Our story began after my nineteen year old had a hemorrhage stroke. Months later after a hard physical therapy, I found my daughter counting coins to be able to pay her student loans and medical bill. Our journey began making delicious tamales for sale with our community, friends and family.

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          "Natalie Grossenheider is a smart student and her passion was to help others who struggled with mathematics. In her third year of high school, she was sent to Saint Louis Community College for dual enrollment. She graduated with a high school diploma from Webster Groves High School and an associates degree in May of 2020. In Spring 2021, she started her first semester at Saint Louis University pursuing a Nutrition and Dietetics degree.On the morning of March 25, 2021, she woke up with left side numbness and weakness. She could not walk and was confused about her surroundings. Natalie and her family knew she had suffered from a stroke but the cause of it was uncertain since she’s otherwise a healthy individual. At the hospital, she underwent a few tests to understand why this occurred in someone so young. The doctors discovered that Natalie has a small deep Arteriovenous malformation aka AVM in her brain which is an abnormal connection between blood vessels. It had ruptured and caused a hemorrhagic stroke that cost her left side mobility. Natalie had to go to physical and occupational therapy to relearn how to walk and use her left arm and hand. Due to limited visits from her health insurance, she graduated from therapy still with physical limitations. She was left with loans from SLU and multiple medical bills. She still doesn’t have the physical ability or endurance to return back to school or get a job to pay for her medical bills. Six months post-stroke, she had to undergo another procedure to see if the AVM was still present because it was very hard to detect because of its size. Unfortunately the AVM is still present and she needs to get it treated because she still has the risk of it re bleeding. Surgery is too risky because of the location in the brain but there’s a chance that radiosurgery could be a possible treatment option. Her case is complicated because of the size and location of the AVM so she has to wait for her medical team to agree or disagree on radiosurgery.  If the radiosurgery is going to happen we will be looking at even more medical bills. I’m asking the community to help Natalie pay for her loan from SLU, current and upcoming medical bills, as well as assistance for the whole family, as Natalie's mother, Margarita has quit her job to assist with Natalie full time."

GoFundMe by Angie Scariano.