American Brain Foundation
I don’t know about you, but speaking for myself, I was always under the impression that when someone went to the doctor, they would just “figure it out”. My mother, Lynda Fleenor, went to the hospital in September of 2018, with what she thought was just a headache. It’s just kind of a standard, routine thing that people deal with. I had no clue that when she called me on that early September day to tell me that she wasn’t feeling right and was going to the emergency room, it would be the last conversation I’d ever have with her.
To know my mom, was to love her. She was not only the mother to myself and my three siblings, but she assumed that role with much of our extended family. She was known for her quick wit, her amazing skills in the kitchen, and for always being there for anyone in need. She was a mother, a wife, a grandma, a best friend, a counselor, and everything in between. She was there anytime you needed her. It didn’t matter if it was a phone call in the middle of the night when life wasn’t going so good, a flat tire on the side of the road, or even just a morning call to say hello; she was always there. People like her are rare to find these days and when you’re lucky enough to call someone like that your mom, you’re extra blessed.
As far as medicine has come, there’s a long way to go. There’s so much research when it comes to illness but one thing that is trailing behind is brain disease. There’s just not enough information or progress when it comes to the human brain. The most popular guess for my mom’s illness is “Whipple’s Disease”. There was also a chance of Encephalitis, West Nile and a few others. I guess I always thought when you went to the hospital they would figure it out. The truth is that brain diseases and illness are so far behind other spectrums of illness that there’s a long way to go. I don’t know, and better yet, the doctors don’t know what took my mom, but it was a nasty, grueling end to her life. She spent time in over six different facilities (some of which were considered “experts”) for over seven months, unable to speak, eat, or communicate in any manner. The person that we loved the most, was there for everyone, was lying on her deathbed, and there wasn’t a single thing we could do. It was the most helpless feeling in the world.
After seven months of fighting, my mother, the strongest person I’ve ever met, finally let go and passed on at the age of 63. We were never given an official diagnosis, and to this day, it remains a mystery which nasty disease took her from us. With that being said, as a way to honor her, I thought it would be a great idea to raise money to advance the research of brain diseases. The American Brain Foundation has devoted their resources and research to try and help prevent and cure these mysterious diseases that have taken many a loved one from this earth. I ask with a humble heart that you please donate to this cause in an effort to prevent this unfortunate circumstance from happening to anyone else in the future. Lynda Fleenor was a mother, a wife, a grandma, an aunt, and a best friend to many; I would like to honor her legacy by advancing research of the human brain in any way possible. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
⁃ Casey Fleenor
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