her life suddenly spiraled into an irreversible condition due to exposure to deadly bacteria and a virus in 2013. The medication protocol was too forceful on her body and yielded an autonomic response creating polymyositis. Sam’s autoimmune response yielded polymyositis, a rare autoimmune disease that wastes muscles and is debilitating. This disease mimics a combination of illnesses including lupus, als, muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis. In spite of this, she always speaks positively and stays easy going. She is 100% grateful to be alive. We lost Sam 2 times, but, GOD gave us His grace to bring her back and allow her to be here with us. I cannot tell you how difficult it has been to sit in a hospital room with Sam and hear the doctor tell us that she has less than 24 hours to live. When I heard that her health had declined to that point, I immediately got in my car and drove to New Jersey to remind her of her Delaware family, and hopefully to encourage her to keep fighting. When I walked into her room, she was almost unrecognizable due to the extreme weight loss due to her challenges and limited ability to ingest nutrients. She struggled to speak because of the limited capacity of her lungs, yet she still gave an exuberant welcome and warm smile. Her muscles were to week to hug me, but I remember her repeatedly asked me to hug her, and I was glad to do so! A couple of times Sam asked if she was dreaming and if I was really there. I reminded her that this is just simply what we do, we show up for each other. This was six years ago, and she continues to fight for each breath.

Currently, Sam does not have much assistance physically or financially. Insurance helps her with an aide a few hours each day, and her two cousins who are 67, and 102 years old, help her as often as they can. Sam has several health issues that need immediate attention. At this moment, she needs emergency surgery, but, she is unable to have the procedure due to her collapsed diaphragm. The collapse is causing respiratory failure, which means the doctors would have no way to wake her from anesthesia. She has a large benign mass in her stomach that must be removed because it is squashing her organs, invading her sternum and reducing her breath intake. Unfortunately, polymyositis heavily affects the trunk of the body and the lymph girdle area. This leads to the upper body portion appearing anorexic and the lower portion appearing normal, but very weak. However, it is speculated that with intense daily therapy 2x a day, 6 days per week for 8-12 weeks with a specific eating regimen, this could provide Sam much relief and remedy to her need for surgery. In order for her to start this journey, she needs your assistance with:

Enhancements to home space supportive to diaphragm and respiratory changes;

Outside Platform lift;

Electronic transfer chair;

Overnight aide assistance for 8 weeks;

Indoor rubber transition ramps - 2

New standing frame;

Humidifier with remote to help with her interstitial lung disease;

Special Trilogy Ventilator pads;

New side by side refrigerator;

Special Wheelchair and bed pads.

If you know Sam, you equate her name to strength. She was a high energy, fast walking, motorcycle riding fireball who prided herself on her independence. Now she is restricted and reliant on assistance, yet she understands that this is critical for her ability to survive. I hope that you will extend your generosity to help her as much as you can. She’s been through more than most could endure, and does it primarily without much human support. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support!