Irma Avilés 
In September of 2012, several staff members of Global Brigades participated in an unaffiliated brigade in the community of Santa Lucia. There they met a 20 year old girl named Irma. Although Irma was not a patient of a Global Medical Brigade, people were so touched by her story that Patient Referral decided to open a case.
As a child, Irma lived a healthy life until she started getting migraines at the age of 13. Even though she was able to receive medication for her migraines, they continued to persist. In October of 2011, she became pregnant and about 4 months into her pregnancy her migraines intensified and began being accompanied by vomiting. On July 18, Irma gave birth to a healthy baby without complications. However, 12 days after her daughter was born, she suffered her first paresis episode (the loss of voluntary movement of her muscles) in her upper right side. 24 days after this, Irma suffered another paresis episode except this time, she also experienced a seizure. Since then, Irma has been getting seizures which last about 10-15 minutes at a time.
On October 10, Irma was finally able to go the the public hospital where she had neurological tests done and was diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). AVM essentially means that the blood vessels in Irma’s brain are not distributed properly and therefore important brain tissue is not receiving the oxygen it needs to allow her to be a healthy woman and mother.
Irma needs surgery to correct the malformation which will stop the migraines, seizures, and avoid the AVM
from bleeding (which can significantly raise the risk of brain damage or even a stroke). Unfortunately, Irma and her family are far from having the means to pay for this surgery. Irma lives with her aunt who helps her take care of her daughter and five siblings which means they are financially responsible for a household of eight people.
Before Patient Referral, the family thought they would never be able to get her this life- changing surgery.
Now Irma needs you to make this possible! The projected cost for the entire process is $1,975 USD. Global Brigades wants to be with Irma every step of the way, but we need your help to do that! Please click here to donate and bring us one step closer to our goal.
Contact Claudia Moya at claudia.moya@globalbrigades.org with any questions!