Please help my friend with ALS/Swati Patel Sayers
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My friend Swati Patel Sayers was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in March 2017, at the young age of 44. She is the daughter of Vibha and Dhiraj Patel and is married to Brendan Sayers. She and Brendan have 3 children, Maeve, Kieran and Aedan. This is a campaign to help Swati and her young family weather the long-term financial impact of a medical crisis that has so profoundly changed their lives.
ALS is a rare neurological disease that involves the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Eventually, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control voluntary movements. Gradually all muscles under voluntary control are affected, as they atrophy, individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear.
Swati has been fighting for her life, traveling back-and-forth to the Mayo Clinic to participate in a clinical trial that will, hopefully, slow the progression of her condition.
You can't see this from the photographs, but her current symptoms include profound left-side weakness/stiffness so that she is no longer able to use her left arm or hand, she can still stand, but has trouble walking any distance and gets headaches as a result of the neck strain from holding up her head. She needs help with bathing and dressing and can no longer eat, requiring tube feedings. She has also lost her ability to talk and struggles with the weakness in her right hand that is making it harder and harder to write (which is how she has been communicating since she lost the ability to speak). Despite the losses and changes, Swati is determined to live her life as fully and beautifully as she can, with and for her children and family.
Swati is married with 3 young children ages 10, 8, and 6 and lives in Dallas, Texas. We are raising funds for her and for her family because of the financial impact of living with a terminal illness that has this slowly debilitating course -- out-of-pocket costs for medical treatments, expenses to cover family support resources like a nanny for the children because Swati can no longer care for them herself, therapy for the children, and other care taking needs. Swati is a loving mother and wife who is also a clinical social worker who dedicated her life before children to helping others in need.
Swati and her family are so grateful for your support. Every gift, of any amount, makes a real difference. Please also take a moment to share this with your friends and family and through your social media, so that anyone who would like can also be of help.
Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
~Christine
ALS is a rare neurological disease that involves the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Eventually, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control voluntary movements. Gradually all muscles under voluntary control are affected, as they atrophy, individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear.
Swati has been fighting for her life, traveling back-and-forth to the Mayo Clinic to participate in a clinical trial that will, hopefully, slow the progression of her condition.
You can't see this from the photographs, but her current symptoms include profound left-side weakness/stiffness so that she is no longer able to use her left arm or hand, she can still stand, but has trouble walking any distance and gets headaches as a result of the neck strain from holding up her head. She needs help with bathing and dressing and can no longer eat, requiring tube feedings. She has also lost her ability to talk and struggles with the weakness in her right hand that is making it harder and harder to write (which is how she has been communicating since she lost the ability to speak). Despite the losses and changes, Swati is determined to live her life as fully and beautifully as she can, with and for her children and family.
Swati is married with 3 young children ages 10, 8, and 6 and lives in Dallas, Texas. We are raising funds for her and for her family because of the financial impact of living with a terminal illness that has this slowly debilitating course -- out-of-pocket costs for medical treatments, expenses to cover family support resources like a nanny for the children because Swati can no longer care for them herself, therapy for the children, and other care taking needs. Swati is a loving mother and wife who is also a clinical social worker who dedicated her life before children to helping others in need.
Swati and her family are so grateful for your support. Every gift, of any amount, makes a real difference. Please also take a moment to share this with your friends and family and through your social media, so that anyone who would like can also be of help.
Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
~Christine
Fundraising team (2)
Christine Mukai
Organizer
Southlake, TX
Monisha Patel Bachert
Team member