The time has come to ask a little help from our friends. Most of y’all know Ellie’s birth story but for those who don’t she was a perfectly healthy baby and Jennifer had a wonderful pregnancy, however, the last two minutes of labor changed everything. She swallowed Meconium, got stuck in the birth canal, and had the cord wrapped around her neck. She was blue and limp when she arrived. It took two minutes to revive her and just in that amount of time, she lost oxygen to her brain causing injury to her cerebellum, which controls fine motor skills and balance. Since Ellie's birth, we have been learning and handling challenge after challenge. 

Right after her first birthday, February 2019, her Neurologist conducted a genetic test for Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia type 2A, and in April we received the results which were positive. These means both parents pass the gene to Ellie causing her cerebellum and half of her brain stem to stop growing in the womb. So now, on top of her birth injury, she also has this genetic mutation.  It's such a rare disease that doctors really don't know a prognosis and only about 100 people have been documented having this gene. Some children pass away during childhood years, however, some have lived  well into her twenties. 

The doctor's appointments and therapies are too frequent for Jennifer to keep a full time job. Ellie is now in physical, occupational, and speech therapies. She has follow up appointments and procedures at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta seeing a Neurologist, Ophthalmologist, GI, Pulmonologist, and an ENT. Ellie is totally dependent on us, and will be for the rest of her life. Her journey relies on us devoting most of our time working with her therapies, g-tube feedings, medications, as well has oxygen and CPAP at night. With our friends donations,  Jennifer will be able to continue to stay home and spend more time with Ellie's therapy and care. The Graff family would appreciate any donation to help Ellie become her best self.