Casper Woman Shares Her Daughter’s Story of Living with Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome

In a recent episode of Report to Wyoming, we had a couple of very special guests stop by the station to share their story.

Aunnie Likes is a 10 year old girl in Casper who was diagnosed with Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome when she was a baby.

Her mom Tishia told K2Radio that Aunnie began having seizures when she was about four to five months old.

By 10 to 11 months old, Aunnie began having bigger, more noticeable seizures. When she was 15 months old she quit breathing. That was the first time she was life flighted to Denver. They had to resuscitate her three times.

When Aunnie came home, she could no longer hold her head up or eat on her own.  She still uses a feeding tube and needs a wheelchair to get around. She is non-verbal but communicates through coos and facial expressions. During our podcast she began to get a little restless and make the all-too-familiar sounds that all children make when they need to get Mom's attention.

One thing is clear after meeting this amazing girl. She may have lost her ability to walk and talk, but she is a happy, giggly child. She is an adrenaline junky and loves life.

The diagnosis has effected Tishia's life in every way possible. Before then, she was on her second year of college, but had to drop out to take care of her daughter.

It's difficult leaving Aunnie in the care of others, and Tishia says she doesn't have any family in the area that can help.

Finding and keeping jobs has also been a struggle. Tishia obtained her CNA license, but long shifts are impossible when Aunnie gets sick and needs her mom.

When COVID started, Tishia says she couldn't collect unemployment because it was too much money to qualify her for medicaid.

"I can't afford feeding supplies and her seizure medications -- one of them is $1,000 a bottle. So I've bounced from a lot of jobs, and not being able to find someone reliable to watch your daughter is hard."

Right now Tishia is driving a van she purchased on Facebook for $700. It is not reliable to get to Denver and back for treatments, and it's getting more and more difficult hoisting her daughter in and out of the car.

Having a vehicle they can take to Aunnie's treatments in Denver would be life-changing for both of them. If you would like to help, they have started a GoFundMe page and you can find it here.