Lee’s Summit teen diagnosed with rare brain condition raises money to adopt therapy dog
A fundraiser for a Lee’s Summit high school student who suffered a stroke late last month and has been diagnosed with a rare medical condition has raised more than $32,000 in one day, according to the teen’s GoFundMe page.
AJ Wishne, a 15-year-old rising high school sophomore from Lee’s Summit, suffered the stroke on May 28 while at the gym. He was later diagnosed with a brain arteriovenous malformation, a rare condition that affects less than 1% of the U.S. population.
The GoFundMe page, which has a goal of $45,000, was started by Kristi Bynum with the goal of getting AJ a therapy dog to help in his recovery.
On Tuesday, the page had raised over $32,000 from over 500 donors. The page was flooded with well wishes and prayers for the family.
The problem started on May 28, when AJ was at the gym with his brother. He was having a hard time keeping count of his reps.
He told his brother that something was wrong, and by the time they got in the car to leave, AJ could no longer talk. His face was started to droop and he was losing function in his right arm.
When they got to the emergency room at St. Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, a CT scan revealed AJ had a brain bleed. An ambulance then took him to the University of Kansas Health System.
After a series of tests, doctors discovered that AJ was born with a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
An AVM is an abnormal connection of blood vessels and veins, usually in the brain or spine, that disrupts blood flow and oxygen circulation, according to Mayo Clinic. In AJ’s case, the abnormal veins were sending too much blood into smaller veins, which caused them to explode and triggered a stroke.
On May 31, AJ went into surgery to drain the blood from his brain and fix the tangle of veins that was causing the AVM. Doctors at KU successfully completed the operation after over five hours of surgery.
Road to recovery
While recovery will take months or years, AJ is starting to regain his speech and function of his arm. He left the hospital Friday, one week after his stroke, and doctors are optimistic that he will make a full recovery, according to the GoFundMe page.
AJ would like to adopt a therapy dog to help with his recovery. That can cost up to $30,000, according to the GoFundMe page.
“He is pretty scared right now and would like a therapy dog to be with him as he goes through his rehab and recovery,” the organizer wrote.
The family’s hope is that AJ will be able to return to Lee’s Summit High School, where he wrestles and plays baseball, this fall for his sophomore year.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:11 PM.
