My name is Sarah, and I am the proud mom and primary caretaker of my son, Kasen. Over the past year, our lives have been turned upside down as we’ve tried to get answers and care for his complex medical needs. It all started when we noticed Kasen had swollen nerves in both eyes, which led to countless trips to Columbus for specialist visits. The doctors were unsure if he had a kiari malformation or a pseudo tumor, but they couldn’t do the necessary MRI locally, so we were left with more questions than answers.

A few months ago, Kasen began having a stiff neck, frequent colds, and a rash. Despite several doctor visits, we were told not to worry. Then, two months ago, he hurt his knee. After more doctor visits and no clear answers, his knee suddenly became extremely swollen. Our pediatrician rushed us to the hospital, where tests finally revealed that Kasen had Lyme disease, infection, and bacteria in his knee. He had to endure a painful procedure with a large needle to remove the infection, and then surgery to take a biopsy from his bone. Just this week, his knee swelled up again, and now we’re facing more blood work and upcoming visits to orthopedic and infectious disease specialists.

The financial strain has been overwhelming. Some of Kasen’s antibiotics and testing aren’t covered by insurance, and both my fiancé and I have missed so much work due to the many hospital stays and doctor visits. Our car broke down, and my work cut my hours because of my absences. We’re struggling to keep up with bills, and with Christmas coming, we need the car fixed to continue Kasen’s care and travel for appointments. We appreciate any amount of help anyone gives—even prayers—to help our sweet and innocent little boy get the care he needs and find out what’s going on inside his little body. The funds will help us with hours load at work medications trips out of town fixing our car and Christmas . We still had a long road and had one marker that still won't go down so there thinking about extending the blood work and antibiotics and maybe trying a new antibiotic or more test we will no more next Friday and I'll keep everyone updated. And there is also now a bucket for donations for Christmas travel our car medications and missed hours is you want to come see me and donate there .