Hi!  Thanks for your time and interest of helping our children here in North Ga, and the entire Southeastern area. 

If you have been following along with Lyla, Luke, Shelby, Halee & Ethan's stories, you may know a good deal about PANS/PANDAS. For those of you who do not know, PANS stands for Pediatric abrupt-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome & PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep.

Basically, the child has an infection, bacteria, allergy, etc. which causes the immune system to respond. The immune has a misguided response, rather than attacking the bacteria or infection it attacks the healthy tissue in the brain known as the Basal Ganglia. This area of the brain is known as the control center for thoughts, emotion, movement, etc. When the BG is under attack the child presents with neuropsychiatric symptoms. These symptoms can be OCD, ADHD, Night Terrors, motor/vocal tics, rage/emotional issues, severe anxiety, age regression, etc. 

As parents to children effected by this illness, we have seen our children change from happy, healthy little ones to a completely different child over night. This was a silent thief, we did not expect it, we didn't see it coming and once it happened our lives were completely different. While we have battled and continue to battle for their childhood to return to normal, each one of us aches at the thoughts of this happening to another child. Their world is turned upside down and this is happening in a world where the majority of teachers, parents, doctors, hospitals, specialist have no idea what is going on within their little bodies.  

We raise our voices not only for Lyla, Luke, Shelby, Halee & Ethan's sake.. but for the child that is playing next to them on the playground, your child, your grandchild, niece, nephew, student, patient, etc. 

This illness is not rare, it is rarely diagnosed.. it is rarely understood, it is rarely talked about, and it is commonly  misdiagnosed as Autism, ADHD, general anxiety, OCD, Tourettes, Bipolar, etc. 

WE WANT TO CHANGE THAT & with your help, we can!

For every $250 raised, 10 pediatric doctors will be met with in person. SEPPA will provide booklets, and a wealth of information to these doctors so that they will be able to know the signs and symptoms to provide proper diagnosis for the 1 in 200 children this illness effects yearly. 

What kind of impact can you be?? A HUGE impact --> if you can donate $25.00, that is one doctor who is educated and within their office hundreds of children will flow through with Strep throat, the doctor will then know what to look for and hundreds of children's lives can be saved because of your $25 donation. 

Sponsors.. we need you!!  If your business would like to sponsor Team Lyla, Luke, Shelby, Halee & Ethan you can make a donation which is tax deductible. For sponsors donating $500 or more you will receive social media acknowledgement to your business. 

THANK YOU. Thank you for giving your hearts to our children. Thank you for taking the time to read and share this information. Thank you for your prayers of healing for our children. 

Want a little raw truth from Nichol: 

When presented with this fundraiser, I will be honest.. I didn't want to ask for donations. I didn't create a team because I truly felt everyone was sick of hearing about this illness & didn't want to be let down. I received a message from a mother, a mother who does not have a child with PANS. She said in her message that she went to the doctor with her daughter and found she had strep. She recalled all that she had learned from our local stories and was so very thankful for the knowledge so she could watch for these issues in her child. As she was leaving the appointment the doctor mentioned PANDAS/PANS, and asked that she keep a close eye on her daughter for any behavioral changes. As I read her message thanking me, I felt my voice mattered. I felt the tears, the fear, the struggles that Lyla and our family has been through all mattered. I also thought of how healthy and happy Luke & Shelby are now and it was because of Lyla's story being shared. 

With that message being read and my heart overflowing, I knew I couldn't stop.  I also know my community has my back! Here in our quiet North Ga town we stand together, we love big, we laugh together, we cry together, we pray together and we fight together! I have been apart of many events to help local families & they have had HUGE successes. I feel this is no different. We have children here in our town suffering, silently suffering, being misdiagnosed. Parents are messaging & calling me, searching for answers and help.  The way I can help them is through our local doctors, and that only happens with your help. 

The kicker is, I drug my feet due to feeling defeated before I even tried and now.. we only have 4 days...FOUR!!  Let's knock this goal out of the park & let's do it in less than 4 days! 

I have requested from SEPPA that the donations we raise together will provide our town and surrounding counties with meetings, paperwork, and follow up support for our local doctors and schools, rather than it going to the entire Southeastern area. With that your donations will be kept here. Our professionals in Ellijay, Jasper, Blue Ridge, Blairsville, and further (depending on the funds raised) will be educated, and with that our local children will be provided for properly. I am doing this for your children and those to follow, please give from your heart & it will be given back to you in so many other ways.

It takes a village.. we all know that & we know how to come together to get things done!  

Help me, to help them.