Ashley Mizell’s Clinical Trial

Hello family, friends, and followers!!

Many of you know that in early 2019, Ashley was robbed of her vision due to an Autoimmune Disease called Sarcoidosis. Roughly a year later and with the approval of her healthcare team at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, she was able to travel to Coconut Creek, Florida and participate in the SCOTS 2 - Stem Cell Ophthalmology Treatment Study II, with Dr. Jeffrey Weiss! This first treatment ultimately took her from complete darkness, to a point where she is able to see outlines in high contrast situations as well as shadows. Ashley is also able to differentiate between lights on/off, and day/night time. That being said, the treatment was DEFINITELY a success! However, Dr. Weiss and Ashley were both aware that this may require more than one treatment to restore some of the vision she has lost due to the large amount of scar tissue that her eyes had developed due to the disease.

Fortunately enough, Ashley was informed this week that she has been accepted into another trial that has a treatment date of August 9, 2022!! This would mean that Ashley would fly down to Florida on Sunday, August 7th. The next day she would report to the hospital for an office visit for a pre-op appointment and exam. Following that, on Tuesday August 9th, Ashley would receive her stem cell treatment and be able to return home that same week.

In order to get this life changing surgery, Ashley will have to pay $23,000 as an upfront payment for the surgery, plus travel expenses on top of that! This clinical trial is a patient sponsored clinical study conducted by a group of research physicians, there is no grant support or pharmaceutical support. Therefore patients must pay for the study which includes treatment at a fully licensed surgical center, operating room, under anesthesia from board certified anesthesiologist, bone marrow aspirations with a board certified orthopedic surgeon, FDA cleared medical device for separation of stem cells, technicians, etc, as well as the out of pocket travel expenses. Unfortunately, none of these expenses would be covered under insurance.  

This is where we need your help. If you are able, please consider donating to her cause. $30,000 is our dream goal, with a VERY quick turnaround of just three weeks until payment is due!! With that, Ashley & Mike should be able to cover the treatment, travel, lodging, etc without taking out any additional loans. Obviously, this is a substantial amount of money, And many, if not all of you, have already been so generous and have helped in so many ways! And we are so very grateful! But you guys...all in all, this would be a small price to pay for such a priceless gift, not just to Ashley but to Mike & their 3 beautiful boys as well! 

Since her first treatment, Ashley has been able to dig deep within herself and her abilities to spread awareness about the blind and visually impaired communities. We could not be more proud of her for the work she has done and the voice she’s found within herself. Ashley has quite literally made lemonade out of lemons and has learned that she too, can do hard things! But, Ashley dreams of being able to see her boys again one day, and look Mike in the eyes when he tells her he loves her. We believe in our hearts that where there is a will, there is a way. So we have to try our hardest to make this happen for her!

We appreciate all the love and support everyone has shown Ashley, Mike, and their boys since they started on this journey! It has been a continuous outpouring and we can feel every ounce of it! Whether you are able to donate financially or not, we would love all the good vibes and prayers we can get!!

Venmo- @Blind_momofboys

PayPal- @ashleymizellphotos 

CashApp- $blindmomofboys

For more information on Sarcoidosis-

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sarcoidosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350358

Links to personal success stories from the same Doctor that will be conducting the trial on Ashley-

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/in-focus/baltimore-woman-once-blind-regains-vision-after-retinal-stem-cell-surgery

https://people.com/human-interest/formerly-blind-nashville-man-helps-legislators-usher-in-a-new-frontier-in-medicine-my-vision-is-restored/

Here are a few links to some of the projects Ashley been able to do to spread awareness about the blind and visually impaired communities-

https://www.orcam.com/en/media/blind-woman-discovers-life-changing-device-on-dr-phil/

https://www.thepitchkc.com/technology-helps-kansas-city-mother-overcome-blindness-obstacles/

https://www.orcam.com/en/media/blind-mom-back-to-parenting-on-dr-oz/

https://www.kmbc.com/amp/article/technology-helps-kc-mom-who-lost-vision-regain-independence/36376646

https://fox4kc.com/news/device-helps-kc-woman-see-again-after-losing-vision/amp/