It鈥檚 as if it happened overnight.
One day, Alivia Code is a healthy little girl who loves music and crafts, and the next, she is dazed and unresponsive.
Alivia, a smart 鈥済irly-girl鈥� who loves crafts and music, was walking to school with her mom last September. Early in the school year, she had only just started Grade 1 at Surrey鈥檚 William F. Davidson Elementary.
As they approached the school, Alivia suddenly began walking in a circle, gazing up at the sky. Unsure what she was doing, her mom said her name several times, trying to get her attention. Alivia didn鈥檛 respond.
A trip to the hospital resulted in a battery of tests and it was soon confirmed Alivia had suffered a seizure. It was her first, but there were many, many more to come. A scan showed she had inflammation on the left side of her brain, and eventually, doctors reached a diagnosis.
Alivia, her parents were told, had Rasmussen鈥檚 Encephalitis, a rare form chronic inflammation of one hemisphere of the brain. There is no known cause, but it occurs most often in children and is estimated to strike only one in every half-million to a million people.
鈥淚t was almost like she was fine one day, and then not the next,鈥� said her grandma, Karleen Sabourin. 鈥淭his child is a very intelligent, happy child 鈥� full of spirit.鈥�
Over the following months, between doctor鈥檚 visits, Alivia began to display the fast-progressing symptoms of the disease: brain injury, loss of speech and partial loss of the ability to use her right arm. She can walk, but with a limp and a brace on her right leg.
Now seven years old, she鈥檚 faced multiple treatments and been on a steady stream of medications. Since April, due to complications from the disease and drug therapy, Alivia has been in B.C. Children鈥檚 Hospital.
On Wednesday, she underwent an eight-hour brain surgery. It鈥檚 hoped the operation, called Functional Hemispherectomy, will ease the seizures, which she now has between 10 and 12 times an hour.
Because someone has to be with her 24 hours per day, her dad, the sole income earner for the family, took a leave of absence from his work as a security guard in May to spend time with Alivia and his wife.
That, says Sabourin, has made an already heart-wrenching situation a financially stressful one for the family.
The couple doesn鈥檛 even own a car, so they either take transit to the hospital daily or hitch a ride with someone.
鈥淒ad was working and then going to the hospital at night,鈥� said Sabourin. 鈥淭hen I told him 鈥榦kay, you need to take this time.鈥� It鈥檚 been very difficult for them.鈥�
To help them out with their basic needs, she鈥檚 planning a fundraiser on June 29 at Jimy Mac鈥檚 Pub in 91原创 (19935 96 Ave.). Tickets are $20 and include a burger and drink, silent auction and raffle.
Contributions are still being accepted for the auction and advance tickets are available by calling Karleen Sabourin at 604-767-3831 or Theresa at 604-534-5305.
A trust fund has also been set up at the CIBC at 20069 64 Ave. Contributions can be made to Alivia Code In Trust, account #6911692.
