Hi, my name is Cori. As many of you know my cousin Katie and her husband Ryan gave birth to 2 BEAUTIFUL baby girl twins, Addison and Rylee, on 2/22/22. I wish that I could tell you all that they are all home as a beautiful family of 4 experiencing all the amazing first time experiences and moments that first time parents have. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Addison was born at a healthy 6 lbs 10oz and Rylee was both at 3lbs 13oz. After a few weeks Addison was discharged and thriving! Rylee has not yet been as fortunate, at 3 months old she still remains in the NICU. She has overcome so much. Her most recent battle is an issue with her vocal cords. After discovering her vocal cords were fused and having to have surgery to separate them hoping to resolve her breathing issue they have had no choice but to resort to making decision no parent, never the less , first time parents ever want to have to make. Unfortunately, Rylee has been having episodes when she gets upset, irritated, or bearing down. Her heart rate drops and so does her oxygen. She’s almost forgetting to breathe when she’s in that moment. They said that developmentally it will be better if she has a tracheostomy because she won’t be constricted to the bed like she is now with that CPAP. With the trach. she will be able to do things as a normal baby. Her trech will last approximately 2-3 years. As you can imagine this was a very hard decision. As amazingly strong parents , they opted to have Rylee's Surgery. As of today everything went really well. They had no complications! She’s awake and slightly confused as to nothing being on her face. She’s doing good and she is going to be hooked to a ventilatior for the next 24 hours until she recovers. She also has a feeding tube that goes straight to her stomach until she can learn to nurse on a bottle. Rylee will be hosphospitalized for at least 6 weeks. As long as all goes well they will send her home with a full time nurse for a month to aid in her care.

When she comes home she will need full time care. As you can imagine having to have to decide between your childs care or your job you are left with only 1 logical decision. Katie has had no choice but to resign from her position as a full time teacher. Not knowing how they are going to push forward financially with hospital bills after havig both girls in the NICU and futures expenses for the girls..Life has definitely thrown Katie and Ryan a huge curveball! I can't even imagine being a first time parents and overcoming all of the the obstacles they have had to overcome. Anything that you are able to contribute to this beautiful baby girls medical bills is GREATLY appreciated. Katie and Ryan have both always gone above and beyond for their hometown community and friends. They are beautiful selfless souls. They will have a rocky road ahead but with the support of each other, family and friends they will conquer. Thank you in advance! Oxoxoxoo❤❤❤❤