Help Sadie Get Life-Saving IVIG Treatment

Help Save Sadie's Life!

I have been blessed to have the opportunity to meet and teach the most remarkable young lady. She is a gifted student, one of the most compassionate and giving individuals I have ever met. She used to skip down the hallway, offer to tidy my classroom, and always share a kind word with other students. She has the gentlest spirit, and her laugh is bottled sunshine. She is exactly who you would want your kids to befriend.

Over the last 2 years, I have sadly witnessed this once vibrant and vivacious young lady deteriorate from the most horrendous series of illnesses.

Sadie's Story: A Fight for Life and Hope

On Mother’s Day, May 14, 2023, Sadie’s life changed forever. Once a vibrant teenager excelling in ballet and dreaming of becoming an obstetrician, she now battles daily seizures and loss of motor control. Diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis and myeloencephalitis, Sadie needs urgent IVIG treatment to restore her quality of life and prevent further brain damage.

A Normal Life Shattered

Sadie was a bright, ambitious 14-year-old girl who loved her family, excelled in ballet, and looked forward to becoming an obstetrician. But on that fateful day, she collapsed on her kitchen floor and was rushed to the hospital. During her five-day hospital stay, Sadie showed incredible courage and selflessness, making cards for other children in the hospital despite her own fear and confusion.

A Brave Fight Against the Unknown

When Sadie was discharged, she left without a diagnosis, instructed to wear a helmet to protect her brain from frequent seizures and unconscious spells, and to use a wheelchair and gait belt for safety. She endured this without complaint, even as bruises became a constant and headaches unbearable. Sadie’s spirit remained unbroken. Despite the relentless seizures, confusion, and pain, she was determined not to fall behind in her studies. Her parents, both educators, supported her every step of the way.

A Glimmer of Hope and Crushing Reality

Her family’s quest for answers led them from specialist to specialist, often traveling miles and spending out-of-pocket for appointments not covered by insurance. In June 2024, they discovered a list from the Mayo Clinic on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a condition they had long suspected Sadie might have. In November 2024, after consulting with a renowned neurologist, Sadie finally received her diagnoses: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, autoimmune encephalitis, and myeloencephalitis. The last two conditions, triggered by long-COVID, have stolen her quality of life.

The Urgent Need for Treatment

Sadie's neurologist prescribed weekly IVIG treatments to cure her encephalitis by reducing brain inflammation and rebooting her immune system. This treatment could set her free from the seizures and restore her to the vibrant teenager she once was. However, their insurance company refuses to cover the cost. Each passing day without treatment brings irreversible brain damage. The cost of the IVIG infusion, approximately $12,000 per month, is beyond what her family can bear alone, having already depleted their savings on her care. The funds raised will go directly to getting set up with her weekly IVIG infusions. These infusions will be weekly for 12 months. It's intense, but necessary to rid Sadie of the encephalitis.

A Call to Action

Sadie will turn sixteen in a few weeks. While most teenagers look forward to getting their driver’s license, Sadie’s only wish is to receive the treatment she desperately needs. She dreams of becoming a doctor or nurse, using her experiences to provide compassionate care and advocacy for her future patients.

Your support could be the difference between a future full of promise and one overshadowed by illness. Any contribution, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to giving Sadie the life she deserves.

Please, let’s come together for Sadie. She needs us now more than ever.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and compassion. Together, we can make a difference in Sadie's life, and she can continue on her brilliant path and make the difference in this world that she was meant to.