Update 11/20 – Anissa’s husband will be using www.Hope4Peyton.org to update Anissa’s condition.  Right now, prayers are their biggest need.

UPDATE 4:37 PM Wednesday FROM ANISSA’S HUSBAND:

Not much change.  Second bleed was not good.  I brought the kids up.  She responded slightly, then a lot of movement 20 minutes after they left. She’s fighting and has reached for me. Hard to say the reason, but she stops when contact is made. Feeding tube is in.

Nearly 9 months ago, I met Anissa Mayhew at Blissdom.

She made me laugh. Out loud.  And I was feeling a bit shy because I didn’t know a lot of people. She stroked my hair while threatening to cut it off and make a wig of it for herself.

So, clearly, I became a fan.

If you have met Anissa, you love her.  Because, quite simply, she has that effect on people. She is snarky and witty, compassionate and strong, intelligent and extremely passionate. She is a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend.

Tonight, I came home from gymnastics to see my twitter stream flooded with #prayforanissa.  I only know one Anissa.  And I adore her….so, as is typical when your brain expresses panic mode to your body, I lost function in my hands.

When I regained control, I saw the very last thing I expected: Anissa suffered a stroke today and is in ICU.

Anissa is one year younger than me.  She has three amazing, beautiful, resilient children. Just last week, her youngest, Peyton, hit an amazing milestone: one year cancer free.

I cried for the first hour after I found out.  I yelled at my kids as I struggled to find information. I did the only thing I could – add my voice to the amazing online chatter in support of Anissa and bury my face deep into the necks of my children and pray.  Pray. And pray some more.

I haven’t known Anissa for very long, but I have adored her from that first meeting.

Anissa’s close friends at Aiming Low have written a beautiful post about her and how you can help.

Anissa – I know you are strong enough to battle through this.  I know it won’t be easy, but I know you can do it. You children need you.  Your husband needs you. Your friends need you.

We won’t give up believing you will soon be giving us all a ration of crap for being so sappy on your behalf.

For regular updates, keep an eye on Aiming Low.

And if you have a little extra to help a family in need, here’s where to go.

Yes, I did hijack that lovely picture of Anissa from her Facebook page.  Just in case you don’t already know her, I wanted you to SEE who you were praying for.