Shelby's Brain Surgery

Hello everyone, I am Paula Tatum, and I am in need of funding for my oldest daughter's brain surgery. On February 11, 2012, our tight knit family of 4 was almost torn apart. Authorities notified us that Shelby, 18 years old at that time and a senior in high school, had been in a motor vehicle accident and was being flown out to the nearest trauma center. Upon arrival, we were told that due to Shelby's degree of traumatic brain injury (TBI), chances of recovery were slim. Never giving up hope, we stood by her side and after weeks of hospitalization, we were sent home with our daughter in a comatose state. After 5 months of being in a coma, Shelby slowly started to show signs of coming back to us. One of the most noticable improvements was her ability to laugh again. Fast forward to today, Shelby has improved more than anyone could have predicted. With intensive physical therapy and home care assistance, she has not only regained the ability to laugh; she can talk, stand with assistance, and walk with assistive devices.  Lucky for our family, Shelby's most notable personality trait is determination. She has been determined to overcome the TBI from day one. Now, however, we seem to have reached a brick wall, as far as further improvement for her residual deficits. Shelby has a strong generalized tremor, which affects her ability to function on her own. In addition, it also affects her ability to return to an inpatient facility for further rehab and prevents her from being admitted to a trade school for disabled individuals.  A surgery exists, known as deep brain stimulation, which could lessen or even eliminate the tremors. After seeing multiple specialists, the surgery has been scheduled multiple times, and each time the insurance denies the surgery right before it takes place. Just tonight, I received a call stating that surgery had been denied, which was scheduled for Monday. Tomorrow is the day I was going to shave my daughter's head to have her prepped and ready for the surgery that could give her her quality of life back. However, once again insurance has declared the surgery "not medically necessary." I am asking for support and donations to try and go above the insurance company and be able to pay for the surgery that can give my daughter her life back, and I am asking for you to be a part of that journey.