Help Support Baby Charlotte

Hello Everyone,

My name is Riley Palmer and what I am trying to accomplish by creating this Go Fund Me page is to help provide financial support to two friends of mine who are very close to my heart.  On March 29, 2017 Christena Jean (Cain) and her husband Nathan gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Charlotte Amy Jean.  At 3 months old baby Charlotte began having tiny tremors in her hands.  By visualizing this, Christena and Nathan immediately brought her to the Emergency Room at the Sault Area Hospital.  The following day Charlotte was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital in London, Ontario.  After two weeks of hospitalization and numerous amounts of tests, baby Charlotte was given a diagnosis of Epilepsy.  Charlotte was then prescribed a few different anti-convulsant medications.   The dosage had been increased while Charlotte was at home and the results were unsuccessful.  At 5 months old, Charlotte was airlifted back to London for failure to thrive.  As a result of this, six more weeks were spent in hospital.  While Charlotte was there, blood test results from their previous visit had come back giving a diagnosis of a genetic disorder of the gene SCN1B.  SCN1B is a sodium channelopathy or can also be considered early infantile epileptic encephalopathy.  While still in London, Charlotte was started on a few more medications as well as a special diet.  In order to ensure she was getting the proper amount of food, a feeding tube was put in place.  Since the second stay in London, Christena, Nathan and Charlotte have taken two more trips for follow up appointments.  More recently, Charlotte has been airlifted back to London due to having seizures more frequently.  This visit led to the realization that Charlotte only responds to the medications for a short period of time before the seizures start to break through.  After yet another three weeks in hospital, Charlotte was put on a 5th medication.  Christena and Nathan were then presented with a surgical option.  This surgical option is called a VNS (Vegus Nerve Stimulation).  A VNS is essentially a pacemaker made for the brain to maintain and keep it from misfiring.  Christena and Nathan are left with no other options as Charlotte is not responding to the medications as they had hoped.  As of right now, the doctors are hoping to have Charlotte’s VNS procedure done in July.  Christena and Nathan will be required to spend one week in London post operation.  Once Charlotte is settled back in Sault Ste. Marie, frequent trips will need to be made back and forth to London in order to have the frequency of the VNS adjusted.  The emotional roller coaster that Christena and Nathan as well as their families and friends are enduring is absolutely unimaginable.  Not only do they have to bare the burden of assuring that baby Charlotte gets the best quality care that she needs, they have to worry about the financial aspect of it as well.  Other than the first hospital stay with Charlotte, Nathan has been in Sault Ste. Marie continuing to work full-time and care for their oldest daughter, 4 year old Joey.  After Christena’s maternity leave, she has been trying to work part time around Nathan’s schedule.  Unfortunately due to Charlotte’s condition, she has been off.   Christena will continue to be off without pay due to the frequent hospital visits she has been making to London.  Aside from that, every time Charlotte has been airlifted to the London Hospital, it is a requirement that Christena and Nathan make arrangements to find their own way back to Sault Ste. Marie.  I can only imagine how overwhelming all of this information must be to absorb…So try to imagine being the parents of this little girl.  As parents, we all want the same things for our children, one of the main things being healthy.  Unfortunately, in this situation, this isn’t the case.  So if you could please find it in your hearts to donate to this wonderful family to support them with any financial costs they may have it would be so greatly appreciated.  Thank you all in advance for your generosity.  Every little bit helps.