A Family's Fight for Answers

Hello all,

This is my Sister and Brother-in-law's family- the Oehler Family of five! Mom - Niki, Dad - David and their three one-of-a-kind kids Henry, Ethan, and Caroline. Over the past 18 months they have experienced many “ups”. Their in-home cat grooming business has become popular among fellow animal lovers in our town, Ethan has made leaps and bounds in the world of Autism, Caroline is constantly discovering her inner princess, and Henry’s love for art, ninjas and the wacky make-believe continues to mold and shape him into one of the most kind, compassionate 6-year old boys you will ever meet. Though with  “ups” come “downs” and sadly the past year and half has been anything but easy.  

Since he was a young boy, David’s health has always challenged medical professionals. Whether it was having to undergo emergency heart surgery at age  21, shattering his arm in three places by merely throwing a ball or constantly having to hook up to CPAP machines to assist his breathing, David’s long list of medical issues has steered doctors in many directions, none of which have resulted in a diagnosis. In 2015 the severity of his chest pains increased and testing revealed that at age 26 David had a mild heart attack accompanied alongside Myocarditis – infection of the heart muscle. In 2016 the infection made a sudden reappearance and unfortunately the pattern continued into 2017, this time paired with Pericarditis. Both of these heart infections tend to have a clear cause, usually viral or bacterial but for our family the cause remains a mystery.

Over the next two years the pain continued and the ER became unfortunately familiar with still no answers in sight. The Oehlers rang in 2020 with the worst results yet - David’s arterial blood oxygen read a terrifying 47% (75% and above is considered safe). In-province resources have been exhausted and now steps are being taken to contact specialists Country-wide. Doctors have tested his heart, performed lung biopsies and drawn excessive amounts of blood in an attempt to find something, anything that can shed light on why a 30-year old man has been fighting for his life over the past decade. Family time has become rare while Niki is trying to juggle her recently diagnosed Fibromyalgia, hospital visits and three children all under the age of seven. Their family business and only source of income has been forced to a screeching halt as David is restricted to a hospital bed and cannot physically tend to their client’s animals.  And just as we were sure that the situation could not get any worse, our family's world was turned inside out and upside down once again. 

Henry, our oldest nephew has started showing similar symptoms to his father. At six years old he cannot run, jump or climb without experiencing extreme fatigue and excruciating pain throughout his chest and abdomen. Early this year he was diagnosed with Chrousos Syndrome – a rare genetic condition that explains the overwhelming fatigue. We have now entered a seemingly never-ending cycle of poking, prodding and testing in hopes that a diagnosis for David may lead to an answer for Henry, or vice versa.  



Without an income and their savings dwindling, regular everyday costs and upcoming travel expenses are about to become completely unmanageable. So, here we are reaching out to the wonderful viewers of this site asking for help for this deserving family.

Any contribution is greatly appreciated and we are so very thankful to have access to a platform that can help us in our family’s fight for answers.

We deeply thank you for taking the time to read and understand the Oehler's story.

Have a beautiful day. 

        “A family doesn’t have to perfect; it just needs to be united.”