This lovely little girl is Isabella Podranz, and my issue is connected to the story of her family.
One of my best longtime friends, Ana Dean, now Ana Podranz, has a daugher Isabella, who you see here. She's 7, and today, this afternoon in fact, she is having a very serious surgery to remove part or all of a lung that has been destroyed by a problem called an AVM.
I had never heard of this condition, but it is devastating to the people and families who suffer from it. This little girl has already been through some horrible surgeries, and faces a life of surgeries, as this problem cannot be cured. It is heartbreaking to me, and my thoughts and prayers today are with them in Minnesota. I can't imagine how hard it must be for a child or parent to deal with the uncertainty.
I found that there is a support charity to help families of people who have this condition. I am going to join this group, and lend my support, as well as of course help Ana, as she and her husband are in dire straights financially because of this as well.
Here are some facts from Columbia University's medical website:
"An Arterio-Venous Malformation, or AVM, is an abnormal collection of blood vessels. Normally, oxygenated blood is pumped by the heart through branching tubes called arteries to the brain, where it enters a fine network of tiny vessels called capillaries. It is in these capillary beds where the blood nourishes the tissues. The “used” (deoxygenated) blood then passes back to the heart through branching thin walled tubes called veins. Arterial-Venous Malformations are areas that lack the tiny capillaries."
I had never heard of this condition, but it is devastating to the people and families who suffer from it. This little girl has already been through some horrible surgeries, and faces a life of surgeries, as this problem cannot be cured. It is heartbreaking to me, and my thoughts and prayers today are with them in Minnesota. I can't imagine how hard it must be for a child or parent to deal with the uncertainty.
I found that there is a support charity to help families of people who have this condition. I am going to join this group, and lend my support, as well as of course help Ana, as she and her husband are in dire straights financially because of this as well.
Here are some facts from Columbia University's medical website:
"An Arterio-Venous Malformation, or AVM, is an abnormal collection of blood vessels. Normally, oxygenated blood is pumped by the heart through branching tubes called arteries to the brain, where it enters a fine network of tiny vessels called capillaries. It is in these capillary beds where the blood nourishes the tissues. The “used” (deoxygenated) blood then passes back to the heart through branching thin walled tubes called veins. Arterial-Venous Malformations are areas that lack the tiny capillaries."
I cannot even imagine what this family is going through! Sometimes the most needed thing, I feel, is the support of the people around you. I hope she wont have to have too many surgeries in her lifetime just so she doesnt have to go through the pain and her parents dont have to worry constantly.
ReplyDeletejust an update. Isabel's surgery went really well and they left her lung in, and tried to cut off the blood supply to the mass. It may not work, but at least she can grow now and be stronger in case they do have to take her lung out. Here's for hope and prayers to be answered. . .!
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