PLEASE HELP MIMI IN HER DESPERATE FIGHT FOR LIFE!

Hi and thank you so much for taking the time to read our story. My name is Liz Mounty (Equity name Liz Felton) and I have been trying to help my dear young friend Mimi Brooks (Equity name Mimi Tizzano) over the past couple of years to get help via many other means, including several charities, but so far it has proved impossible. The money we are hoping to raise is now desperately needed, more than ever before, as she is struggling both medically and financially to stay alive, through no fault of her own.

Mimi was born with a rare brain condition called Chiari Malformation, type 2, where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal, putting pressure on parts of the brain and spinal cord. This condition led to a form of hydrocephalus called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) and she has had to have numerous life-threatening operations, including bolt monitors to measure the pressure inside her skull and a shunt in her brain to drain the fluid that would otherwise build up and kill her. In fact, one such vital operation – decompression surgery – put her in Intensive Care where she was very seriously ill for some time. She has also lost the sight in her left eye, as well as peripheral vision in her right eye, as a result of her brain conditions, and her shunt has caused chronic pain, seizures, blackouts and balance issues. However, the surgeons have said it is too dangerous to remove the shunt because the ventricles in her brain are too small, meaning that an operation could be fatal. To date, they have not come up with any alternative solutions to help her.

On top of all of this, both Mimi and her fiancé, Richard, were dangerously ill with Covid in February 2021 and she was in hospital for over a month. As if all of her chronic medical conditions weren’t enough to cope with, during her stay in hospital she was given a drug called Cyclizine which is on her records as one she is allergic to, but these records were not consulted before administering this drug!

Mimi had an immediate reaction to the Cyclizine and, not long afterwards, developed Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE) – an allergic inflammation of the oesophagus, which causes a range of symptoms, including difficulty swallowing, food becoming stuck, acid reflux, heartburn, chest pain, difficulty sleeping, chronic cough, laboured breathing and, worst of all, vomiting. Although at first it was thought Covid had caused the EoE, we now believe that this condition was almost certainly a direct result of being given Cyclizine (ironically an anti-sickness drug!) and has meant that she has been unable to keep any food down for very long, to the point that she won’t even attempt to eat in public because she knows she will be sick within a short time of eating anything. She has been surviving day to day on mainly milky and sweet drinks (plus steroids, occasional tube feeding in hospital and intravenous vitamins and iron, when she becomes too weak to cope) and until recently, these drinks were all that stayed down, but sadly now even milk on its own is making her sick and, as well as being anaemic, she is registered malnourished. This inability to swallow also means she can’t take medication in the form of pills, so she has little or no pain relief. Her condition is exacerbated by a hiatus hernia, presumably caused by the constant vomiting, and this hernia is also getting worse and causing more and more pain.

Her horrendous medical issues mean that Mimi is becoming weaker and weaker all the time from the lack of nutrients. She is simply exhausted, passes out frequently, has palpitations and is bloated from the steroids she has to take.

Mimi is a professional actress and singer, as well as a former gymnast, who is now, devastatingly, unable to work as she can barely stand some days, let alone walk, and she is at constant risk of falling. Until she developed the EoE, Mimi worked as often as she could and she would love nothing more than to be able to stand on her own two feet (literally!) and work for her living rather than ask for help, but has reluctantly had to admit she can see no other way to get through this.

Mimi and Richard, are existing on his salary (he works for a supermarket) and her Universal Credit, which doesn’t take her current circumstances into account; consequently, they barely have enough money to pay the rent, let alone the bills (and food, which Richard still needs!) and the debts are mounting. Currently, they are behind with Council Tax, water, electricity and gas, as well as owing money on credit cards which they’ve reluctantly had to use to keep them afloat, despite the interest charges making matters worse, and during the winter months this becomes even more serious as they can’t afford to put the heating on most of the time! Even though they are not yet married, Universal Credit doesn’t give Mimi enough to support herself because her fiancé is working, but he’s not earning enough to support them both! Every time he works overtime or gets a bonus, the equivalent is immediately taken from her benefits! This is just so unfair, upsetting and demoralising for both of them as it means that Richard is literally doing all the extra work for nothing and his bonuses for good work or for Christmas mean very little because he doesn’t see the benefit!

All Mimi ultimately wants is to get well – or at least well enough to be able to get back to doing the work she loves: acting, singing, producing shows and teaching gymnastics to children. She is multi-talented and more than capable, when well, of earning a decent living as she works so hard when she is able, so it’s vital to get her the treatment she needs so she can have the dignity of being able to support herself again as soon as possible!

Mimi has always been like Pollyanna, trying to focus on the good things in her life rather than the bad, and putting others’ needs first, but I know she can’t help being terrified that the constant vomiting will permanently damage her vocal cords. Her teeth are also crumbling from the vomiting, which is really upsetting for her, especially as she is still so young, so at some stage she will need extensive dental treatment, which may not be available on the NHS. Despite her natural bubbly and smiley self, she is finding it increasingly difficult to smile, not only because of her teeth but because she is literally in fear for her life.

What Mimi needs right now, even more than to pay off her mounting debts, which in itself is causing untold stress, is to get urgent medical help from the private sector, as the NHS doctors keep cancelling appointments at the last minute, as well as changing their minds about what to do with her and whether or not they can operate! This was frustrating at first, but now, as she is becoming increasingly weak, it is a frightening situation to be in and Mimi really doesn’t believe she can survive for much longer as she feels she is deteriorating rapidly, not only physically but mentally – she’s losing hope and the will to fight.

I have always helped Mimi financially up to now and will continue to do what little I can but, with my husband’s and my finances having been drastically affected by the combination of recent events, our own debts are now becoming a worry and I am no longer in a position to give any real help. I just don’t want to let her down as she so deserves to have a decent life, rather than her constant pain, stress and fear for the future, and that’s why I’ve turned to GoFundMe to ask for your kind help.

The absolute minimum I feel we need to raise is £15,000, in order to get the emergency medical help Mimi needs and to pay off existing debts to keep the bailiffs at bay, but she really needs so much more than this to get her back on her feet. Every month, the debts continue to pile up, so we really need to raise as much as possible to help sustain them until the doctors find a way to repair the damage so that Mimi can eat and drink again, get her strength back and return to the work she loves. Mimi trained very hard for her acting career, both in the UK and in America, where she lived for quite some time, and she is so talented that it’s simply a tragedy that she can’t do what she was born to do – acting and singing.

We will be so grateful for absolutely any donation you can spare. Again, thank you so much for reading this. I hope you will also watch Mimi’s beautiful video, which she spent a long time on to get it right - not an easy task with her dyslexia. It really illustrates how badly her situation is affecting her. Please, PLEASE help if you can.

On behalf of Mimi, thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart!