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Janet & Josh have been blessed with two beautiful girls.
These sisters adore one another, and they bring love and light to their grandparents and Auntie. With all of the blessings that the Wickeraad family has received, Haylee Grace's health is not one of them.
Haylee was born in June of 2015 with a Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus.
For Haylee, this means that over 50% of her body is covered with a dark pigmented birthmark. Not a huge deal - except that Haylees nevus is accompanied by the most serious of complications including Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis and hydrocephalus. Not only has Haylee undergone brain surgery before she was a month old to treat her hydrocephalus, but a large portion of her nevus is a constant problem due to the overgrowth of cells. The skin cells do not behave properly and she is prone to skin infection and skin breakdown. She is currently on her second round of antibiotics. The skin is becoming increasingly more difficult to care for and she has an increased risk of developing cancer. Haylee is beautiful on the outside and on the inside. She is a such a smiley, sweet and sassy 16 month old. Haylee does struggle with developmental delays including crawling, and not yet walking or talking. Due to the complications associated with the pigmented lesions throughout her brain and spine, her prognosis is considered "extremely poor".
Janet and Josh are looking at maximizing the quality of Haylee Grace's life, no matter how short it might be, hence the title "Holding on to Haylee".
To improve the ability to care for the skin and keep the skin infections at bay, Haylee is in need of a specialist out of Chicago to perform removal of portions of her Nevus. Over a series of surgeries, tissue expanders will be placed underHaylee's "good" skin to stretch the skin so that it can be used to cover the impacted areas where the Nevus will be removed. Janet and Josh are blessed with live-in grandparents for emotional support and help with Haylee's big sister, but there are still some costs that they need help covering like the airfare for several trips from CA to IL, the hotels, rental car, and insurance deductibles.
The hope is to start in late October/November. The sooner this little girl can get her healthy skin, the sooner she can better enjoy her life, free from infection and the constant struggle to care for her skin.
Please consider donating. To learn more, visit www.nevus.org
These sisters adore one another, and they bring love and light to their grandparents and Auntie. With all of the blessings that the Wickeraad family has received, Haylee Grace's health is not one of them.
Haylee was born in June of 2015 with a Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus.
For Haylee, this means that over 50% of her body is covered with a dark pigmented birthmark. Not a huge deal - except that Haylees nevus is accompanied by the most serious of complications including Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis and hydrocephalus. Not only has Haylee undergone brain surgery before she was a month old to treat her hydrocephalus, but a large portion of her nevus is a constant problem due to the overgrowth of cells. The skin cells do not behave properly and she is prone to skin infection and skin breakdown. She is currently on her second round of antibiotics. The skin is becoming increasingly more difficult to care for and she has an increased risk of developing cancer. Haylee is beautiful on the outside and on the inside. She is a such a smiley, sweet and sassy 16 month old. Haylee does struggle with developmental delays including crawling, and not yet walking or talking. Due to the complications associated with the pigmented lesions throughout her brain and spine, her prognosis is considered "extremely poor".
Janet and Josh are looking at maximizing the quality of Haylee Grace's life, no matter how short it might be, hence the title "Holding on to Haylee".
To improve the ability to care for the skin and keep the skin infections at bay, Haylee is in need of a specialist out of Chicago to perform removal of portions of her Nevus. Over a series of surgeries, tissue expanders will be placed underHaylee's "good" skin to stretch the skin so that it can be used to cover the impacted areas where the Nevus will be removed. Janet and Josh are blessed with live-in grandparents for emotional support and help with Haylee's big sister, but there are still some costs that they need help covering like the airfare for several trips from CA to IL, the hotels, rental car, and insurance deductibles.
The hope is to start in late October/November. The sooner this little girl can get her healthy skin, the sooner she can better enjoy her life, free from infection and the constant struggle to care for her skin.
Please consider donating. To learn more, visit www.nevus.org
Organizer and beneficiary
Janet Wickeraad
Beneficiary