This is why we are having a benefit for her.

Leslie Bishop's life was forever changed on September 20, 2010. She was in front of her 7th grade Spanish class, reviewing an assignment when she suddenly and unexpectedly slumped over and started breathing really heavy. The students reacted very fast and brought staff members back to the room. Someone called 911 while another assisted Leslie to the floor where it was discovered that she had no pulse and was not breathing. CPR was started, and when EMS arrived, she was intubated and her heart had to be shocked twice before it would start beating on it's own in a regular rhythm. She was immediately rushed to the emergency room, and from there, to Henry Ford Main in Detroit. While there, she spent 3 days on the ventilator. When the ventilator came out, she was battling pneumonia. As the pneumonia cleared, she was able to have a cardiac catheterization, along with a defibrillator placed to protect her from any future arrhythmias. She finally started to wake up about 5 days later, but she was very confused. She had trouble remembering who her immediate family was.

As time has gone on, she has steadily improved. After a month and a half at Henry Ford Main, she was sent to the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan due to the anoxic brain injury she suffered when her heart stopped. She was in extensive rehab for physical, speech, and occupational therapy. She completed this for 2 weeks before she finally came home.

Physically, she is doing great! She has a lot of issues with memory, though, especially her short term memory. She has a long road ahead of her, with doctors appointments and therapy sessions.

Unfortunately for Leslie, the district she works for does not have a contract. Leslie will not be able to return to work for a while, but her paychecks have run out. She only received paychecks for as many sick days she had. Those ran out a long time ago. Her insurance? That ends 12 weeks from the initial incident on September 20. We may be running out of time from the insurance company's standpoint, but we certainly aren't running out of the desire to make sure Leslie gets the treatment she needs to she can get back into that classroom that she loved so much.

Please come help celebrate Leslie's health. December 11, 2010 at 5 PM at the Knights of Columbus in Wyandotte. There will be food, drinks, and music, along with some AWESOME raffles.