Please Help Isaac Get The Treatment He Needs
Donation protected
We have started this campaign on behalf of our sweet nephew/grandson, Isaac and his family. We ask that you would pray alongside us as our family endures this heartbreaking time and ask that you read his story below.
Thank you,
Kandace (Auntie) & Laura (Grandma)
This is our sweet nephew/grandson Isaac. Seven years ago, Isaac was a carefree and adventurous little boy who was always smiling and loved to play outside and have fun with friends. He was full of life and laughter and gave the best hugs. Over the last 7 years, Isaac began exhibiting unusual physical ailments and unexplainable behaviors that required numerous visits to doctors and specialists. His mom, Sarah has spent hundreds of hours educating herself on how to get him help. She has tried countless treatments, medications, supplements; all with no improvement in symptoms or behavior. Finally, after years of searching, she just recently found a doctor that identified and diagnosed him. The initial findings suggested PANDAS but after further labs and specialist appointments, the confirmed Isaac has Autoimmune Encephalitis.
Autoimmune Encephalitis is a horrible and terrifying disease is caused by a streptococcal infection that has passed the blood brain barrier and attacks the brain. That infection results in a rapid change in personality and function. Sarah and her family have had to go through the heart-wrenching experience of seeing the Isaac they once knew transform into a stranger. Because of this terrible disease, Isaac is tortured by flares that provoke fits of rage, emotional extremes, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive tendencies, and loss of cognitive reason and ability. Imagine for a moment that your child is curled up in the corner, fearful and completely sobbing and screaming because his brain is under attack and he can't do anything to stop it. Imagine your child saying to you, "Mama I can't do this anymore, this is killing me." That is Sarah and her family have to see her son go through on an almost daily basis.
They have spent tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket fighting for his health and his life. Their family resources, emotional and physical health have been drained. It is estimated that 1 in 200 kids are afflicted with this disease, yet insurance companies in most states have yet to write a diagnostic code for it, (even though the national Institute of mental health wrote a protocol for treatment for it over two years ago) and because of this, families are left without insurance coverage for the treatment. It can cost in excess of $400,000 chasing a cure for this disease. The treatments are extremely intense and risky.
Watching our sweet Isaac battle for his life has completely torn our hearts apart. If you feel it put on your heart, please donate to my sister Sarah's family so they can start a new treatment. It will cost them $15,000 out of their pockets for ONE treatment. Isaac will require several treatments and if those don't work they will have to try another treatment that is even more expensive and more risky. Please, more than anything, PRAY for Isaac! We are pleading with the Lord to save him. Please also pray for his mom, dad, brother and sister as they watch him go through this horrible battle.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Kandace (Auntie) & Laura (Grandma)
From a post Sarah wrote about her sweet Isaac on National PANDAS/Autoimmune Encephalitis Awareness Day:
The silent disease that looks “normal” until we let you into our world. Strep stole our happy-go-lucky child and tortures his brain with OCD, debilitating anxiety, unfounded fears, extreme outbursts, gallons of tears, intense anger, fierce rage, and uncontrollable tics. He battles more mentally in a day than most adults do in a month. The road may be long and exhausting, but my sweet boy, I will fight for you every second of every day until you are cured. I know you’re still in there- and we will get your life back. Today we celebrate you - my little PANDA- to bring awareness to you and so many others who are struggling silently though each day... because PANDAS often rears its ugly head behind closed doors.
If you would like to know more about this disease, please visit these links:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unbroken-the-podcast/id1456550707?i=1000452346931
https://abc.go.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2018-07/20-072018-pandas
Thank you,
Kandace (Auntie) & Laura (Grandma)
This is our sweet nephew/grandson Isaac. Seven years ago, Isaac was a carefree and adventurous little boy who was always smiling and loved to play outside and have fun with friends. He was full of life and laughter and gave the best hugs. Over the last 7 years, Isaac began exhibiting unusual physical ailments and unexplainable behaviors that required numerous visits to doctors and specialists. His mom, Sarah has spent hundreds of hours educating herself on how to get him help. She has tried countless treatments, medications, supplements; all with no improvement in symptoms or behavior. Finally, after years of searching, she just recently found a doctor that identified and diagnosed him. The initial findings suggested PANDAS but after further labs and specialist appointments, the confirmed Isaac has Autoimmune Encephalitis.
Autoimmune Encephalitis is a horrible and terrifying disease is caused by a streptococcal infection that has passed the blood brain barrier and attacks the brain. That infection results in a rapid change in personality and function. Sarah and her family have had to go through the heart-wrenching experience of seeing the Isaac they once knew transform into a stranger. Because of this terrible disease, Isaac is tortured by flares that provoke fits of rage, emotional extremes, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive tendencies, and loss of cognitive reason and ability. Imagine for a moment that your child is curled up in the corner, fearful and completely sobbing and screaming because his brain is under attack and he can't do anything to stop it. Imagine your child saying to you, "Mama I can't do this anymore, this is killing me." That is Sarah and her family have to see her son go through on an almost daily basis.
They have spent tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket fighting for his health and his life. Their family resources, emotional and physical health have been drained. It is estimated that 1 in 200 kids are afflicted with this disease, yet insurance companies in most states have yet to write a diagnostic code for it, (even though the national Institute of mental health wrote a protocol for treatment for it over two years ago) and because of this, families are left without insurance coverage for the treatment. It can cost in excess of $400,000 chasing a cure for this disease. The treatments are extremely intense and risky.
Watching our sweet Isaac battle for his life has completely torn our hearts apart. If you feel it put on your heart, please donate to my sister Sarah's family so they can start a new treatment. It will cost them $15,000 out of their pockets for ONE treatment. Isaac will require several treatments and if those don't work they will have to try another treatment that is even more expensive and more risky. Please, more than anything, PRAY for Isaac! We are pleading with the Lord to save him. Please also pray for his mom, dad, brother and sister as they watch him go through this horrible battle.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Kandace (Auntie) & Laura (Grandma)
From a post Sarah wrote about her sweet Isaac on National PANDAS/Autoimmune Encephalitis Awareness Day:
The silent disease that looks “normal” until we let you into our world. Strep stole our happy-go-lucky child and tortures his brain with OCD, debilitating anxiety, unfounded fears, extreme outbursts, gallons of tears, intense anger, fierce rage, and uncontrollable tics. He battles more mentally in a day than most adults do in a month. The road may be long and exhausting, but my sweet boy, I will fight for you every second of every day until you are cured. I know you’re still in there- and we will get your life back. Today we celebrate you - my little PANDA- to bring awareness to you and so many others who are struggling silently though each day... because PANDAS often rears its ugly head behind closed doors.
If you would like to know more about this disease, please visit these links:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unbroken-the-podcast/id1456550707?i=1000452346931
https://abc.go.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2018-07/20-072018-pandas
Organizer and beneficiary
Kandace Lea
Organizer
Spring Hill, TN
Sarah Marie
Beneficiary
