My sister, Heather, and her husband, Michael, had their third child, baby Kash, in February of 2018. Heather was diagnosed with preeclampsia which became life threatening for both her and the baby, so the doctors induced labor and Kash was born a month premature. Fortunately, Heather is doing great health wise. However, Kash has multiple health issues which caused him to stay in the NICU for several weeks. When he was only 10 days old, he had a biopsy, was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease and then had surgery to remove part of his colon. He was diagnosed with Dandy-Walker malformation which is a physical malformation in his brain and causes him to be intellectually disabled. He has to have frequent scans of his brain to make sure there are no changes in the malformation or fluid developing in his brain. He has spinal stenosis in his neck, so he is not able to hold up his head. Kash has not been able to gain much weight and the doctors have not yet figured out why. He has a great appetite and eats well but his digestive system is not functioning properly for his body to get all the nutrients from his food. As a result, he is barely over 10 pounds at 8 ½ months old. Because he has not been able to gain weight, the doctors have not yet reattached his colon from his surgery when he was 10 days old and Kash still has to use a colostomy bag. The doctors say that the surgery would be too risky.

Because of all of Kash’s needs and doctors’ appointments, Heather is not able to work. Michael is working full-time but a single income is not enough for a 5 member family with one being disabled with multiple health issues. They have applied for Medicaid and Disability but have not yet been approved. In the meantime, their medical bills and regular bills are mounding and they are struggling to pay for the necessities and keep the utilities on.

In addition to the struggles with their new baby, they have experienced two hurricanes in the past year. They were living in Houston last year when hurricane Harvey hit and they are now living in Panama City Beach where hurricane Michael just hit. When Kash was born, Michael was approved for one week off from work. When Kash had his surgery, Michael was again approved for additional time off. During the days and nights that he was “off work”, he still worked via his cell and laptop while at the hospital. In May, Michael was unexpectedly let go from his job. He then began driving for Lyft to make some money for the essentials while he was job hunting. While driving for Lyft, he met his current employer who offered Michael a job which is why they moved to Panama City Beach.

As a result of the events they have endured this past year, they are experiencing great financial need, to say the least. Any amount that you could contribute is greatly appreciated. Thank you!