I'd like you to meet Carmen...
Carmen is a sweet little 2-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who needs stem cell therapy that is, of course, not covered by insurance. A friend of her Mom has organized an auction taking place on Facebook starting today to help raise some money so Carmen can get this life-changing treatment. A network of artists and crafters are pulling together to help. I've donated a Mint Green and Crystal Lampwork Jewelry Set for the auction and there are over 100 items you can bid on.
I'd really appreciate it if you would stop by the auction to see if there's anything you'd like to bid on to help them reach their goal. The auction is being held on Precious Pretty's Tutu Boutique's facebook page via one of her albums. This link will take you right to it... Photo Album Auction Page at Precious Pretty's Tutu Boutique.
There's also a Cause Page on Facebook for Carmen... Carmen's 2nd Chance. You can read all about little Carmen's story. And there is a FundRazr tab on the page set up for anyone who would like to donate money (through PayPal) to help Carmen.
Here is a little bit of her story, told by her Mom...
Let's all keep Carmen and her family in our thoughts and prayers and help them any way we can :)"Carmen was born with a congenital heart defect called double inlet left ventricle. She needed open heart surgery when she was only 26 days old. Without this surgery she would have died from heart failure. The surgery was a success but the night of her surgery she went into cardiac arrest. She received CPR for 151 minutes before being placed on life support. Carmen's brain didnt receive adequate oxygen during the 151 minutes of CPR which caused her to have significant brain damage. Her doctors claimed that 90% of her brain had died due to the lack of oxygen. Her doctors said she would not survive this injury, but she did. Due to the brain damage, Carmen cannot sit alone, crawl, walk, talk, or even eat anything by mouth. She receives all her nutrition through a surgically placed feeding tube in her stomach. She suffers from seizures daily. She cannot control movement of her arms and legs. Her neurologist diagnosed her with cerebral palsy by the time she was 9 months old. Twenty years ago Carmen's condition would have no hope for improvement. She would never walk, talk, crawl, or even be able to give her mommy a hug. There is hope for Carmen today. There is a doctor that treats cerebral palsy patients with stem cells from umbilical cord blood. This therapy is not covered by insurance and can cost up to 24 thousand dollars, depending on the prescribed therapy. Me being Carmen's mother, I feel that it is my job to provide Carmen with this therapy. This therapy could enable Carmen to walk, talk, crawl, and play like other kids her age. Unfortunately, I do not have 24k sitting in a bank account or a piggy bank. I have 5 children and work as a nurse. It would years if not decades to save 24k.I have a plan though and that plan is to raise the money through fundraisers and donations. The younger the child, the better the outcome of the therapy.Carmen is 2 years old now. She will get the best outcome from stem cell therapy if she receives it before she is 3."
Thanks for reading this post and letting me share Carmen's story with you ♥♥
~ Debi
