Michala

Michala is six years old. She was diagnosed with Aicardi syndrome when she was born. The diagnosis of Aicardi syndrome is determined by the missing Corpus Collosum which is the middle part of the brain linking the left & right hemispheres, seizures and lesions on the retina. You can read more about Aicardi syndrome at www.aicardisyndrome.org. The biggest challenge right now with Michala and Aicardi syndrome is controlling her daily seizures.

Michala was born with a dark spot on her right foot. We were told at birth it was a birth mark and would go away. Well it got worse. It was diagnosed as a hemangioma, then a lymphangioma. When Michala was 11 mths old it was diagnosed as Angiosarcoma. A rare form of cancer in children. It was diagnosed after a surgery in Boston. We came back to Atlanta and had another surgery to try and remove the rest of the cancer. The doctor came in and said our spirits should be lifted because he got all the cancer. Well everyone's spirits were lifted except mine. I didn't feel good at all about it. A few days later I got the call saying the cancer was still there and they were going to have to amputate. The doctor said it was her life or her leg. A pretty easy decision when you put it that way.