• Daughter’s fight for health leaves former Lady Bear facing staggering bill

    Michelle and Ashlyn NeelyLady Bear fans from a decade ago will remember Michelle Neely, who transferred to Baylor from Grayson County College and played in 46 games from 1999-2001 during head coach Sonja Hogg’s final season and head coach Kim Mulkey’s first year at Baylor. Neely graduated from Baylor with a degree in social work in 2002, and three years later, she and her husband were blessed with a child, Ashlyn.

    At the age of 13 months, however, an unknown virus caused significant damage to Ashlyn’s brain, leaving her unable to move the right side of her body and with sensory and feeding issues. Months of therapy helped her regain some mobility, but she continued to suffer from increasingly violent epileptic seizures. Seizure medications caused even more problems, so in July, Ashlyn underwent two surgeries to stop the seizures; recovery will take months.

    Medical expenses from the surgeries and rehab have totaled over a million dollars. In October, a benefit concert will be held in Plano for Ashlyn to raise funds to help offset those costs to Michelle and her husband, with the $15 door charge going directly to the medical bills. Those who wish to donate separately to help out a fellow Baylor Bear can do so online, as well.

    Sic ’em, Ashlyn and Michelle, for your fighting spirit!