Adrianna Marshall Fund

The Marshall Family

Donations can now also be made at any Eagle Bank Locations and checks can be made payable to The Adrianna Marshall Fund.

I have added a little about Adrianna's journey and hope that this helps everyone understand just how special Adrianna is. We are blessed to have her in our lives... 

Adrianna's story.....
Adrianna was born May 31st 2010..We were so excited to have our first child and it took us by surprise that anything was different about our baby. The doctor told us our baby was healthy and once she was born we were not prepared for what the future held for our sweet girl. The doctor who evaluated her in the hospital told us that she would be horribly disfigured, would never walk, would be mentally retarded, and may not even make it to emergency surgery at Cardinal Glennon later that day, among other things. Not what you want to hear when you have your first child. It took me a long time to process what was going on. She was rushed to Cardinal Glennon where she spent 10 days in the NICU. While she was there we learned about what Spina Bifida was and how it affects the body. We were overwhelmed there are so many different ways and there was no way to know how it would affect our baby. We braced ourselves for the worst. We were told many things in those 10 days some things that were not accurate and some that were. It was a very confusing time for our family but I was determined to give her the best care I could no matter what it took and I had no idea what I was doing. She ended up not needing emergency surgery which was a relief but we still didn't know what all this meant. We learned 9 months later that she had a type of Spina Bifida called lipomyelomeningocele. This type of Spina Bifida is very rare. It is a fatty tumor that is sometimes is actually attached to the spinal cord. In her case it was and she needed surgery to release her spinal cord. We were told at that time with this type of Spina Bifida that Adrianna could lose her ability to walk at any time, if she walked at all. The doctors at childrens hospital were very optimistic that she would walk. We had already started Physical therapy and Occupational therapy and we waited for surgery which happened very fast. The surgery went well and she remained to move her legs and be active. We were overjoyed. After that she underwent countless visits to the her team of doctors to determine just how her type of Spina Bifida would affect her. In the next 2 years things changed alot. Unfortunately along with this diagnosis you never really know what the next appointment will reveal. She runs the risk of losing feeling in her lower body and a number of other things. When she was 2 1/2 years we found out she had lost bladder and bowel function and at 1 year we found out she had clubbed foot. She needs orthotic  braces to walk and she began walking at 22 months. She has endured alot in her short life but has never given up. She has worked hard to get where she is today, and we all are amazed by her strength. She faces many challenges in her life but with the support that we have from our family and our friends I know she will do great things. She has a long road ahead but when you see her you know nothing gets this girl down. We feel so lucky to have her in our lives and wouldn't have it any other way!