A 12-year old girl is suffering from a rare brain disorder causing her to think and feel as though she is hungry all the time, Yahoo! News reports.
Alexis Shapiro developed hypothalamic obesity after a surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. This damaged her brain's hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Thus, Alexis overeats resulting to her gaining so much weight and classifying her as morbidly obese. She used to be slender child but now weighs 90 kilograms or 198 pounds. "It is a beast and we have tried so hard to control it. But it has been found that no amount of diet or exercise will stop this obesity," said Jenny Shapiro, Alexis' mother.
"Alexis had gained about 140 pounds in not even two years. It has been heartbreaking for her and for us. She cannot do the things she used to love." Shapiro's doctors have advised her to undergo gastric bypass surgery to control her eating but the family's healthcare provider, TRICARE, refused to pay for the procedure that will cost $56,000 on the grounds that the young girl is too young. "Our reviewers have denied your request for Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass," the healthcare company wrote to the Shapiro family.
The family then turned to crowd funding via website Go Fund Me and appealed for the public's help in raising funds. On December 29, the family has already exceeded their target amount of $50,000 and raised a total of $53,456. "Oh my! I can't believe this!" Jenny posted on the page 'Hope for Alexis'. "We are so grateful. I am going to contact the hospital on Monday to find out if this will cover all the costs. Thank you to everyone who cares. Also I will set up a PO box for cards and letters. Alexis would love to get mail."
