Jackie’s Moyamoya & AVM Surgeries

Jackie is our sister and our best friend.

She is facing a serious health challenge and she is fighting for her life at only 24 years old.

Jackie has a rare and devastating disease called moyamoya disease. It only affects 1 in a million people, and it causes the arteries that supply blood to the brain to narrow. She also has a 5 cm arteriovenous malformation (AVM) on her frontal lobe. This is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins in the brain. The co-existence of both moyamoya and AVM is extremely rare and incredibly dangerous. She is the second person in the U.S. reported to have both conditions concurrently.

She has been getting recurrent transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), which are mini-strokes. She has seizures, migraines, and paralysis on one side of her body. Her TIAs are a sign that Jackie is at high risk for a fatal hemorrhagic stroke. Her symptoms get worse every day to the point where she cannot perform simple day-to-day activities anymore.

Jackie has been referred to Stanford, the center for moyamoya disease, for treatment due to her severity, but her insurance will not cover the cost of surgery because Stanford is out of network. Jackie needs 3 surgeries: one for her AVM and two for her moyamoya. Each surgery is estimated to be $500,000, for a total of $1,500,000.

Our parents have been amazing throughout this whole ordeal. They are humble immigrants from Vietnam. They have worked hard for many years, but they do not have enough money to pay for Jackie's surgery. They have sacrificed everything for Jackie. They are now her primary caretakers despite being at retirement age. They are spending their retirement plan and life savings, and they are ready to go into debt to save her life. They are doing everything they can to help her, but it is not enough. They're exhausted and they're scared. They don't know how much longer they can keep going.

Jackie is a hardworking, generous, and caring person. She is the light of our lives, and we cannot imagine our world without her. We cannot imagine losing our sister, especially so early in life.

The only thing delaying Jackie's treatment is medical expenses. We are asking for your help to raise money for her surgery. Every donation will help, and it is greatly appreciated.

If you cannot donate, please share Jackie's story on social media. The more people who know about her, the more likely we are to raise the money she needs.

Please donate to help Jackie get the treatment she needs.

UPDATE 8/18:

For clarification, we are still in the process of fighting insurance to cover the costs of her treatment and have taken your advice into consideration. We’re optimistic that we’ll be able to get through insurance one way or another thanks to everyone’s advice.

We’re just in dire need of support for Jackie’s post and pre-procedural costs which include rehab, accommodations, consultations, and travel since Jackie is based in SoCal but would require treatment in NorCal.