*update* Shelby will be admitted to Childrens Hospital for "Re-Feeding" tomorrow 01/14/2026. We will update here as the journey progresses!

I would like to introduce to you my 16-year-old daughter, Shelby! Almost 3 years ago, in 8th grade, she made the National Honor Society. Today, she is studying for her GED. Unfortunately, the last 2 years have not been very kind to her. She started losing weight at a rapid pace before our eyes, which gave us the concern of an eating disorder. After several hospital visits and several doctors later, she has been diagnosed with POTS, Gastroparesis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and possible Dysautonomia with future tests to come.

Shelby has lost around 60 lbs in these last 2 years and is now sitting at 100 lbs as of yesterday's doctor visit. After going through a couple of doctors and ER visits, we finally found a doctor to give us hope and a plan with a rough road ahead, so that our daughter might be able to lead a somewhat normal life once her body recovers.

This plan has no end date and no set goal according to this great doctor, but it starts with what they refer to as "re-feeding." Once we get the call to take her into the Children's Hospital, she will be admitted for anywhere between 1 to 4 weeks and have a feeding tube placed through her nose, bypassing her stomach far into her small intestine where her body will finally start to absorb the much-needed nutrients needed to continue her adolescent growth and stabilize her. This is by no means the fix-all, but the start to a long process of making her feel better. The doctor estimates she could possibly have the feeding tube for 1 to 2 years with the help of a dietitian. In between this time, we will be taking her to other specialists for further testing and possible procedures to hopefully make it possible for her to live a normal life eating and drinking, and her body able to absorb nutrients without a feeding tube. But this may never be possible, just a dream.

We are a family of 4 on a single income who live almost 3 hours away from the Children's Hospital with 1 car. By no means am I trying to make this a sob story because like most people, we live paycheck to paycheck but also help people and donate whenever we can. So, we ask with a big heart and love for anyone who might be able to help us in this time of need with medical bills. For her graduation from high school and when she hopefully has the feeding tube removed and feels better, her dream is to travel to South Korea. She loves Korean culture and K-Pop music along with K-Dramas on TV. If we were able to cover her medical bills, I would love to take her to South Korea to see her dreams come true. The 2 pics above are from our Daddy-Daughter Night at the Laufey concert. If we were able to cover these expenses, anything left would be donated to parents with children affected by these similar medical conditions. Thank you and may God bless you all in 2026.