Help me Fund Clarice’s Treatment
 
At 2 ½ years old, Clarice has already been through a lot. She has beaten the odds for children born with Campomelic Dysplasia, a condition which has a 95% mortality rate in infancy. This rare genetic disorder severely affects the development of the skeleton.  For Clarice, her rib cage and spine bones are the most affected, which have caused her life-threatening respiratory problems.

At her last checkup, the doctors noticed her left lung is being pinched between the rib cage and the spine due to severe scoliosis and kyphosis. Surgery, which was hoped to be postponed until adolescence, must be performed before her 3rd birthday.

Clarice will be inpatient at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for up to 2 months. Her spine treatment will include several weeks of halo gravity traction which removes the impact of gravity on the spine deformity. Then Magnetic Expansion Control (MAGEC) system rods will be inserted along the spine to help stabilize the newly corrected spine position. When she goes home, she will continue to need the 24-hour nursing care, oxygen, ventilator, and therapies which she has had since birth.

I want to be with Clarice at  the hospital during her spine treatment.  I'm the sole breadwinner, and have been dealing with annual medical costs of $25,000 to $45,000 the past 2.5 years, even with insurance.  I am now facing a $50,000 medical expense because of speech therapy, nurse care and vaccines  not covered in network due to bureaucracy of the insurance system.

Clarice is a very happy little girl, smart, with a wonderful imagination. She is the perfect little daughter.  She matches letters with pictures, and she knows her colors.  Her favorite color is red, and points to all the red cars during her walks around the neighborhood.　 She always carries her favorite monkey.  Despite using a tracheostomy, Clarice is making progress with talking but has learned to communicate her needs using American Sign Language.  She loves to go out and take expeditions to the zoo where she rides her favorite animal on the carousel.  Last summer she got to enjoy the sun and breeze of the beach. Her favorite outing has been the Irvine regional park where she fed the ducks and laughed at them for fighting over the food, there we rode the train where she say "all aboard" in her cute little voice.