Full story

On August 8th, Hillary was admitted to the ER with symptoms of trouble breathing, sores throughout her mouth and throat, and struggling to heal from a recent mild bout of pneumonia.  

Within 2 days, numbness in her legs ensued, her conditions worsened, she quickly fell unconscious, and Hillary was immediately moved to ICU. The doctors identified that Hillary had recently contracted a pretty common and benign disease called mycoplasma which led to her mild pneumonia.  But her consequential symptoms were autoimmune-related, aggressive and acute, and Hillary was diagnosed with an extremely rare and mostly fatal autoimmune disease - AHLE (Acute Hemorrhagic Leukoencephalitis) characterized by a brief but intense attack that damages and causes inflammation to the brain and spinal cord.  

By August 13th, after a full-body MRI to assess damage to her nervous system, Hillary was given a 10% chance of survival and had already begun aggressive treatments of immunoglobulin and plasma exchange.  AHLE has a very poor prognosis, with most patients experiencing rapid deterioration and passing away within a few days to a week after onset.

But with rapid treatment and no doubt some divine intervention, Hillary has stabilized and is on a journey of recovery.  She's fighting, and we're fighting with her.  And with trust, patience, and much prayer, we're hoping that Hillary would become a walking miracle among us! 

To read about Hillary's story, please visit https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hillarymork