The City of DeKalb mA local family dealing with the hardships and financial concerns of having a sick child are getting some help from the community around them with a fundraiser held in their honor this Sunday, June 8, at Hopkins Ice House in Texarkana.
Joshua and Samie Perez are the proud parents of daughters Miah and Adelaide. Joshua owns and operates a local pest control company, Say Bugman. It is little Miah that is the focus of the upcoming fundraiser.
The Tribune spoke with Samie this past week and she told us of how Miah’s health has been a mystery since day one. Doctors can only tell the family that Miah has an underlying genetic condition, but there is no specific diagnosis. Test after test has revealed no answers. Because of the mystery, Miah has been accepted into a Harvard initiated research program for undiagnosed illnesses. The program is now implemented in locations all across the country. For the Perex family, Houston is now their home away from home.
Miah now sees as many as 14 individual specialists, each looking for answers. A recent surgery helped one problem, but discovered a new one, which will lead to even more doctors and more surgeries down the road.
Samie states, “It is the grace of God that makes it work. We are also so lucky to have family and a support system that helps a lot.”
Samie also told us that while they are fortunate to have good insurance, the fundraiser will go a long way to helping them with the mountain of expenses that they incur on the trips back and forth to Houston.
The family also has expenses from numerous other appointments for Miah, plus the loss of income from all of the time missed from work while on the trips. The fundraiser will help them stay afloat financially.
Samie is obviously very grateful for all of the support. She says, “One of the biggest things about Miah is that because she is a mystery there is no roadmap. The kindness and generosity of the community around us helps so much. People praying for us helps us stay a little more sane. It is not an easy place to know there is something different about her that will require a lot down the road. We have been so humbled, and grateful to the community we have around us.”
The fundraiser at Hopkins Ice House will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include a silent auction for items including various gift cards, grass-fed beef, yoga classes, goodie baskets and much more.
