Help Anniston Fight

A week before Thanksgiving, Anniston was hospitalized with what they thought was severe dehydration and the stomach bug that went viral in our area. Her symptoms include projective vomiting, severe diarrhea and unable to tolerate feedings and medicines. After 6 days of receiving fluids and beginning to take her bottle (and hold it down) again, she was able to come home just 2 days shy of Thanksgiving Day. On Friday, December 14th, Anniston went back to the emergency room, where her parents found that she was dehydrated again and dropping weight at dangerous levels. Currently Anniston is in Roanoke Memorial Hospital with a diagnosis of an ileus, a non-mechnical obstruction to her bowel, and failure to thrive. Anniston's symptoms and conditions are not improving, and the doctors have admitted that her illness is a mystery to them. The road to recovery is a long one filled with unknown steps. Her mother has had to leave her job indefinitely to be by her side, without pay, but this doesn't mean the bills stop rolling in. Though they have insurance, the medical costs associated with her hospitalizations and care are skyrocketing by the day. This is where YOU can help. Please donate here to help the Freeman family through financial support. The rest of the family would like to thank you in advance for your generosity and support. We pray that her tiny body will be healed soon and she can return home with her older sister and begin a healthy life. 

Update 12/25: Anniston spent 11 days at Roanoke Memorial hospital here in Virginia. They performed numerous tests and procedures on her. This included biopsies of her esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, an EGD and sigmoidsocopy, an x-ray of her ileus, a PICC line, and TPN (total parental nutrition) - this has allowed her to get the nutrients and vitamins that her body needs, but they go directly into her blood stream instead of her having to digest them. The doctors at RMH have openly admitted that Anniston's condition is a mystery to them. Her projectile vomited had ceased some, and the doctors discharged her on Christmas Eve, going home on tube feedings and TPN. On Christmas Day, Anniston began to projectile vomit again, her nose began bleeding (on the nostril that does not have the feeding tube), and her residual left over her stomach of both feeding and pedialyte was very concerning. Her parents have left Anniston's older sister, Allie, back in Virginia in the car of her godmother, her aunt and her grandmother, while her, her mommy and daddy have moved on to North Carolina's Wake Forest Brenner's Children hospital in hopes of finding answers and solutions. Please continue to pray and hope that healing will be washed over her tiny little body and that the Freeman's life will soon be back to happy, healthy, and normal. 

Update 01/11: Anniston is slowly heading toward some sort of recovery, though we aren't quite sure exactly what that is. As you can read in the updates from Heather, she has been home since New Years Eve, and was able to come home only on the feeding tube, since the doctors at Wake didn't want to make the TPN something she grew to be dependent upon/long term. She is currently tolerating 33 ML/hour 24 hours a day. Her by mouth feedings have been bumped to 1.5 ounces 3x a day. She is beginning to gain weight, slowly, and if she continues to tolerate her by mouth feedings, they will continue to increase. She is strengthening little by little, but she is still very weak and sleeps a majority of the time. She still has bouts where she will painfully whimper and cry, but these too are getting less frequent. We pray daily that she is comfortable and that her health is back to it where it should be in no time at all. The entire family would like to send a warm and generous thank you to all of you that have prayed, through yourself, your church, your family, and those who have donated as well. As medical bills are beginning to roll in, Josh and Heather are extremely aware of how big of a blessing your giving is. Please know that they will forever be indebted to you and that they appreciate your love and support far more than words will ever be able to comprehend. As for the future, we hold our breaths every day that this progress remains constant. We believe in the Lord that it will. Anniston is now 5 months old. Since there is still no formal diagnosis, and thus no resolution, we are hoping that the testing conducted when she reaches age 6 months will be conclusive and deliver the information needed to heal her, forever. Thank you again for all of your kind words, your thoughts, your prayers, your donations, but most importantly, your love, for Anniston, for Josh and Heather, and the rest of the family.