On Jan. 13, 11-year-old Natalie Bentos-Pereira woke up with pains in her upper back, as the day progressed, the pain only worsened. Before the end of the school day, her left leg was completely numb.
She was then rushed to the emergency room where lab tests showed serious neurological problems. Natalie was then flown by helicopter to the Levine Children’s hospital, where she went through a series of additional tests.
Before the end of the day, doctors gave the Bentos-Pereira family the bad news – Natalie had suffered a full spinal stroke – a rare condition for anyone, but especially for an 11-year-old girl.
The description reads:
“Natalie is a sweet girl who is outgoing, spunky, and enjoys making other people around her laugh. As of last month, things took a turn for this sweet girl and her family. She had a stroke in her spine which is causing no function from her ribs down. She has been at Levine’s for almost a month. Things are slightly improving with intense therapy everyday. Most of you know that she will be going home soon, but with that, comes all the equipment and therapy she is going to need. Insurance only does so much right now and they will need a lot more money to continue to provide the care Natalie needs.”
Since setting up the page, they have raised over $6,000, but the family says they still need help paying for on-going physical treatment.
In one of the recent campaign updates, her mother noted, “Natalie is doing so good and beating all the odds! She goes to Therapy all week long. Some of the therapy is not covered….We appreciate all your help and prayers for our daughter and family! God bless you!”
Another campaign update includes a picture of Natalie from this past Halloween;
Please join the fight by praying for Natalie, donating to her GoFundMe page, posting #FIGHTNATFIGHT on social media, and by sharing this article!