Sweet Erica

Erica is 6 and has neurofibromatosis type 1. This disease affects every part of her life. Neurofibromatosis type 1 causes tumors to grow along the nerves, brain, and other parts of the body. People with nf1 have an increased risk of developing other types of cancers, including brain tumors and leukemia. Nf1 also causes skeletal abnormalities such as scoliosis. Erica currently has scoliosis and has been through serial casting for a year and a half and it wasn't helping, so she had veptr rods surgically attached to her hips and ribs. After 4 lengthening surgeries for her rods, her rods detached from her ribs, causing two of her ribs to break. Erica had her rods removed January 5, 2015 and is currently waiting to find out what's the next step in her treatment? Erica was also diagnosed with an optic glioma, which is a slow growing tumor that is often benign, which grows on the optic nerve. Optic gliomas can cause vision impairments and blindness. She has been through more surgeries than most people will in a lifetime and she is only 6. I'm trying to raise money for her medical bills and better medical care.