A botched surgery left a 12 year old Texas girl with a rare eating disorder that makes her feel hungry all the time and put on a lot of pounds. After being denied money for a weight loss surgery, the family of the girl has successfully raised $53,000 through the crowd funding website Go Fund Me.
Two years ago, Alexis Shapiro underwent a brain surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. The botched surgery led Alexis to developing a rare condition known as hypothalamic obesity. The surgery damaged her brain's hypothalamus, or pituitary gland. This rare disorder makes the young girl always feel hungry, which makes her overeat. The disorder has seen her balloon from a slender child to a morbidly obese 90 kilograms.
Alexis has already been hospitalized for kidney infection and has developed Type 2 diabetes, both as a result of her increasing weight in the last three months.
"It is a beast and we have tried so hard to control it. But, it has been found that no amount of diet or exercise will stop this obesity," Alexis' mother Jenny Shapiro posted online, according to a Yahoo report. "Alexis has gained about 140lbs in not even 2yrs. It has been heartbreaking for her and for us. She cannot do the things she used to love."
A ray of hope was seen when doctors informed the family that a gastric bypass operation can help save the girl's life. But the US military, the family's health insurance provider, refused to cover the $50,000 bill saying she is "too young".
"Our reviewers have denied your request for Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass," a rejection letter sent to the family this month reads, adding that Alexis must be 18 or have achieved full bone growth in order to be approved, according to an NBC News report.
Now it seems like Alexis can finally have her surgery because her family has raised $53,000 for the treatment with the help of crowd funding website Go Fund Me. This website urges people to donate as much as they can to save people's lives.
"Oh my!!! I can't believe this!" Jenny Shapiro posted on the page 'Hope for Alexis', Yahoo reported. "We are so grateful. I am going to contact the hospital on Monday. To find out if this will cover all the costs. Thank you to everyone who cares. Also I will set up a PO box for cards and letters. Alexis would love to get mail."
