LUSBY, Md. – January 1, 2020 – In a case of events one might consider ordinary, a mother found herself traveling to visit her daughter in Ireland back in December.

But it is the reason for her trip that is far from what someone might hear everyday. Dawn Lopez of Lusby, was alerted on Dec. 18 to the fact that her daughter Alyssa Fox who was working as an au pair in Ireland, recently fell victim to a stroke at the early age of 20.

Dropping what she was doing, Dawn Lopez has packed up and headed across the Atlantic to spend what is expected by doctors to be six weeks for treatment and hopefully rehabilitation. Arriving just prior to Christmas, her daughter had already gone into surgery and had simultaneously contracted pneumonia which she was being treated for.

“I don’t think anything could have prepared me,” Dawn Lopez said in an update message. “The neurologist who performed the surgery spoke with me and said although the stroke was really bad, she’s showing good signs… To say I’m overwhelmed and feel 100% useless to help her is an understatement.”

While the Patuxent High School graduate is currently letting her brain heal, doctors have determined that the cause of the stroke was a blood clot which traveled to her brain and paralyzed her entire right side and has left her almost entirely unable to speak.

However, there has been some new found hope since Christmas day. Alyssa Fox has been able to receive minor physical therapy and has been reported by her mother to be responding well to it. She has tried talking but cannot be understood and is described as alert, expressive and smiling. Her mother said on Dec. 30 “[Alyssa] was able to move her right leg a little, and was able to stand with assistance for about 20 seconds.”

She has also since had nearly all of the staples removed from her surgery, and as of Dec. 31 has been able to successfully move her leg on her own. 

Nonetheless, this tragic situation has displaced a working mother for an extended period of time, all while stacking up heavy medical bills on the family.

A family-friend is calling on the Southern Maryland community to rally support for the family in these times of hardship by any means possible. A GoFundMe page has been set up, and anyone who can has been asked to support in any way possible.

Link to Contribute: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-dawn-and-alyssa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet