Pay It Forward - Love for Logan
12/3/2017 2:00:00 PM
“That feeling that you are giving them this (donation) with no strings attached from Fargo, N.D., to Lexington, Ky., and they don’t know us from Adam, and we’re impacting their lives – that’s huge.” – Sarah Mastera, Bell Bank mortgage loan officer
After Sarah Mastera learned about the severe neurological condition that plagued her sorority sister’s infant son, she did what she could to help, rallying her co-workers to pool their Pay It Forward funds for the family.
Bell Employee
Sarah Mastera
Fargo
Recipient
Logan Kihlman
The Need
Logan was born with hemimegalencephaly, a rare, severe neurological condition where one side of the brain is abnormally larger than the other and causes frequent seizures, typically not controlled by anti-seizure medications. The condition is often associated with cognitive or behavioral disabilities.
“He had multiple seizures per day, so many they couldn’t count,” Sarah remarks.
In April, Logan had surgery to remove the left side of his brain. The hope is that the right side will take over the functions normally performed by the left side.
“At this point, it’s been very successful and has improved his quality of life almost immediately,” Sarah notes, adding that Logan has been seizure-free since surgery.
The Impact
Sarah told a co-worker about Logan, and she suggested they donate their Pay It Forward funds to the family. Sarah reached out to more of her co-workers and put together a group donation.
“We are forever blessed by people like you with huge hearts who love other people who need it,” comments Laura Kihlman, Logan’s mom. “Logan is a very happy little boy, playful, doing so much better now that he’s gotten the help he needs.”
