Smiles for Sofia

Meet Sofia Maria Vasquez, the very much anticipated little girl that Jessica & Tony Vasquez have been waiting for. She joined their family, which already included her older brothers Justin (9) and Dylan (3) in December 2013. Needless to say, the entire family was excited to welcome the first girl into the family, and as you can imagine she was not going to be at a loss for affection. It was when Sofia was approximately 2 ½ months old they noticed some issues with her swallowing, which prompted a trip to the pediatrician, who then sent her to a specialist. After a couple appointments and having a physical therapy schedule worked out, it was determined that she also needed to see a neurologist due to the lack of head control she exhibited. It was then that Sofia was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Type 1, which is a genetic disorder that is ultimately fatal by the age of 2, especially for children with her type. It is a disorder that affects the muscle growth of the body. Sofia will more than likely not develop the muscles necessary to sit up, crawl, walk, or even breathe on her own. There are clinical trials underway, however at this point in time there is no cure or real "treatment" known of to stop the progression of this disease.

As you can imagine a child with the disabilities that she has and will eventually develop, including feeding tubes, breathing machines and more, is quit costly. Jessica & Tony both work full time jobs, and because Jessica is the carrier of the medical benefits she maintains the minimum hours possible (30) to keep her benefits. Sofia is cared for by a Great Grandmother and Aunt during the day so that Jessica is able to work, however she does leave work each day in the middle of the day to go home feed Sofia and then return to the office for the remainder of the day.

I have received permission to post this information about what the Vasquez family is going through and would like to ask for your help in providing them with some much needed financial assistance so that they can spend the time they have with their daughter not worrying about how they are going to make ends meet. Due to the shortened work hours, increasing supplies needed to care for Sofia, not to mention medical bills, ALL of the money raised is going directly to this family. These are wonderful people and a wonderful family that you would be helping bring some relief to. Please keep them in your thoughts and Prayers.