Team NiNi : Fight for Recovery
Donation protected
On January 15th, 2017, my daughter Natalia was taken to the emergency room for left side weakness and garbled speech. As a nurse, I thought that she may have had a stroke (and also thinking, 'how could a healthy 18 year- old possibly have a stroke?')
After much testing, an MRI revealed lesions on her brain and spinal cord. She was diagnosed with ADEM. This is a rare condition in which the immune system is triggered in some way and starts attacking the covering of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Here is a link for more information:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/Related-Conditions/Acute-Disseminated-Encephalomyelitis-(ADEM)
Here is a news report from WKYC, who ran a story on Natalia.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/health/another-case-of-serious-flu-complications/406962464
This was Natalia before she became sick. She is a senior at Berea-Midpark high school and also taking auto mechanics through Polaris vocational center. She was looking forward to graduating this year and attending college in the fall. This has all come to a halt. Her life has been on hold now for almost three months, spending almost 2 months in ICU or step-down unit. We almost lost her three times, but she continues to fight hard and persevere. I also need to give a shout out to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, OH and the many doctors and nurses who have provided outstanding care. I do not think my daughter would be with us had she not been at this facility. They are a phenomenal team and have worked tirelessly to save my daughter! I can not thank them enough.
Natalia went from being an independent young lady doing all of the things a normal teenager does, to a frightened young girl who is dependent for care. She has a trach tube and a peg tube. She is unable to speak or eat. She continues to struggle with spasms due to the nerve damage and can not walk. She is currently in acute care at MetroHealth Medical Center where she is receiving intense therapy. Her therapists have been nothing short of a godsend for her. They have worked so hard trying to increase her range of motion and have worked diligently to fabricate custom splints for her arms and legs. To all of the therapists, I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all of your efforts!
Here are some pictures of our journey so far:
This was Natalia's first week in the hospital. By the end of the week, Natalie lost her ability to swallow and was not able to breathe effectively. She was sent to ICU and was intubated. She remained intubated for approximately two weeks.
Natalia in ICU. Doctors were able to extubate her and she has a trach now.
Here is Natalia with her therapists sitting at the side of the bed in a step-down unit. She has no control of her neck or torso and the therapists are working on strengthening exercises with her.
I have a couple of videos that I would love to share as soon as I can figure out how to upload them from my phone.
Thank you for reading our story and for your generosity.
After much testing, an MRI revealed lesions on her brain and spinal cord. She was diagnosed with ADEM. This is a rare condition in which the immune system is triggered in some way and starts attacking the covering of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Here is a link for more information:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS/Related-Conditions/Acute-Disseminated-Encephalomyelitis-(ADEM)
Here is a news report from WKYC, who ran a story on Natalia.
http://www.wkyc.com/news/health/another-case-of-serious-flu-complications/406962464
This was Natalia before she became sick. She is a senior at Berea-Midpark high school and also taking auto mechanics through Polaris vocational center. She was looking forward to graduating this year and attending college in the fall. This has all come to a halt. Her life has been on hold now for almost three months, spending almost 2 months in ICU or step-down unit. We almost lost her three times, but she continues to fight hard and persevere. I also need to give a shout out to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, OH and the many doctors and nurses who have provided outstanding care. I do not think my daughter would be with us had she not been at this facility. They are a phenomenal team and have worked tirelessly to save my daughter! I can not thank them enough.
Natalia went from being an independent young lady doing all of the things a normal teenager does, to a frightened young girl who is dependent for care. She has a trach tube and a peg tube. She is unable to speak or eat. She continues to struggle with spasms due to the nerve damage and can not walk. She is currently in acute care at MetroHealth Medical Center where she is receiving intense therapy. Her therapists have been nothing short of a godsend for her. They have worked so hard trying to increase her range of motion and have worked diligently to fabricate custom splints for her arms and legs. To all of the therapists, I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all of your efforts!
Here are some pictures of our journey so far:
This was Natalia's first week in the hospital. By the end of the week, Natalie lost her ability to swallow and was not able to breathe effectively. She was sent to ICU and was intubated. She remained intubated for approximately two weeks.
Natalia in ICU. Doctors were able to extubate her and she has a trach now.
Here is Natalia with her therapists sitting at the side of the bed in a step-down unit. She has no control of her neck or torso and the therapists are working on strengthening exercises with her.
I have a couple of videos that I would love to share as soon as I can figure out how to upload them from my phone.
Thank you for reading our story and for your generosity.
Organizer
Lori Thomas
Organizer
Olmsted Falls, OH