Ari is having surgery!

Hey, I’m Rachael, Ari’s mom. Arielle was born with multiple medical conditions, including arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. This condition affects her entire body, but with her legs specifically it drastically limits her range of motion and makes it difficult for her to gain muscle. She can’t bare weight on her legs, stand or walk, and this surgery is intending to make that all possible for her. Our surgeon has recommended a femoral osteotomy and rotation, followed by 6-7 weeks of twice weekly cast changes to slowly straighten her legs out, then one week of intensive physical therapy. I’m doing my best to provide for her, but I am hitting a difficult spot. I get paid as a parent CNA, which just means I provide my daughter with all of the day to day medical care she requires. I’m 23 and I bought a townhome in December 2020 to try and provide my daughter with stable housing. Shortly after moving in here, I contacted a surgeon whom we had previously traveled to for a consultation. Our surgeon recommended doing the planned surgery as soon as financially possible because it will most benefit Ari in her development.The goal of this surgery is to get Arielle’s legs into a position that better suits walking. Arielle needs this surgery so I have been doing everything I can to prepare for it, but things have been coming up constantly. I was saving the majority of tax returns for expenses related to this trip, but right after we moved in the dishwasher stopped working and was leaking uncontrollably onto the floor, so I had to replace it to avoid further water damage, however I did it as cost effectively as possible and installed it myself. Then a pipe froze, and it cost like $700 to have it thawed to avoid a burst pipe, quickly followed by our furnace breaking while it was snowy outside and it cost almost $3000 to replace. Arielle went to the emergency department a little over a week ago via ambulance for low blood sugar, and when we were brought back to our car, it wouldn’t start. I replaced the battery and did some maintenance on the car since we’re going to drive to the surgery location, and that was $450. I went to a very good friend’s mom’s memorial almost three weeks ago, and when we got home there was a massive water leak from the roof area that caused not only a large section of ceiling to fall due to soaked insulation, but also short circuited our (only) bathroom lights and our garage door. Our dog got into the fallen insulation at some point and fell terrifyingly ill very quickly, I didn’t notice him eat any insulation but I noticed the symptoms and the vet determined that he most likely ingested rat poison. It cost nearly $400 to have him admitted for the day while they tried to aggressively flush out the toxin, which thankfully worked. Overall, I’m starting to get tired and nervous about the financials of this trip. I have paid the first half of the Airbnb for the two months that we’ll be there, but the other $1400 will be due soon, it’ll cost about $600 to cover the food/litter for the cats and dog while we’re gone, plus the road trip will probably cost several hundred dollars in gas each way along with two to three nights at a hotel each way and food for the trip. I’m concerned that if I don’t ask for help this time and try to do this myself, my budget will be so tight that I will not take care of myself properly, our savings will be fully depleted for the foreseeable future, and I might need to get a small loan. I am actively fighting an eating disorder called ARFID, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, and it is a really serious consideration for me in how I provide for myself. Also I need another adult, preferably two, to be in the car for the long 24 hour drive home, we’ve decided to make the drive there solo to save money but the drive back will be a painful one for Ari so I need help for that. Someone needs to be able to entertain Ari, and we need to be able to switch off driving after reasonable periods of time. The only people I have who can try to do this for me are my little sister and her boyfriend, so I would need to fly them out here and back home before and after each road trip. Currently, it looks like it’ll cost about $800 to have them fly out to help with the drive. Luckily I have amazing friends who are willing to take care of our cats and dog while we’re gone without charging us, and that is incredible. I’m just doing everything in my power to prepare for this trip, so if you’re able to send anything to help us out, it is very much appreciated. I just ordered a convertible bean bag chair because it will be good to have for positioning Ari after surgery, and it has the option of switching to a full size bed so we can accommodate her as she gets uncomfortable, and with a waterproof cover, it cost over $300. I also chose that one because we can vacuum seal it to bring it back home after surgery and that's an important consideration. I also ordered some things from amazon to help pack and organize ourselves for the road trip since I will be the only adult in the car on the drive to surgery, and some small toys that will help entertain Ari during the drive and post-op when she's not as mobile as she's used to. Arielle is so deserving of this surgery, and I’m really trying to do everything I can to make it happen.