Josilyn's Medical Trip

I would like to introduce you to Josilyn Herlan. Josilyn was born on Oct 16,2003. She is the daughter of Dar and Joy Herlan and lives in Sherwood Mi. When Josilyn was born she was a beautiful, healthy, little baby girl much like any other. She quickly became mother's heart and the apple of daddy's eye.

Josilyn developed normally until about the age of 5 when the family noticed she seemed to be a little hard of hearing. The doctors realized that she was losing hearing in one ear. The doctors were puzzled as to what caused this, but it continued to progress, attacking her other ear. In less than one year she was totally deaf in both ears. The doctors suggested a cochlear implant. It involved a intense surgery running hardware that shoots pulses into the brain. This wonderful device brought Josilyn back into the hearing world. Still the doctors had no name for this mysterious disease which was attacking Josilyn's body. They tested for this disease and that but nothing was conclusive.

Next, they began to notice that Josilyn's eyesight was deteriorating in one eye. Upon, futher evaluation, they decided that this was due to small vaculities with hearing loss. This was a symptom of her mysterious disease and apparently what caused her hearing loss. The blood vessels in her ears and eyes were disappearing and feeling her eyes with blood. Her disease has caused side effects of high glaucoma and bad cateracts. She's had bleeding from her eyes and now her eye is shrinking and needs to be removed to ease her pain. These are all normally seen in elderly patients. Josilyn sees a doctor 1 to 4 times a week and has for the last 5 years. She travels from Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, Detroit, and kalamazoo. She has had 27 surgeries, chemothearapy, and remicaid infusions. There was no precedent for this, no diagnosis, no simple explanation, and apparently no cure. That's where things stand at this point.

This precious child loves her family. Her favorite color is purple even though she no longer sees it. Her best friend's name is Chyna. Her constant companion is her Yorkie, Jax. She also has a dog named Hutch who has been with her since the start of this trial. She loves her cat Mr. Johnny Yarborough. She loves music, singing, and dancing. She is a child like any other child, but yet very different. Her childhood has been stolen in many ways by this mysterious disease.

Due to the aggressive nature of her disease, her doctors are referring her to the John Hopkins Vasculities Research Center in Baltimore MA. All known ways to treat her disease in MI have been tried, and we are hopeful that they will be able to help. Her family is not wealthy and her insurance doesn't cover her expenses. We are trying to raise funds to help her and her parents get to Baltimore and to help repair their vehicle so that they will be able to travel back and forth to the various doctors. Any help you can offer, even if it is only your prayers, will be greatly appreciated.