Team Charlotte
Donation protected
Charlotte Voss is a beautiful, smart, funny 7 year old girl who contracted the insidious 0157-H7 strain of E. coli while visiting her grandmother in Nebraska. It was her first time away from her Rochester, Minnesota home and away from her parents. When her parents, Justin & Kathy, and younger brother August arrived to pick up her and her older brother, Julian, and bring them back to Minnesota, Charlotte was beginning to show signs of an illness that was first assumed to be an intestinal virus or a bad stomach "bug." Still in Nebraska waiting out her illness, her parents took her to the local clinic where they also assumed that she had a bad virus and sent her home with the usual recommendations for a stomach bug. When her stools began to show blood content in the middle of that same night, her parents returned to the clinic and the doctor admitted her hoping to get the diarrhea and subsequent dehydration under control. Her condition worsened and she ended up testing positive for Shiga Toxin 1, a toxin produced by what is referred to as STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.) She was given IV fluids but her condition didn't improve. Residing and doctoring in Rochester, Minnesota, home of the Mayo Clinic, her parents were very anxious to get her back to Mayo for treatment. A medflight was arranged, but due to the rural/more remote location of the hospital in NE and the urgency to get Charlotte home to Mayo, her parents made the difficult decision to transport her by car, a 7 hour drive, while she was still very ill. Charlotte's pediatrician at Mayo had called the ER so they were expecting her and had a room ready for her. After a harrowing late-night 7 hour drive, they made it to Mayo Clinic's Emergency Room around 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, July 23rd, and got settled in their room at Mayo's Eugenio Litta's Children's Hospital.
Being back home and in the capable care of Mayo Clinic physicians was a relief, but Charlotte's condition continued to worsen and she unfortunately developed HUS, a very serious and potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which affects only 5%-10% of those who are diagnosed with STEC infection. HUS is "a condition that results from the abnormal premature destruction of red blood cells. Once this process begins, the damaged red blood cells start to clog the filtering system in the kidneys, which may eventually cause the life-threatening kidney failure associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome." (source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemolytic-uremic-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20029487)
Charlotte's medical team continues to monitor her condition and she is fighting like a trooper, but may need extensive treatment to rest her kidneys (dialysis) as well as other interventions (blood/platelet/plasma transfusions, etc.)
Charlotte has always been super healthy, and prior to this illness, she had never even had her blood drawn. The pain of her illness, the severity of her symptoms, and the extensive & frequent tests and IVs have taken a toll on little Charlotte's body and spirit. She has a ton of people pulling for her, but she has really started to feel the effects of this now 8-day ordeal.
Charlotte's hospitalization and care has been very stressful and terrifying for her parents, who also have 2 autistic boys. Despite having medical insurance, they are facing mounting medical bills and a long list of other financial pressures that are no doubt placing additional stress on an already super-stressful situation. Please help us help Team Charlotte fight the battle of E. coli & HUS by removing some of the financial pressures from her family so that they are able to fully dedicate their time and energies to her care and healing. Kathy has not left the hospital once since they were admitted, and Justin is there as much as he can be while trying to balance this situation with care for the boys, both of whom have multiple therapies and special needs stemming from their Autism Spectrum Disorders. Both of her parents are missing work and will suffer lost wages in addition to having to absorb all of the incidental costs that accumulate during a hospital stay. The money raised in this campaign will go toward many areas of need, namely:
*Justin & Kathy's wage replacement
*specialized care for Julian and August, Charlotte's
brothers who both have Autism Spectrum Disorders
*meals, gas, and incidental expenses
*household bills and general living expenses
Thank you for helping sweet Charlotte fight through this terrible ordeal by donating to this fund!
Being back home and in the capable care of Mayo Clinic physicians was a relief, but Charlotte's condition continued to worsen and she unfortunately developed HUS, a very serious and potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which affects only 5%-10% of those who are diagnosed with STEC infection. HUS is "a condition that results from the abnormal premature destruction of red blood cells. Once this process begins, the damaged red blood cells start to clog the filtering system in the kidneys, which may eventually cause the life-threatening kidney failure associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome." (source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemolytic-uremic-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20029487)
Charlotte's medical team continues to monitor her condition and she is fighting like a trooper, but may need extensive treatment to rest her kidneys (dialysis) as well as other interventions (blood/platelet/plasma transfusions, etc.)
Charlotte has always been super healthy, and prior to this illness, she had never even had her blood drawn. The pain of her illness, the severity of her symptoms, and the extensive & frequent tests and IVs have taken a toll on little Charlotte's body and spirit. She has a ton of people pulling for her, but she has really started to feel the effects of this now 8-day ordeal.
Charlotte's hospitalization and care has been very stressful and terrifying for her parents, who also have 2 autistic boys. Despite having medical insurance, they are facing mounting medical bills and a long list of other financial pressures that are no doubt placing additional stress on an already super-stressful situation. Please help us help Team Charlotte fight the battle of E. coli & HUS by removing some of the financial pressures from her family so that they are able to fully dedicate their time and energies to her care and healing. Kathy has not left the hospital once since they were admitted, and Justin is there as much as he can be while trying to balance this situation with care for the boys, both of whom have multiple therapies and special needs stemming from their Autism Spectrum Disorders. Both of her parents are missing work and will suffer lost wages in addition to having to absorb all of the incidental costs that accumulate during a hospital stay. The money raised in this campaign will go toward many areas of need, namely:
*Justin & Kathy's wage replacement
*specialized care for Julian and August, Charlotte's
brothers who both have Autism Spectrum Disorders
*meals, gas, and incidental expenses
*household bills and general living expenses
Thank you for helping sweet Charlotte fight through this terrible ordeal by donating to this fund!
Organizer and beneficiary
Chad Michael
Organizer
Rochester, MN
Kathy Voss
Beneficiary
