The story of Karley Miller is one of resilience and determination.
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The Cowra woman was born with a rare, neurological disorder called Sturge Weber syndrome. This caused her to experience countless seizures for the first 18 years of her life. On top of that, she also has cerebral palsy and is legally blind.
But in September of 2015, she underwent surgery to remove half of her brain in the hopes of stopping the seizures and giving her life a semblance of normalcy.
Usually when a person undergoes this type of surgery, they lose function of their arm on the side of the body the removed brain controls.
This was not the case for Karley which made her one of only a handful of people in the world that did not lose any pre-surgery abilities.
"Since then she's been really, really well. She's been seizure free, medication free," her mum, Nicole Miller said.
"Usually, you become a stroke-like patient. Karley didn't. She had functional fine motor skills."
Eight years on from brain surgery, Kaley desired more in life.
She was 'stinging' for independence and so, eager to see her succeed, that's exactly what her mother helped her get.
![Karley Miller is having to learn to walk again after having two brain surgeries in the span of six days. Pictures supplied Karley Miller is having to learn to walk again after having two brain surgeries in the span of six days. Pictures supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/c402e982-be89-4c4f-8765-975e8b08afb4.png/r0_0_1920_1079_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Kaley got a job at the Cowra Woolworths towards the start of 2023 and was tracking along great.
That was until late June, when on two separate occasions, she failed to show up to work.
"My son rang her and she was quite delirious on the phone," Nicole said.
"I was thinking the worst."
The three of them then joined a video call together and when Karley tried to get up off the lounge, she fell over.
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"I knew something wasn't right," her mum added.
Paramedics were called and she was taken to the emergency department at Orange Hospital.
The next day, on June 28, Kaley couldn't talk or walk.
"She was catatonic," Nicole added.
A few days later and there were two "life or death code blues" called on Kaley and by July 2, they were on a plane bound for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
"Within 15 minutes of her being there, she had another major episode where they were questioning incubation and the rest of it," Nicole said.
She was pulled aside and the questions no mother wants to hear.
"If they had to put her on a machine, what did I want them to do," Nicole said.
"I knew then it was very serious."
On July 5, doctors performed emergency surgery to put an EVD drain - a temporary system that allows drainage of cerebral spinal fluid - in her head.
![Karley Miller has had plenty of hospital visits during her life. Picture supplied Karley Miller has had plenty of hospital visits during her life. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/dc27a58e-193e-4626-9df7-ffdfec385ec4.JPG/r0_0_3024_3420_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
She remained sedated until July 9 when she was able to come off life support before she was transferred to Westmead Hospital the next day.
On July 11, Karley underwent yet another brain surgery, this time to take out the EVD drain and put in a permanent shunt to drain the cerebrospinal fluid after she was diagnosed with neurological disorders encephalopathy and hydrocephalus.
"She defied the odds again. She had the will to keep fighting. It's insane," Nicole said.
"Then they got her up and slowly started walking without assistance. It was like watching a toddler find its feet for the first time."
Karley is still only able to walk about 100 metres each day unaided as she looks to regain those functions that were once commonplace.
It is hoped that her recovery will take about six months, but it's still unclear if Karley will regain everything she once had.
Karley and her mum have been living in a hotel in Sydney for the past month and plan to stay there until the end of August to make sure they are close to their doctors as they make sure the stunt is functioning properly.
This has been a costly endeavour and as a result, a Gofundme page has been set up to help the family while they figure out their next steps.
"It hasn't been a cheap little holiday down here by any means. We've had to go buy an air fryer just so I can cook a few things," Nicole said.
"Until we get more support from NDIS, we have to rely on that Gofundme page."
To contribute, search 'please donate to help Karleys family be with her' on Gofundme.com
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