Hi everyone! 

I need help with a very difficult situation regarding my mother.  I have unilateral MM.  Dr. Steinburg did my surgery in 2005..I'm doing great...this post is about my mother. 

Here's my problem....
I never told my mother that I have MM.  My mother is Korean and she lives in Guam.  I never told her about MM because I knew she would be very worried about me and I knew she would want to come visit me but I knew she wouldn't be able to afford it.  Plus, my mother's english is not very good and I didn't know how to explain it because I don't speak Korean.

I found out on Thanksgiving, that my mother had a stroke!  I'm going to find a last minute ticket and fly to guam and tell her that I have MM.  I need to have her tested to see if she has it too.  I know MM isn't supposed to be hereditary but I feel that it should be checked out. 

I found out that my mother had a stroke while she was in Korea.  My mother won't talk about the details or tell me what doctor she saw in Korea.  My mother insists that she is feeling much better....although, we all know that you can feel relatively normal after having a stroke sometimes.  I did...and I had 5.  I'm afraid that my mother will take the wrong medication or do the wrong surgery if she is not informed about moyamoya. 

Here's where I need help...if anyone can:
1.  I need to find someone (preferably a doctor that speaks Korean and knows Moyamoya).
2.  I need to find a place in guam to do an MRI and/or CT angio that will see us without insurance.  I'm hoping to pay cash.  My mother doesn't have health insurance. 
3.  If she does have moyamoya, does anyone know any hospitals that will do a surgery for free?  I will take her to Korea or the US.  My mother has no money and is very below the poverty line.  I found out that she is not taking the medication her doctor prescribed because she can't afford it.

I guess, I'm just a little overwhelmed trying to coordinate this from Los Angeles.  I'm relatively new to LA so I don't even have a doctor or know anyone here.  If anyone has any ideas or points of contact it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I don't know what I'd do without this website.

Kind Regards,
Monica

I'm so sorry to hear this. You must be so overwhelmed. I think you are smart to ahve your mom checked out for MM. It is possible to have multiple memebers of a family with MM. My first thought and someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I would contact Dr. Steinburgh for advice. His contact information is on this site under links. He's one of the few specialists here in the US and he may be able to advise you about Dr.s abroad and how to contact one. Please keep us posted.
Mary Grace