Alabama girl, 7, sells lemonade at her mom’s bakery to pay for her own brain surgeries

An Alabama girl, 7, has been selling lemonade at her mom’s bakery to pay for her  own brain surgeries after she was diagnosed with multiple cerebral malformations.

Liza Scott set up a stand inside Savage’s Bakery in Homewood, Alabama, where she is selling her own homemade lemonade as well as cookies and candy canes to drum up funds for her life-saving treatment. 

The little girl was diagnosed this month with three rare cerebral malformations – an irregularity of the brain – after she suffered a seizure back in January.

Liza is set to undergo the first of multiple brain surgeries at Boston Children’s Hospital in March as she said ‘I hope I make it’ but admitted ‘I feel like I’ll not’.

Liza’s mom Elizabeth, who is co-owner of Savage’s Bakery, said the family’s life has been ‘turned upside down’ ever since doctors learned her daughter has the rare condition.  

Liza Scott, 7, has been selling lemonade at her mom’s bakery to pay for her own brain surgeries after she was diagnosed with multiple cerebral malformations. Pictured Liza at her lemonade stand

Liza said she 'I hope I make it' but admitted 'I feel like I'll not' as she is set to undergo the first of multiple brain surgeries at Boston Children's Hospital in March

Liza said she ‘I hope I make it’ but admitted ‘I feel like I’ll not’ as she is set to undergo the first of multiple brain surgeries at Boston Children’s Hospital in March

Liza set up the lemonade stand inside the neighborhood bakery so she could sell her sweet creations, with all proceeds from each glass going toward her upcoming brain surgeries.  

Making lemonade and selling it to the local community was already one of the 7-year-old’s ‘favorite things to do’, according to a MightyCause page set up to for donations for her treatment. 

‘If there is anyone who can take lemons and make it to the most amazing Lemonade ever, it is Liza,’ the page, set up by Elizabeth, reads.

‘Selling lemonade (and other special treats) is one of her favorite things to do.’

Elizabeth said her daughter’s love for lemonade has ‘inspired this next journey’ as they prepare for the ‘unimaginable’ road ahead. 

‘From the start Liza has taken the lemons thrown her way and shown us all that adding a little Zest to life is what making Lemonade is all about,’ she wrote. 

Liza told News 19 she is scared she won’t survive her first round of surgery next month.

Liza's mom Elizabeth, who is co-owner of Savage's Bakery, said the family's life has been 'turned upside down' ever since doctors learned her daughter has the rare condition. Pictured Liza with her mom and brother

Liza’s mom Elizabeth, who is co-owner of Savage’s Bakery, said the family’s life has been ‘turned upside down’ ever since doctors learned her daughter has the rare condition. Pictured Liza with her mom and brother 

Liza set up a stand inside Savage's Bakery in Homewood, Alabama, where she is selling her own homemade lemonade as well as cookies and candy canes to drum up funds for her life-saving treatment

Liza set up a stand inside Savage’s Bakery in Homewood, Alabama, where she is selling her own homemade lemonade as well as cookies and candy canes to drum up funds for her life-saving treatment

‘I can’t handle it. So, I hope I make it,’ Liza said. ‘My mom keeps saying I’m going to, but I feel like I’m not.’ 

Liza first suffered a Grand Mal seizure – where the individual loses consciousness and suffers violent muscle contractions – on January 30.

After weeks of tests, neurologists and neurosurgeons at the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham discovered she has an ‘extra special’ brain with three cerebral malformations.

The malformations are rare and even rarer for an individual to have more than one, Elizabeth said. 

‘In most every instance of these rare malformations doctors only see one malformation – in Liza’s case she has 3 – the first a Schizencephaly (or cleft) — the second a Parietal Arteriovenous Malformation – or AVM (You and I know it as an aneurysm) – and lastly, a Dural Arteriovenous Fistula (DAVM) – or very rare vascular condition where abnormal connections (fistulas) are made between branches of arteries and veins,’ she wrote. 

The little girl was diagnosed this month with three rare cerebral malformations - an irregularity of the brain - after she suffered a seizure back in January. Pictured in hospital this month

The little girl was diagnosed this month with three rare cerebral malformations – an irregularity of the brain – after she suffered a seizure back in January. Pictured in hospital this month

Liza and her brother inside her mom's bakery where she has been selling lemonade to pay for her own treatment

Liza and her brother inside her mom’s bakery where she has been selling lemonade to pay for her own treatment 

Local residents are supporting Liza by buying glasses of her homemade creation while donations to the MightyCause page had topped $137,000 Saturday

Local residents are supporting Liza by buying glasses of her homemade creation while donations to the MightyCause page had topped $137,000 Saturday 

The malformations require immediate treatment to prevent Liza suffering further seizures, haemorrhages or even a stroke  

Elizabeth told News 19 the ‘world has turned upside down’ since her daughter’s sudden illness and said she is looking to her faith as they travel to Boston for Liza’s first operation next week. 

‘You know, in the moments that I feel like I can’t breathe, or I’m awake in the night and I can’t sleep, I pray,’ she said. 

‘I’m on my hands and knees, literally, praying.’

Elizabeth said she has taken out extra insurance to pay for her daughter’s surgeries but the treatment will mean several weeks of staying in hotels away from home for each surgery. 

Travel and accommodation costs and extra medical expenses have already set her back almost $10,000, she said, which as a single mom of two is ‘not something you can budget for.’

Local residents are supporting Liza by buying glasses of her homemade creation while donations to the MightyCause page had topped $137,000 Saturday.