Faira Rae Clausen
Donation protected
Meet Faira Rae.
If this face doesn't steal a little piece of your heart, I can guarantee that watching her light up a room with her dance moves and contagious smile during an impromptu dance party definitely would! When you see her with her big personality and endless confidence it is hard to believe that she has already faced more battles than most adults that I know. Faira’s battles started on the day she was born.
Faira Rae was born in January of 2012. Within hours of her arrival her parents knew something was wrong. At a little over 11 hours old she was transported to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital where she was diagnosed with multiple birth defects. She was born with Tracheoesophageal Atresia with Fistula Type C (her esophagus was NOT connected to her stomach. It was, instead, connected to her trachea) and Congenital Scoliosis. At 3 days old she had corrective Tracheoesophageal surgery
which led her to have a feeding tube for the first four and a half months. Today, Faira is almost 3 years old. She has had four esophageal dilations to help stretch her esophagus, with more to come throughout the years. Since her esophagus does not grow properly on its own, these dilations are imperative to keep her from choking, even on the tiniest of foods.
In February of this year her Orthopedic Surgeon informed Faira’s parents that her Congenital Scoliosis would need correcting. She began wearing a brace with the hope that it would keep her spine from getting any worse until the surgery could be done around 5 years old. Unfortunately, the brace was no match for the extreme form of scoliosis that she has. In just 5 months (from her last check up to now) her curvature has gone from 62 degrees to 85 degrees. The two hemivertebraes must come out….and soon! The surgery is tentatively scheduled for January 2015. Brackets and rods will be installed to ensure stability and to close the gap where the hemivertebraes once were. Faira is facing the biggest struggle of her life at just 3 years old. She will be the 3rd youngest child to have this surgery performed by her doctor.
While Faira’s parents are fortunate to have such an amazing team of doctors at Stanford looking after Faira, I can’t even imagine the stress that they are under. Their baby girl will be undergoing a major surgery in just a few short months. The worry they face on a daily basis is something I can’t imagine. As a friend I want to fix everything for Faira and her parents, but I can’t. The only thing that I can do is try to help them out financially, which is why you are reading this post. The amount of medical bills they already have for Faira’s previous surgeries and dilations are overwhelming. And the amount of the upcoming surgery is something I am sure her parents can’t even fathom. We are trying to raise $25,000 for Faira and her family. Hopefully this money can be used to help pay the insurance deductible for 2015 (after her surgery), the previous medical bills from her first surgery and multiple dilations, and some of the post-surgery care that Faira will need in January. If you can spare even $1 for this cause it will help this family tremendously. If you don’t have anything to donate we simply ask for your continued prayers and thoughts for Faira as we come closer to her surgery date.
which led her to have a feeding tube for the first four and a half months. Today, Faira is almost 3 years old. She has had four esophageal dilations to help stretch her esophagus, with more to come throughout the years. Since her esophagus does not grow properly on its own, these dilations are imperative to keep her from choking, even on the tiniest of foods.
In February of this year her Orthopedic Surgeon informed Faira’s parents that her Congenital Scoliosis would need correcting. She began wearing a brace with the hope that it would keep her spine from getting any worse until the surgery could be done around 5 years old. Unfortunately, the brace was no match for the extreme form of scoliosis that she has. In just 5 months (from her last check up to now) her curvature has gone from 62 degrees to 85 degrees. The two hemivertebraes must come out….and soon! The surgery is tentatively scheduled for January 2015. Brackets and rods will be installed to ensure stability and to close the gap where the hemivertebraes once were. Faira is facing the biggest struggle of her life at just 3 years old. She will be the 3rd youngest child to have this surgery performed by her doctor.
While Faira’s parents are fortunate to have such an amazing team of doctors at Stanford looking after Faira, I can’t even imagine the stress that they are under. Their baby girl will be undergoing a major surgery in just a few short months. The worry they face on a daily basis is something I can’t imagine. As a friend I want to fix everything for Faira and her parents, but I can’t. The only thing that I can do is try to help them out financially, which is why you are reading this post. The amount of medical bills they already have for Faira’s previous surgeries and dilations are overwhelming. And the amount of the upcoming surgery is something I am sure her parents can’t even fathom. We are trying to raise $25,000 for Faira and her family. Hopefully this money can be used to help pay the insurance deductible for 2015 (after her surgery), the previous medical bills from her first surgery and multiple dilations, and some of the post-surgery care that Faira will need in January. If you can spare even $1 for this cause it will help this family tremendously. If you don’t have anything to donate we simply ask for your continued prayers and thoughts for Faira as we come closer to her surgery date.
Organizer
Terra Blankenbecler Brom
Organizer
Apache Junction, AZ
