Helping Angel

Let me introduce this young lady to you, my daughter,  Angela Johnson.  This Amazing young women has had a journey that has had a lot of mountains to climb, that represents her strength to get where she is at today.  Her qualities , attributes and perseverance is to be commended.  She just turned 20 on the 4th of July.

At age 9, a 3rd grader at Tarkington Elementary School, she had perfect attendance.  Reading at a 6th grade level, you would find her walking around with her books.  Not to mention her strong interest in art.  Very artistic!  There was about 2 weeks left of school, when I received the call from her Girl Scouts leader, a friend that would change Angela’s life as we would know it.   Kristin, who at the time worked at St. Joseph medical,  was with the kids that day, while they were enjoying field day.  Around lunch time, I received a call from her that Angela was having episodes and that we needed to get her into the ER ASAP.  After her explaining what was happening, I realized that Angela was having seizures.  Reaching the hospital, we were taken straight back to an examining room where the nurses and doctor met with us.  They took blood work and then wheeled her off for a CAT Scan.  While she was out of the room, the Dr. came back in asking, “how she was being treated for her diabetes?”.  I relayed to him, “she is not diabetic. “ .   Double Blow!    With not having the pediatric specialist here, we took her straight to the Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.  We spent 5 days there, to get her stabilized and learning how to manage both, Type 1 Diabetes and Epilepsy (Focal and petite Mal seizures) .    At first everything seemed in control, but then, Angela started having issues with more seizures and then her high blood sugars.  Her Neurologist referred her to Detroit’s Children Hospital in the summer of 2011, to see if she would be a candidate for  this one surgery.  We received the word that she was, and surgery was set up for Oct. 2nd and Oct. 5th.  First part of the surgery, they went in and placed 124 grids on her brain, to do brain mapping.  Trying to pin point where her seizures was happening.  Then on Oct. 5th, they went back in and pulled 4cm of her left temporal lobe.  After the surgery, the doctor came out to give us an update.  He stated it was much worse then what he even anticipated.  She was having a seizure every second.  All of her left temporal lobe is almost dead, so she has transferred everything to her right side of the brain.  She managed to  be seizure free 2 years then started showing signs again. 

Her seizures has come back and now it is not just showing on her left temporal lobe, but her front right lobe.  I asked her neurologist to referee her to Mayo’s clinic.  In June we had taken the trip to Rochester, MN for a week for testing.  With several appointments later, she will now be going under surgery for an en-plant in hope to reduce her seizures.  For right now it is scheduled for Dec. 31st.   We will be returning several trips for check ups and for her to be monitored. 

With mounting medical bills and needing funds by the end of Dec. to be able to take her for travel expenses I am reaching out for help.  Anything would be greatly appreciated along with prayers.......