Hey Guys,
Along with the information in the previous post, I just wanted to let everyone know that I was able to have a conversation with Mayra on the phone! She asked ME how I was doing, and when I asked her she said she was fine! When I told her I missed her and I loved her, she responded I miss you too and I love you too! She's starting to come back...let's keep praying for her...

Newspaper Article: March 26th, 2007

Here is the newest article that was run on the front page of The Journal News in White Plains:

White Plains woman, 20, recovers from meningitis
By MELISSA KLEIN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: March 26, 2007)


NEW YORK - Mayra Rodriguez bopped her head to the 1980s pop tune "Take On Me," singing along in key and hitting the high notes.

"Wow, Mayra," said her physical therapist, Annie Matthews, who was working Mayra's iPod. "Wow, you've surprised me on that one."

A little while later, Rodriguez and Matthews tossed a ball back and forth. It was the first time since Rodriguez, a 20-year-old White Plains college student, entered the rehabilitation unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan four weeks ago that she was able to catch the ball.

"Just putting the sequence of throwing it up in the air and her mind telling her body to catch the ball, that's a pretty complex task," Matthews said last week. "For her to do that is a step in the right direction."

At the beginning of January, Mayra (pronounced Myra) Rodriguez was a college junior on a semester abroad. Now, after surviving bacterial meningitis, she is relearning the most basic of tasks from walking to carrying on a conversation to playing catch.

"Every day we see a lot more progress," said her doctor, Anne-Felicia Ambrose, a rehabilitation medicine specialist at Mount Sinai.

Rodriguez, a junior at Binghamton University, SUNY, became sick soon after the start of the study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain. She complained of a terrible headache, stiff neck and sore throat and hours later was in a hospital where her condition was diagnosed as bacterial meningitis. She lapsed into a coma, and her parents, who had flown from New York, stayed by her bed around the clock.

Rodriguez was able to return to New York by air ambulance on Feb. 20 and was taken directly to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan. She was transferred Feb. 26 to Mount Sinai.

Ambrose said Rodriguez was still recovering from the effects of the meningitis, an infection in the meninges or membrane around the brain. She said Rodriguez still has some inflammation and fluid buildup in her brain and was on medications to prevent seizures, all of which were limiting her abilities.

Meningitis can also result in hearing and vision loss, and although Rodriguez hasn't been tested, it seems as if both senses are intact, Ambrose said.

"When she sings, she hears the music," Ambrose said. "She sings along with it in time and she hits all the right notes."

Ambrose said Rodriguez's intelligence and her supportive family would be key factors in her recovery.

"The hope is that she will make a good recovery," she said. "How complete that's going to be, it's difficult to say at this time."

Rodriguez was majoring in philosophy, politics and law at Binghamton and spoke Spanish well enough to enroll in the regular classes at University of Salamanca.

"We just want her to be Mayra again," said her mother, Irma Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has made great strides in three weeks. When she came to Mount Sinai, she could not walk and was not communicating.

Now, she climbs stairs and will repeat words and phrases, in English and in Spanish, as if a toddler learning to speak.

"Let's do the puzzle," she repeated after Matthews said the phrase in their therapy session.

Rodriguez has particularly bonded with Matthews, a college student doing an internship in physical therapy who is only a few years older.

"I was the only one who knew how to work the iPod at first," Matthews said.

Irma Rodriguez said her daughter has not really had spontaneous conversations, but did ask for her boyfriend recently. Irma Rodriguez said that when she had Mayra speak to the boyfriend on the phone, her daughter was all smiles and she was able to tell him, "I love you, too."

Irma Rodriguez and her husband, Ramiro, take turns spending the night with Mayra, not wanting to leave her alone. They also have a younger daughter, Marianna, 12.

Neither has been able to work since Rodriguez became ill. Irma Rodriguez, a part-time caterer, works at the Women's Enterprise Development Center in White Plains, and her husband works in construction.

The family's insurance will pay for just 30 days of rehabilitation for Rodriguez, and Irma Rodriguez recently applied to get her daughter Medicaid coverage.

Meanwhile, about $23,000 has been raised to help defray the family's expenses.

Penny Judelson, a White Plains resident whose daughter Amanda is a close friend of Rodriguez's, started the fund and has been asking local businesses for donations.

Judelson said students at her daughter's school, the University of Pennsylvania, and at Binghamton have raised money. A bake sale at the Rodriguez's church, St. Bernard's in White Plains, brought in about $2,400.

Strangers who have heard about Maya Rodriguez have even looked up Judelson's phone number and called, offering to donate money.

Irma Rodriguez said she was grateful for all the support, but accepting help was a strange feeling. She and her husband came to the United States from Mexico in 1981 and became citizens. She said they have never asked for assistance.

"We believe that whatever you want in life you have to work it out," she said. "That's the way we teach the girls."

Mayra Rodriguez has been giving back to the community since she was in elementary school and volunteered to read to homeless children. Later, she volunteered at White Plains Hospital Center in a program for pregnant teens. She had a summer job as a translator in a program for victims of domestic violence.

Even though she had been in Spain just three weeks before becoming ill, she volunteered to teach English at a grade school there. Sixty school children came to the hospital to visit her.

Rodriguez's artwork hangs in her hospital room and her violin sits by her bed. Her violin teacher from White Plains came to Mount Sinai to visit and give her a lesson.

"Everything now is the first time," her mother said. "It was like the first class she had when she was 5."

While Rodriguez was an accomplished violinist and sang in the choir at White Plains High School, her mother said she was never really aware of her daughter's beautiful voice until now.

"We didn't know that she sings," she said.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070326/NEWS02/703260342

New Fund Information

The address for the fund has been changed in order to make it possible for all donations to be tax refundable. Here is the new address:

El Centro Hispano, Inc.
c/o The Mayra Fund
346 South Lexington Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606.

Thanks!

BU Article from February 27th, 2007

Hey all,
Here is the Binghamton University article that ran on February 27th.

BU student contracts meningitis while studying abroad
By Erika Neddenien, News Writer

In an effort to help alleviate the medical costs incurred, a fund has been set up to help cover the health expenses of a Binghamton University student who fell ill while studying abroad this semester.

While studying in Salamanca, Spain, junior philosophy, politics and law major Mayra Rodriguez contracted bacterial meningitis on Jan. 26, three weeks after her arrival in the country. Less than 24 hours after visiting a doctor and complaining of severe headaches, Rodriguez fell into a coma for five days.

Rodriguez’s parents flew to Spain immediately to be with her. She was air-lifted back to the United States on Feb. 21 and taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She was then transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital on Feb. 26 for recovery.

“One can only be hopeful that she will make progress. She’s been making minute progress every day,” said Rodriguez family friend and Mayra Fund coordinator Penny Judelson. “She doesn’t have her hearing or her vision … whether she understands us is questionable. She’s also been able to make a few utterances.”

In addition to the fund, Rodriguez’s friends have been making efforts to raise more money and create awareness about her condition.

Judelson’s daughter Amanda, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, held a party in Rodriguez’s honor and was able to raise nearly $700. Mother and daughter have also set up an online blog detailing Rodriguez’s illness and post news articles and updates on her condition.

Rodriguez’s friends at BU have also been campaigning for the Mayra Fund.

“Mayra and her family have a very tough road ahead of them,” said junior English major and close friend of Rodriguez, Rachel Barrocas. “Any donations will be greatly appreciated to help defray all of the hospital bills. Hopefully enough donations can be raised to get her the best medical care so she can then make a full recovery.”

According to the National Institute of Health, early symptoms of bacterial meningitis include fever, severe headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea, vomiting and lethargy. The disease progresses rapidly and can set-in in as few as 12 hours. In approximately 10 percent of the cases, the disease is fatal.

“The early symptoms of bacterial meningitis are very similar to those of a head cold or flu except for the severe headaches. This can make it tricky to identify early on,” Judelson said. “She’s lucky she’s pulled through. She’s a survivor.”

Friends of Rodriguez emphasize the need to stay optimistic and describe how much she is missed here on campus.

“She’s just the sweetest person I’ve ever known,” said junior psychobiology major Allison Tripp, also a friend of Rodriguez. “She loves her friends, she loves her boyfriend and she loves her family. Those were always the most important things in Mayra’s life.”

To keep updated on Mayra Rodriguez’s condition, visit http://mayrasprogress.blogspot.com/

March 12th, 2007

Hello,
Sorry for the long delay in updating the blog! Here is the latest news that I have heard regarding Mayra's progress. She is starting to regain her eye sight! She has been looking at people when they talk to her and even watching tv and movies. She has been talking a lot more also, mentioning people's names and responding when some of the rehabilitation people talk to her. For example, one woman introduced herself as Annie and then asked Mayra who she was, and Mayra was able to answer "Annie." When her father asked her if she had a sister, Mayra answered, "Yes, Maryana." She has also been practicing walking and can go up and down stairs as well as stand up on her own.

As far as the fund is concerned, there are various fundraising efforts in effect. At Binghamton University, there will be a party held on March 15th at Sports Bar on Stage Street to raise money for the fund. There will be an open bar, as well as raffles and DJ. The party will go from 10:00 pm until 1:00am. There will be a $6 cover charge as well as a donation jar by the raffle table. In White Plains, Mrs. Cashman has organized a bake sale that was held Sunday, March 11th, with all proceeds going to the fund.

Remember to keep me posted with any other efforts!