Kristen and Brady Gothard have been married for 8 years, built a home and decided it was time to start a family.  About a month into the pregnancy Kristen started having morning sickness and quickly couldn't keep anything down.  Due to being a Type 1 diabetic, this also caused issues with her blood sugars.  After several trips to the ER, Kristen was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), the most severe form of pregnancy sickness, causing extreme nausea, vomiting, weight loss and DKA.  This required IV fluids and anti nausea medication and several stays in the hospital. 

A couple months into her pregnancy, Kristen's employer let her work from home and everything was ok until her company emailed her and requested a letter of resignation due to not being able to work 40 hours a week with all the doctors and hospital visits. During the 8 months of pregnancy she was hospitalized multiple times with HG and DKA.  She refused to resign hoping to preserve her unemployment benefits.  She received a notice of termination and was ultimately denied unemployment benefits because she was not able to physically work.

Kristen spent over 4 months of her pregnancy in the hospital including the last 7 weeks prior to delivery.  During the pregnancy, Maisie was diagnosed with Ventriculomegaly and Hydrocephalus, a condition where excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain tissue. Maisie was also diagnosed with Dandy Walker Syndrome, a rare congenital brain malformation in which the two hemispheres of the cerebellum do not fully form, and the fourth ventricle behind the cerebellum is enlarged with cerebrospinal fluid. At 6 days old Maisie had brain surgery to insert a VP shunt to drain the fluid through a tube that runs through her torso and into her abdomen. 

Maisie now has seven specialists and three therapists.  She has anywhere from 2-3 appointments a week.  These specialists include a Neurosurgeon, neurologist, endocrinologist, pulmonologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, geneticist, nutritionist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist. So far they have been denied any type of financial assistance. Due to the multiple appointments it is still unknown when or if Kristen will be able to return to work.  With only having one income, Brady is working all the overtime that is available and the bills are adding up.  Both sides of the family are very supportive and help in every way possible.

Maisie has overcome so much already, but the difficult part is that nobody knows the extent of the issues that may still arise.  Since birth, Maisie was also diagnosed with septo-optic dysplasia (SOD), a rare congenital disorder. 

We’re trying to help raise money for medical and living expenses until things settle down and Kristen can hopefully return to work.  So far, they have accumulated approximately $15,000 in medical expenses not covered by medical insurance and pay $750.00 towards payment plans and copays each month.