Teenager diagnosed with polymyositis

My 15 year old daughter went from a strong athlete to barely being able to walk in a matter of three months. She now has an autoimmune diagnosis - polymyositis. Polymyositis is a disease that causes muscles to become irritated and inflamed. The muscles eventually start to break down and become weak. The condition can affect muscles all over the body. This is not a typical diagnosis for a teenager. Her body is retaliating on the inside making it difficult for her to even do simple movements.

After spending 15 nights in the hospital she was discharged home. However, being discharged out of a hospital was the easy part. Coming home and not being able to function in her daily activities without a full-time caretaker is the hard part. She went from spiking a volleyball and having a fierce serve, and being able to play a fantastic game of racquetball, to not being able to roll over in bed, lift her arms, get up from a chair, or bath or dress herself. Starting high school and not wanting to be different is now not an option.

Doctors say her polymyositis is severe. There's no cure for polymyositis, but the symptoms can be managed to some degree. She may need more than one kind of treatment. And her treatment may need to be changed over time. In severe cases, some treatments are not as effective. It is not known if this is a one time event or something she will live with for her entire life. She may go in and out of cycles of extreme inflammation requiring further hospitalization or she may be one of the lucky ones to improve over time and not have another recurrance. All not thoughts we have of our children when we envision their future.

Thankfully I work for a company who has FMLA and I am taking the full 12 weeks of unpaid leave to continue to be my daughter's full-time caretaker. I exhausted all of my personal time off for her hospital stay and the first week of being home. With your support I can continue to be able to be here for her as she endures challenges and works to, hopefully, gain her life back as it once was.

I am humbling myself by using this platform to ask for assistance and generosity at my time of feeling powerless over what this disease is doing to my daughter. Each night I beg every being to get her to a place where she can have a good life in spite of this diagnosis. I would like to continue to stay home and care for her during this crucial time as we navigate the world of medicine, tests, physical therapy, etc.

At a time she is experiencing great uncertainty and feeling unsafe, I want to be there for her and provide certainty and safety in knowing we will get through whatever this polymyositis throws our way. I could really use your help. Your donations give my daughter and I the ability to be together for at least the next 3 months during this tragic time while covering the monthly bills that are coming due.

Personally, your donation gives me the opportunity of providing her the support she needs and to not have me being consumed with worry over debt. She deserves to be first on the worry list.

Thank you for taking the time to read our life story. Appreciate all well wishes!