I have worked with Marissa for a few years and in that time I can honestly say that she is an inspirational mother. Anyone who knows Marissa knows how dedicated she is to her two girls and how important their well being and happiness is to her. She is loving, caring, and tireless in her efforts. Though her youngest daughter has been ill since birth, Marissa has never acted as though it is a burden. She just continues on day by day with a smile on her face and unconditional love and care for her daughters. For those of you that may not know Avery's struggle, here is a summary of the challenges they have faced together as a family:
Avery was born at 30 weeks with kidney failure on April 22, 2005 and started dialysis as an infant (at home every single night). She had her first kidney transplant when she was merely 17 months old on October 13, 2006 which was donated by her father. Unfortunately, the transplant was not successful and in January 2011 the kidney was lost and peritoneal dialysis had to be done every single night at home again. After doing home dialysis every night (hooked up to a machine and monitored by her mother) for over 3 1/2 years, in September 2014 Avery began hemo dialysis. With the hemo dialysis Avery only had to do dialysis three times a week for 4 hours at a time. This was a blessing in itself, but it put a significant strain on Marissa to juggle a full time position as a Property Manager and be there for her daughter every step of the way. As you can imagine, these treatments that have been taking place three times a week for nearly two years have drained all paid time off resources that Marissa had. During the three years I worked with Marissa as her supervisor, I can assure you every bit of her time off was spent caring for her daughters. On May 3, 2016 Avery was finally placed on the national organ transplant list. Due to the severity of Avery's condition and the amount of time already spent on dialysis, she was placed high on the list for donation. On May 19, 2016 Marissa received the life changing call that there was a donor for Avery and the surgery was scheduled for May 21, 2016.
While this transplant was absolutely an answered prayer, no one expected things to move so rapidly. This did not allow sufficient time for Marissa to prepare for the time away from work that her daughter so desperately needs. Marissa's company has been very supportive throughout the process and is willing to allow her to stay at home and care for Avery, but unfortunately there is no paid time off left to utilize.
It would be amazing if we could come together and help this beautiful family in their time of need. Every little bit of money raised will help keep Marissa at home with Avery where she belongs during this recovery time. You will be giving a financial help that is a gift of precious healing time!