Adalynn Grace’s Medical Journey

Adalynn Grace was born January 7, 2022 two months premature. She spent 42 days in the NICU but then was able to come home. As she began to grow and develop, we discovered she has a swallowing disorder which causes her to have persistent vomiting, aspiration and trouble breathing. Doctors at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital told her parents, Mallory and Jake, that she would eventually grow out of it and that this sort of thing was common in premature babies.

However, in late fall of last year, Adalynn had another swallow study and those results appeared worse when compared to the study earlier in the year. Additionally, Adalynn began aspirating more frequently which lead to episodes of not breathing and several lung infections. In January, Adalynn received a feeding tube in an effort to protect her lungs from the aspiration and allow her lungs to heal.

The doctors are unsure of what exactly might be causing Adalynn's issues. They believe it may be related to a genetic metabolic disorder, but further testing over the next several months will be required to confirm this. A few weeks ago, Mallory and Jake made a decision to transfer Adalynn's care to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. There, she had a 5-day hospital stay and they got the ball rolling with specialty consultations and lots of testing. Additionally, they accepted her as a patient in their Aerodigestive Program. This program consists of physicians from various specialties working collaboratively to assess and treat Adalynn's condition. We are hopeful this approach will lead to some firm answers on her condition soon.

Adalynn's care team recommended a home health nurse to care for Adalynn when Mallory and Jake were at work. However, coverage for pediatric patients is very limited and not every home health care company offers it. The one company we did find was out of network and would cost close to $2,500 per month out-of-pocket. The insurance company refused to grant an in-network exception for this.

With Adalynn unable to go to daycare or a babysitter, Mallory and Jake made the decision for Mallory to quit her job and stay home full-time with Adalynn. Obviously, this results in a huge change to their family income but we are also hoping it helps to qualify Adalynn for Medicaid assistance.

The financial hardship all of this has placed on Mallory and Jake cannot be understated. They have already incurred thousands of dollars in bills over the last few months. Creating a GoFundMe account is not something Jake and Mallory take lightly. It can sometimes be very difficult to ask for help. They are humbled and appreciative of any assistance and prayers you might be able to offer.

All proceeds will be applied directly towards Adalynn's medical bills and ongoing care.

Thank you!