While April Archote faces the physical pain and financial hardships of living with a rare brain disease, she continues to be positive and count her blessings, CCHeadliner reported. In 2013, April was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), a rare brain disease that produces an excess amount of spinal fluid causing a plethora of debilitating stressors. Yet, she still shines and has an infectious attitude all of us should adopt.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, or IIH, affects 1 out of every 100,000 individuals and can lead to brain deficiencies, vision loss, blindness or even fatality. To learn more about IIH you can visit here. April has undergone four invasive brain surgeries and endured more than 40 spinal taps. She has survived two strokes and is partially blind.
IIH is not easy to treat and definitely not easy to live with as it’s extremely painful and often scary. Symptoms start with minor vision impairment and can increase into full on blindness. She often endures intense headaches, experiences functionality loss on her right side and even brain impingement that can result in a personality change. When April experiences this personality change, she speaks in a British accent, which her family finds hilarious. There are tons of different treatments to help diminish the symptoms and pain, but ofter they have their own repercussions. This is just a part of April’s life, but she still praises her blessings.
April is so proud of her 17-year-old high school daughter, Ronnae, who is on the cusp of graduation and will be attending Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville next year. Ronnae is worried about leaving her mother, but April insists she go conquer the world and do something great. Nothing would make April more happy, since her little girl was thrust into caretaker mode at the young age of 12. Thankfully, when Ronnae takes off to school, April will have her loving parents to aid her during the difficult times. Another reason she claims to be so blessed.
