Local resident to undergo brain artery bypass surgery

DCHS Class of 2000 graduate Rhonda Broussard, now of Dyersburg, will undergo brain bypass surgery Monday at Vanderbilt Hospital. Her doctors hope the second half of the innovative procedure will prevent the 28-year-old from suffering additional strokes or recurrent transient ischemic attacks. After enduring years of dizziness, fainting spells, multiple strokes and mini-strokes, medications, a strict diet, and bouts with insurance companies and the Social Security office, Rhonda and her family may soon be able to rest easy and look forward to a brighter future. [Click to enlarge]

Though complications in February postponed doctors from completing the second half of her treatment -- an operation that will most likely last longer than the grueling 12-hour surgery she completed in December -- Rhonda and her family are confident and full of hope.

You see, after years of wondering and worrying what was wrong with their loved one, they finally have an answer and a treatment. They will also have a Mericle with them in the operating room.

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When she was a teenager, Rhonda Broussard was known for her easy smile. Nicknamed Pebbles by her family, she enjoyed a close relationship with a sister and brother and her parents, Joe and Shirley Lurks of Newbern.

Petite and pretty, she ran track at Dyer County High School and was active in student life. But her frequent dizziness and occasional fainting spells had her family concerned, especially when those conditions caused her to quit the track team.

In 2000, Rhonda lined up beside her classmates to participate in commencement exercises at DCHS and went on to Dyersburg State Community College, where that same smile and outgoing personality earned her the title of Homecoming Queen in 2001.

That weekend, on Sunday, April 1, she suffered her first stroke.

Doctors puzzled over what could cause a debilitating stroke in such a young woman. They first determined the cause to be too much stress from college courses before bringing in a specialist who diagnosed Rhonda with Moyamoya disease. Moyamoya is a rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain in an area called the basal ganglia.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the name "moyamoya" means "puff of smoke" in Japanese and describes the look of the tangle of tiny vessels formed to compensate for the blockage. Moyamoya disease was first described in Japan in the 1960s and it has since been found in individuals in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Africa. The disease primarily affects children, but it can also occur in adults.

"They said Moyamoya was very rare and usually happens in Asian Americans," said Rhonda's mother, Shirley Lurks, who said the family has since found many patients who are not Asian Americans affected by the disease. "Evidently, she was born with it and through the years we had never known that she had that condition. (Rhonda's sister, Dellana Broussard) did a lot of research on it."

Lurks said the only way Rhonda's doctors knew to treat the problem was to prescribe coumadin, a blood thinner which prevented Rhonda from eating green vegetables rich in Vitamin K. She also took aspirin and had her blood checked each week.

"They stuck me so many times, I can't even count," said Rhonda. "They said I should have died from the first stroke."

"They said she wasn't going to regain what she lost in the first stroke," said Lurks. "It was a such a strong stroke. She had to learn to walk again."

Maintaining a strict diet for eight years and keeping track of her Vitamin K, a natural ingredient that helps blood clot, was not enough. Rhonda still suffered additional mini-strokes and another large stroke in 2008.

"Basically, we thought, 'Okay, we know what the problem is,' but we didn't realize what we were going to have to face further on," said Dellana. "It was a long, long, long road. Unfortunately, it took her getting sick a number of times. Each stroke affected more and more of her brain. (I said,) 'Let me see what I can do to save my sister's life.' To do my part, not only as a sibling, but as a child. To help my parents."

As Dellana alternated trips to the hospital to care for Rhonda, she did extensive research on Moyamoya, contacting people with the disease and relentlessly petitioned her sister's case to doctors, insurance companies, the Social Security office and specialists in the field.

While talking to other Moyamoya patients, Dellana found one doctor's name surfacing again and again. Dr. Robert A. Mericle, Associate Professor and MD at Vanderbilt.

"To know his name was 'miracle,' we felt like it really was one," said Dellana, who did not let the fact that the physician was not in her sister's insurance group stop her from requesting his services. "He was the only person working with this condition in this area. Doctors wrote letters on her behalf. I sent him every one of Rhonda's tests. I would call up there four or five times a day. I would say, 'Did you receive Rhonda's last CAT scan or MRI?' When we finally were able to see him, one of the nurses said, 'Oh, so you are Miss Broussard.' And I knew that it was worth it. We were in. He was willing to see my sister, and he knew what to do."

Lurks remembers a dear friend and church missionary laying her hands on her daughter's head when she was young and saying 'There is a condition here, I just can't see what it is.'

"It took all these years to manifest what the condition was that she was seeing," said Lurks. "God is an awesome God. Twenty years after, God revealed what it was."

"(Rhonda) keeps that smile on her face, no matter what she is going through," said Dellana. "She was in the hospital the whole month of February. And regardless of what she has been through, she keeps that smile. That just shows how strong she is as an individual."

Rhonda's surgery in December went well, but an angiogram to determine how successful the first half of her treatment was resulted in an infection in her good leg. As a result, she was in and out of the hospital throughout the month of February. When it finally looked like she would be able to go home, a transfusion was needed.

"(The doctor) told me I needed a transfusion and I just cried," said Rhonda.

The transfusion took place on the day she was supposed to have her second brain surgery.

After each surgery, Rhonda and her family toast success with sparkling fruit juice.

A bottle waits in her refrigerator to travel with them to Nashville this weekend. She and her family are thankful for the many prayers that will be following them, as well.

"Our friends and the Dyer County community have just been wonderful," said Dellana. "We had a lot of prayers sent up. And we are grateful for every one, for everyone. I don't think we can thank everyone personally. They may not even know that they encouraged us, but I thank God for each and every one who has touched us in this situation. We are very, very blessed with Dr. Mericle, who knows what to do. We have run into many obstacles and, finally, we are overcoming those obstacles."

"There have been so many people praying for Rhonda," said Lurks. "Some of them may not even know who she is. Maybe this story will help update people on how she is doing and let them know who she is."

"Rhonda's medical situation has made my family realize that we have the greatest family and friends because they have been the greatest support system," said Dellana. "Obviously, it is in God's hands."

Information for this article was obtained from www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/moyamoya/moy..., www.brain-aneurysm.com/ bb.htm and www.webmd.com.