Support Aubrey's Journey to Recovery

Jadda Dufrene is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Brit’ne Canezaro.

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Hi, my name is Jadda Dufrene. I am a friend of Brit'ne, Aubrey, Taylor and their family. Miss Aubrey Martin holds a special place in my heart, as does this entire family. I met Aubrey in 2022. Anyone who has ever met Aubrey knows her smile and laughter is contagious. She is a beautiful, strong, sassy girl that has a love for life. She enjoys swimming, being outside, laughing with her family, going to school, watching My Little Pony, eating yummy food, riding her bike, and much more! In 2022, Aubrey faced a life altering change that doctors were unsure she would overcome but she did! Aubrey fought her way back and has been getting stronger with each day. Now Aubrey is fighting again! This time she needs our help more than ever.

Here are the details according to Brit'ne (her mom).

On May 20, 2025, Aubrey was scheduled to have a posterior spinal fusion done. We showed up to hospital just like anybody else for a regular surgery. Aubrey went into surgery and stayed in surgery for EIGHT hours. Although it was long, Aubrey came out stronger and better than ever. My baby's spine was straight. Her surgeon was overall happy with her procedure and optimistic about recovery. We stayed two nights in the PICU but only because the medications were making Aubrey sleep longer than hoped. Aubrey was moved to the floor as expected for her recovery after day two. Everything was going as well as she could have been. Aubrey was doing PT, she was eating, she was even smiling and laughing a little. This was the first day I actually felt good about how things were going and happy with the progress Aubrey was making. My friend Christina, myself and Aubrey all sat down to eat lunch. An orthopedic team member came in to remove Aubrey's drain just before we took our first bite. I told the woman she could come in and we would eat later. Aubrey was sitting in the recliner so I asked the woman if she would like to put Aubrey back into bed before removing the drain. She paused and said "Um, I think she should be fine." So our nurse, who was also in the room, took Aubrey under one arm while I stood in front of Aubrey making sure she didn't fall forward. The NP leaned Aubrey forward and as soon as she pushed Aubrey towards me I heard two clicks. I felt those clicks in my hands that were resting on Aubrey. I immediately freaked out and told everyone to stop. The drain was still intact and untouched; we put Aubrey's legs up and laid her back flat in the recliner. The woman proceeded to tell us that she did not hear anything but would order an x-ray to make me feel better. One hour goes by and x-ray finally comes in. The NP later came back to remove Aubrey's drain while she was still in bed. I was still unhappy and unsatisfied with all of the events and after seven days of PT, walking and moving Aubrey showed signs of not voiding urine. The next day they performed a bladder scan and realized that she was unable to void urine on her own. Something I always do, is walk by Aubrey and tickle the bottom of her feet, just like you would do to any child. I did this and quickly realized Aubrey's feet were not moving like they normally would. We had noticed that she would no longer walk or bear weight so it started to become obvious that Aubrey had no mobility from the waist down. I had already been advocating for days that Aubrey was not acting like herself. Several doctors came in and said that there is no way that this type of surgery should have affected any of these things (walking, urinating, sensation on her feet). I still advocated and pushed forward trying anything I could to get people to listen to me. Eventually, after seven days, Aubrey was taken down for a procedure where they inject a needle into her back where the spinal fluid is to inject contrast dye. From there, they took Aubrey to get CT images of her back. During this process, Aubrey had to be transported on her belly while intubated. After some time, our surgeon came out and told me that they did find a fracture in Aubrey's L4 of her spine. Her surgeon said he would have Monday set aside to fix the damage that had been done. The next morning, a trauma orthopedic surgeon came in to take a look at Aubrey, her images, and all other findings. Within about 20 minutes, that surgeon came back to inform me that Aubrey would be going into surgery that morning as soon as the OR was prepped. Our previous surgeon and the trauma surgeon had to reopen the previous incision to extend more rods and more screws all the way to Aubrey's pelvis. The trauma surgeon also had to remove a portion of bone to allow for the hematoma that was compressing Aubrey's nerves room for the swelling. They did drain the hematoma from my understanding, but the damage had already been done. Aubrey was transported back to PICU. Within a few days of being back in PICU, Aubrey was put on BiPAP as she was dealing with respiratory distress. After not being able to eat for a week from the pain of the spinal fracture, being NPO, and having the surgeries, a feeding tube had to be placed in Aubrey's nose. I then discovered that the formula being put through her feeding tube had expired in 2024 causing more problems. It was even found that the oral care kits being used on her were expired. She had developed other health issues since her spinal fracture that we were still battling. She is going between BiPAP, vapotherm, and regular oxygen at times but she still cannot void urine or move her legs. Unfortunately this hospital does not have the physical therapist that we need to get Aubrey back walking (if it is even possible for her to ever walk again). The plan is to transfer Aubrey to Children's Hospital in new Orleans for inpatient rehab. We have no clue of a time frame of when we will be transferred or how long we will be there.

Aubrey is living in a nightmare, one that she did not cause and does not deserve. I have stayed here at her side since the day she came into the hospital, and I will not leave her. Unfortunately this leaves Taylor traveling from home to home staying with family and friends and barely getting to see Aubrey or me. I have missed doctor's appointments for Taylor. I was unable to be there when she was involved in an auto accident. (She is ok) Our family is torn apart. Aubrey is struggling mentally and physically and we haven't been able to spend time with anyone unless they are approved visitors for Aubrey.

Now for my request (Jadda):

It has been almost an entire month for what should have been routine surgery. Aubrey is suffering, Taylor is suffering, and Brit'ne is suffering. Because of this Brit'ne is unable to work. She is unable to care for her the children that she babysits. She is unable to bake cakes. These are both sources of income that this family depends on! The expense of living in the hospital is beginning to take a toll on the family and with there being no idea of how much longer it will continue, they need our HELP! The expenses of having a home does not go away just because you don't get to live there. There are bills to be paid, meals to be bought, and expenses for things that the family will need going forward to accommodate the changes that they are facing.

I am reaching out on behalf of the entire family, please help in any way you can! Prayers, monetary donations, gift cards for meals, anything is welcome! I am also working on a T-shirt fundraiser and 3-d print sale that all proceeds will go to Aubrey's care! Let's help where we can! Anything that will help my girl get better so we can get this family back home!

If any funds exceed the amount needed to get through the next few months of care to get Aubrey back where she was before surgery, they will go to the long term needs that she has!

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