GIRL DETERMINED TO STAY STRONG FOR HER MOM STRUGGLE WITH DISORDER LEAVES FAMILY RESILIENT.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - On a Friday night last month, while her mother and sister slept, Breanna Herndandez sat quietly in the living room as her pen flew over her notebook paper.

The words, written in her best penmanship, stopped coming just before the sun rose.

``This story is about my mom,'' she wrote. ``I have never seen a person go through so much pain and hurt like her. She has gone through a lot. I wish I could trade bodies with her.''

Breanna Hernandez is just 10 and in fourth grade. She is polite and pensive, and doesn't like to say too much.

But put a pen in her hand, and she will write as if her life depended on it, as if the words on paper speak louder than her voice ever can.

She is hoping that, maybe, her words will bring awareness to Guillain- Barre Syndrome, an illness few have heard of.

``My mom falls down some mornings, and me and my little sister hear her crying softly and we hold each other,'' Breanna writes. ``My mom is very strong. She has raised five children alone. She irons our clothes, and makes us breakfast before going to school.''

Doreen Hernandez, 40, was diagnosed in September with the disorder that, like Lou Gehrig's disease, affects the spinal cord. Sometimes, her legs give out so quickly, she cannot stop herself from falling.

``This is a very rare disease, and because it is so rare, not so much research goes into it, and not so much money is going into it,'' said Hernandez's physician, Dr. Daryoush Kashani. ``Unfortunately, we do not have a cure.''

In the United States, two in every 100,000 people are affected by the disorder. Its symptoms include a paralysis of the legs and arms, according to the Guillain-Barre Syndrome Foundation International, based in Pennsylvania.

Hernandez, a manicurist at Cameo Hair Designs, said she has tried to keep her illness private, but worries that her daughter is consumed with helping her.

Her other children - Alex, 24, Chacha, 22, and Timothy, 19 - have been helpful, but it is Breanna, she said, who is like the parent. Breanna takes care of her 5-year-old sister, Deelilah, Doreen said.

``Sometimes, I feel like I am robbing her of her childhood,'' she said of her daughter. ``She is like my father, my husband, my mentor all in one. I tell her, you have to go out and play. You have to be a little girl. You are growing up too fast.''

Those who work with Hernandez at Cameo said they are hoping to help Breanna organize a fundraiser, but are seeking ideas and support.

Breanna said the women who work with her mom have been like family. In her letter, she thanks them again and again, along with Kashani, who she said has helped them pay for some medical treatments. The medicines and rehabilitation costs can come to $2,000 a month.

Sometimes, her mom will go without to buy them clothes, Breanna said, which is why she is hoping to sell T-shirts or bracelets to help offset the costs.

``I have to stay strong for my mom,'' Breanna said one recent afternoon as she sat with her mom.

``I am still a little girl, Mom,'' she said. ``But I love you.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color in SAC edition only) Breanna Hernandez, 10, leaning over her mom, Doreen, holds the fundraiser letter she wrote about her mom's battle with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News