Help Ash beat a rare disease attacking her brain

It is with a heavy heart that we tell you that Ash is currently in a coma in ICU, fighting to regain consciousness from a rare auto-immune disease that is attacking her brain. On 15 March at 2am, Ryan awoke to their 15 month old baby Lily crying. Usually Ash would already be in bed with Lily, nursing her back to sleep and often sleeping with her until morning. Thinking it was odd that Ash was still asleep and didn't hear Lily's cries, Ryan went to wake her only to realise she was unresponsive and he quickly called an ambulance where she was then rushed to hospital. After 5 long and harrowing days of seizures, medications and multiple theories being thrown around by the Doctors, we finally have a diagnosis - Ash has a rare auto-immune disease called Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. 24 hours after this diagnosis, Ash was induced into a coma, where she still remains today, with no real certainty of when she will wake. This extremely rare disease attacks the body's brain causing massive injury and damage to all functions of the brain - the stuff we take for granted like being able to talk and dressing ourselves everyday! Little is known about this disease but we do know Ashlee's rehabilitation will be a very long road and may take up to 2 years for Ash to reach what the Doctor's are calling her new 'baseline'. We're all devastated by this news and want to be able to support Ash on her rehabilitation journey which is why we've set up this fundraising page. Ash will need to learn how to do everything all over again, as this disease is attacking her short-term memory and personality - she will need to learn motor skills again and basic movements. Our goal is have Ashlee hold Lily again and be able to care for her again. We want Ryan to be able to support Ash through her rehabilitation in their family home. To be able to do this, we are trying to raise money to help Ryan take care of his family, and help Ash on the road to being able to take care of herself. Ash's rehabilitation will involve a lot of different therapies such as speech pathology to help her learn to talk again, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy to help her walk again. But most importantly we want to make sure Ash has a stable environment where she feels safe and cared for - in her family home with Ryan and Lily. To be able to provide the care and support Ashlee will need, Ryan will need to take time off and work flexibly over the next 2 years. As the sole income earner for the family, this is a huge responsibility trying to pay the mortgage, cover everyday living expenses as well as pay for these expensive therapies. We want to help take some of the financial pressures off the Hopkins so they can focus on getting Ashlee back to her old self. No sum is too small - any amount you are able to contribute would be so deeply appreciated. All donations go directly to the Hopkins. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for your support - Ryan's life-long school friends xx