As a lot of you know there has been some serious health issues that my niece Zoey has been dealing with for quite some time now. It has been extremely frustrating and absolutely heartbreaking to see her go through and now we’ve reached the point where the doctors in Rochester have told my sister that Zoey is a conundrum and are not sure what else to do.

At 5 years old Zoey started having kidney infections, they continued frequently and they led to inpatient hospital stays. After a sedated procedure they found and diagnosed her with vesicoureteral reflux and hoped by the age of 8 she would grow out of it. Well that didn’t happen and throughout that time Zoey has had countless UTI’s and kidney infections, so much so that she has become antibiotic resistant to almost all oral antibiotics. Zoey recently had surgery on October 13th, 2025 to correct the reflux and prevent the infections from being able to reach her kidneys and to prevent further damage to her kidneys.

Not even 2 weeks post op, she was infected again. Unfortunately, she just had another hospital stay because of a UTI that lead to a kidney infection. She was in excruciating pain, lethargic, unable to stay awake for more than a couple minutes at a time. This infection had her down for over 10 days including Halloween, her favorite holiday aside from Christmas. She was supposed to be “Zoey” from KPOP DEMON HUNTERS. She slept through the entire day/night for over 3 days. She was heartbroken, but only for a moment because she was so out of it due to the infection wreaking havoc in her body. If anyone knows Zoey, you know that girl would’ve fought tooth and nail to be able to trick or treat but was too weak to even put up a fight about it.

The reflux is only part of the problem. Her bladder doesn’t work normally. She has incontinence all day, everyday with no control. Her bladder is constantly contracting, her bladder wall is thick and with her infections being so frequent it is unable to heal. She’s had countless urodynamic testing, multiple VCUG’s and the urologists in Rochester are now stumped and do not know how to stop the infections, where they are exactly coming from and how to get Zoey to live a healthy life.

My sister has endlessly advocated for Zoey day after day, year after year and has been through so much with Zoey’s health. But it’s come to the point that she has exhausted all the resources within Rochester.

We are reaching out as a family to hopefully make it so Zoey can go out of state to hopefully see the right doctor, a pediatric urologist that specializes in the detrimental problems that Zoey continues to have. These infections could potentially become impossible to treat and at that point there will be nothing left to do.

I am coming to GoFundMe because it’s so much more than the money needed for a second opinion. Amanda is working her hardest to get that waived and Zoey’s urologist is finally reaching out to hospitals out of state to get her to someone that can help her. But with this comes a huge financial burden. My sister and her husband Brian have worked so hard to give Zoey and my nephew Axel a beautiful life but the world is an expensive place and the travel and lodging and medical bills that come with what’s next are extremely heavy on their shoulders. I’m hoping that we can come together to give them peace of mind as they continue to navigate this difficult journey.

We just want Zoey to live a normal and healthy life and unfortunately she is not at this time and hasn’t been for way too long now.

Zoey has touched so many people in her 11 year life, and if your lucky enough to know her you know she is such a bright light in this world, a beautiful, sensitive, compassionate, extraordinary girl. She never dims despite all life has thrown at her.

So here’s to hoping this kid can get the help she needs and that Amanda and Brian can continually support their beautiful family.

Eternally grateful,

The Lancaster-Brink Family