Help for Rachel Winkless

"Mom, I have a really bad headache...."

My nineteen year old daughter, Rachel, had called me on February 14, 2012. After taking her to the walk-in clinic and getting medication for migraines, her condition worsened through the night and the following day she had begun throwing up. Thinking that this was just a particularly nasty flu bug (when the projectile vomiting started), I decided that it was time to take a trip to the ER.

The doctor ordered the obvious tests, and suggested they do a CT scan. I agreed, and settled down for the time we'd spend in there, sure that the test results would show that Rachel had the flu. We'd then go home and I'd help her get over whatever bug she had.. That's what any good parent would do.

I sat next to my daughter as she lay on the gurney with a cold wash cloth over her eyes and waited, unaware that our lives would very soon be turned upside down. Soon, the door to our room opened  and the doctor walked in. He had a look of shock and sadness on his face, and as I held my daughter's hand in that tiny room, he spoke the words I will never forget: "Mom, your daughter has a large mass in her brain." Rachel had been sleeping, thanks to some much needed pain medication. When she woke I told her the diagnosis, and through drug hazed tears and crying, she asked "Why? Why me, Mom?" I told her that I didn't know, that it would be ok, that even though we don't know reasons for everything, that God would help her through it - that God would help us as a family through it. I held her and comforted her, tried to reassure my daughter. That's what any good parent would do. 

The following days were a blur of tests, being transferred to two different hospitals, more tests, MRI's, a biopsy, and a surgery to remove the mass that now had a horrible name: oligoastrocytoma, a stage two brain tumor that was the size of a golf ball.

Rachel did amazingly well after the surgery - much less pain (the surgeon had said that the lining of her brain was stretched to a very dangerous degree, due to the swelling the tumor caused) and her arms and legs, hands, fingers and toes moved just fine. We looked forward to going home, recovering, and going on with her life: she worked at Macy's at the time, and was going to college to get a degree in nursing. Right before checkout, the surgeon came into our room with a grim face: 

Rachel would have to go back into Surgery ... they hadn't gotten enough of the tumor.

On March 5, 2012, the surgeon came out of the operating room with positive news, that the tumor was gone. As he spoke to us, the double doors from the surgical area suddenly slammed open, and we watched as a group of people rushed a gurney with a patient on it down the hall, evidently in a great hurry. That patient was our daughter - they did a CT scan, and discovered that some minutes after the surgery, the unthinkable happened. Again, we were approached by Rachel's doctor, who held my hand and told us that - she had suffered a severe stroke.

Her entire right side was paralyzed, and we wouldn't know until the days ahead if she would walk, talk, or function normally ever again.

Her wonderful supportive stepdad, John, and I resolved that we would help her through whatever necessary - I would stay with her through rehab, encourage her, laugh and cry with her...do absolutely anything I could do for my baby girl. That's what any good parent would do. 

June 4, 2014 -

Rachel still struggles with cognitive impairment, and will likely have very limited use of her right arm and hand, permanently. She is able to walk (thank God) with the help of a leg brace that simply holds her foot  (known as 'drop foot) up so that it doesn't drag as she moves.

Rachel was screened for a wonderful device called a "WalkAide" (to find out more, please go to Walkaide.com), and was found to be a prime candidate. This device is an electric stimulator, worn as a cuff right below her knee, that 'tells' her leg muscles how to work correctly. Wearing her current brace (an 'AFO), only holds her foot up from dragging, while the Walkaide actually retrains her muscles so that she may eventually walk more freely even without the brace on.

Medicaid and Medicare does not cover any of the cost for a WalkAide. We, like most families, live paycheck to paycheck, with little or none to spare. We (also like most) do not relish asking for financial assistance, but will glady swallow our pride if it means that our daughter can benefit so much from this miraculous device.

"As any good parent would do"...we've done all that we can for Rachel, and now we need your help...Please consider giving a donation (any amount is greatly appreciated), so that Rachel can experience the joy of walking so much more freely through her life's journey.