Candise and Maelyn Need Your Help

3/17/ 25 UPDATE:

We knew Maelyn would likely need another procedure, what we weren't expecting was 1. So soon & 2. It be due to oral health.

The doctors explained in rare cases with reoccurring UTI's but more so the reoccurring Pyelonephritis it can cause tooth decay. Unfortunately since August Maelyn has had an increase with oral complications that they were trying to treat at home however in a matter of months its progressed with the complications of her reoccuring Pyelonephritis she will need to be put under and have another procedure to help strengthen her teeth and extract 3 teeth that unfortunately have been affected during all of this. The dentist and anesthesiologist combined will require $3,500 up front. They have maxed out their HSA on bills & meds that they can not afford this upfront without the help and support of their family, friends, and community.

- Linda

2/27/25 UPDATE:

Just days after Candise had her own surgery her place of employment released her due to her leave time running out and unwilling to accept the Doctors releasre for work and accommodations. This will cause more harship for her and her family moving forward. Please help where you can and share!

- Linda

ORGINAL POST:

On August 30th, my granddaughter Maelyn was rushed to the hospital for being severely dehydrated and a severe UTI. During her admission the doctors learned she was starting to show signs of some serious bladder and kidney issues that if not treated promptly could result in the beginning stages of kidney failure. She is just 9 years old.

Since August 30th Maelyn has been hospitalized 12 times. This amazing and willfully strong little girl has had to deal with not only multiple UTIs, but multiple serious kidney infections, abscesses in the kidneys, on top of having staph in her bladder and kidneys threatening to potentially shut down her whole system. In December had to have reconstructive surgery on her kidneys as well as a procedure for her Vesicoureteral reflux.

Some may ask how did it get to this? About three years ago Candise noticed Maelyn running very odd and very high fevers constantly, nearly daily. At first the doctors had concerns of Maelyn having cancer, and after an abundance of tests they were able to rule it out. What was being missed or overlooked was the amount of UTI’s Maelyn had been having.

Maelyn started having her first UTI’s as an infant, however no one was aware of how many she was having as she would never complain. They were only caught on the off chance that her PCP was having her do urine tests, or when Maelyn would become constipated. This is where they believe this issue unknowingly progressed into the turbulence they are dealing with today.

Due to the untreated and unknown infections, it caused her bladder wall to thicken so badly that when she would try to urinate, her bladder wall would not relax as a normal acting bladder would. Instead it would work more as a barrier, causing her urine to back up inside her until it eventually backed up into her kidneys. It is unknown how many actual kidney infections she has had over the years, but this is what concerns the doctors with her being so young and struggling with normal kidney functions. The end goal is to have to avoid a kidney transplant so they are aiming to utilize every recourse to correct and avoid another surgery, and transplant.

The pain became normal for Maelyn and no one knew the better as she never once complained. She truly believed the pain she felt was normal and was convinced everyone had those same feelings, which she just recently revealed to my daughter just weeks ago.

During this time my daughter had to take off work to care for her daughter leaving them without the additional income they were used to. Unfortunately Candise had not yet hit her one year mark with her job; leaving her 90 days and 90 hours to qualify for FMLA Leave or short term disability.

This has taken quite the toll on both with their mental health as they are doing their best to keep up with the incoming bills as their insurance capped out leaving them to additionally cover many medical costs out of pocket including multiple ambulance transports that insure would not cover due to the transportation being provided by “private sectors” not covered by insurance.

Candise has applied for assistance but technically on paper they make too much even though she has now been out of work due to medical treatment for the past 5 ½ months. Candise will soon be going for her own surgery next week, which thankfully has been 100% covered by her insurance, but this will again leave her unable to return to work for a few more weeks, to a month.

Unfortunately even after the surgery on December 10th, Maelyn has once again been admitted several times as the surgery was unsuccessful at correcting all the issues with Maelyn and they still have a long road to travel with her medically.

If you know my daughter she would help anyone in a heartbeat and is always willing to go the extra mile, but as I watch her now, I see her growing tired. I see her heart pushing to keep providing anything she can for the kids while keeping afloat. So I am here asking for help on her behalf to help her and the family get caught back up as this unfortunate situation with her and more so her daughter's medical situation has taken quite the toll on the family. Help me pay it forward by donating to their expenses.

UPDATE:

5 days after Candise's surgery her work let her go. Please share and help how you can because I've watched my daughter be the strongest in the hardest of times and now it's all catching up to her. Too many times I've seen her cry when she thinks no one is looking wondering how she will pay off these bills.

Please help pay it forward.

God Bless

- Linda