When Ainsley, now 4 years-old, was born, she suffered from a massive stroke due to a delayed delivery. The stroke affected the entire left hemisphere of the brain as well as the brain stem itself. At only 4 hours old, she was diagnosed with Epilepsy. When she was born, doctors told her parents that she would never walk, talk, or feed herself.
Ten months later, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, but has been making improvements along the way. Today, she's able to talk and feed herself, but she walks/runs with a limp and has very limited use of her right hand.
Several months ago, her parents noticed that she was falling a lot. The falls were occurring so often that she started to get cuts and bruises from them. On top of all the falls, she was complaining of stomach pains, anxiety, jerking, and crying in her sleep. After several tests, it was determined that she had Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), an extremely rare for of Epilepsy. To date there is no known medication to treat it.
After researching LGS specialists around the country, Ainsley and her family headed to New York to meet with a team of doctors . After 10 days of tests, it was determined that she was misdiagnosed with LGS. Instead, she was diagnosed with focal seizures, which are very difficult to treat, and a a cyst on the left of the brain. While the diagnosis was a lot to take, doctors were able to find a solution that would give them hope for Ainsley's future.
The solution involves a Hemispherectomy which will remove the non-functioning portion of her brain as well as the cyst. This would decrease the number of seizures she suffered and protect the right side of her brain. While the surgery offers a lot of hope, it comes with a hefty price tag and must be paid out of pocket prior to the surgery.
Ainsley's family is scraping together money for the time-sensitive surgery and they are asking for YOUR help. To donate, and to read more about Ainsley's story, click HERE.