Help Olivia and Her Family Through Medical Crisis

The friends of the McHugh Family are raising funds following the ongoing medical issues that their one-year-old daughter, Olivia, is facing.

During this past summer, Olivia's parents noticed that her weight gain was starting to slow before coming to a pause. For someone not even one year old, that is concerning. Olivia started to show signs of not feeling well while refusing to eat, which led to her first hospitalization on August 30th. Since August 30th, Olivia has had multiple trips to the hospital, which resulted in countless blood draws, scans, swallow tests, and the placement of an NG tube, which is a feeding tube that is inserted into the nose, down the throat, and into the stomach. Between the medical tests and appointments, Olivia took it upon herself to pull her NG tube out on nearly a weekly basis, which meant added trips to the hospital so it could be replaced.

At this point, the doctors have determined that part of the problem is a diagnosis called Neutropenia. This is a condition in which Olivia's body has a low number of neutrophils, which is a type of white blood cell that fights infection. Most recently, Neutropenia made it more complicated when Olivia came down with croup and stridor. Stridor is noisy breathing that occurs because the airway narrows, making it difficult to breathe. This resulted in Olivia having an immediate transfer to the PICU. This whole experience has been traumatic for Olivia, and now the family is considering the pursuit of a second opinion from another children's hospital.

Olivia's current medical needs have serious implications for her and her family. Her dad, Kevin, is a teacher, which means that time off is not so flexible. Her mom, Heather, has been at the helm of every hospital stay. At this point, Heather has all but exhausted her time off benefits, which means that every day she is out of work with Olivia, she is not being paid. Between impending medical bills and the management of necessary household bills, the friends of the McHugh Family are raising funds so that Olivia and her family can have a little relief while their lives and daily routines remain upended.