Baby Raya Leigh Anne Giles was born November 1st, 2019, a beautiful addition to the family of my niece Joleen Giles, her husband Lloyd, and four older siblings.
On January 27th Raya was experiencing what was thought to be a cold or pink eye so she was seen by her family doctor who diagnosed it as bronchiolitis.
By January 28th Raya was very despondent and having trouble breathing so she was brought to the Emergency Room at Royal Inland Hospital where she was checked into the trauma unit within 5 minutes and admitted to Pediatrics within 10. The next 11 hours were spent in the trauma unit before being moved upstairs to a more permanent room. Within 24 hours she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and continued to be escalated as her condition worsened.
On February 2nd little Raya was medevac transported to BC Children’s Hospital for more specialized care in their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, including being intubated with a breathing tube and requiring breathing supports.
They are still completing tests to figure out what Raya’s little body is fighting but so far she has been confirmed to have:
RSV/Bronchiolitis
Rhinovirus
Coronavirus (not the deadly one but a strain of it)
Haemophilus Influenza and
Bacterial Pneumonia
There is now a new infection in her blood stream they haven’t confirmed the type but have started a second round of antibiotics to try to combat it.
Joleen and Lloyd are struggling after almost two weeks of watching and worrying over their very sick little girl as well as desperately missing three children home in Kamloops. One of the children is in Vancouver with them.
The expenses of hospital parking fees, food and shelter costs while away from home as well as regular bills including childcare, continue to mount.
Lloyd had recently graduated as a Community Support Worker and had to turn down job offers to be with Joleen and Raya.
Joleen and Lloyd could really use one less thing to worry about right now and appreciate the help they have received but money is still very tight.
Please consider any amount of donation to help this family in need, thank you so much for your continued support! Updates will be given when available.