Support Sophia's Journey to Health

Hi family and friends, thank you for visiting Sophia’s GoFundMe page! If you felt led to donate to Sophia, please read her story below.

SOPHIA’S STORY:

One Monday was a day like any other, snuggles, play, walks— until bath time. As I (Della Rae) lay Sophia in the bath, I noticed her foot was purple. I yanked her out of the water and we rushed her to the ER, where we were looked at for 5 seconds, told it was “dermatitis” and to treat it with a topical cream and it would go away in a few days (do not take your little ones to HCA ER). I left feeling uneasy and knew in my gut that it wasn’t just a rash. The next day we made an emergent appointment with her pediatrician, our favorite guy, Dr. Martin at Professional Park Pediatrics. One look and he immediately knew it was petechiae, bleeding vessels under the skin. However, the cause was unknown because prior to her foot, Sophia was completely fine.

So, following suit, lab work was ordered and we went to LabCorp, because we have CHP, to get blood drawn. Immediately the tourniquet turned her arm the same shade of purple and more bleeding under her skin appeared right before my eyes. Her blood was unable to be drawn at LabCorp due to insufficient equipment and training on an infant, so we went to Kids Corner at TMH, where Miss Donna took great, gentle care of her and got what we came for.

3 hours after leaving TMH, we received a call from Dr. Martin saying Sophia’s platelet count in her blood was critically low, sitting at 13,000 and is supposed to be between 200 and 300,000, and that we were being admitted to TMH immediately for further testing. After a night full of blood work, a CT, ultrasounds, an EKG, and a very exhausted bruised up girl, we still had NO answers as to why her platelet count was so low. But the news we did receive- Sophia has a hole in her heart, causing fluid to her lungs and will require oxygen, and that we were being transferred to Shands.

She has been undergoing numerous tests, pokes, labs, IVs, and still the reason for her lack of sufficient blood count is inconclusive. We are looking at open heart surgery, months of being away from home, and are still running doctors crazy trying to figure her blood out. This has been the worst few weeks of our lives, but despite the endless process, Sophia has remained our strong, smiley, sweet, beautiful girl.

I cannot thank the team at TMH, Shands, and Professional Park Pediatrics enough for taking such great care of our angel.

We still have a long ways to go, but with some amazing people at our side and a strong, willing God, we will get through this.

Due to Sophia’s conditions being inconclusive, her and Della Rae will remain at Shands for a few months undergoing testing and procedures. Della Rae and Tyler are so thankful for insurance however not all procedures and testing are covered. I have set up this page on their behalf for anyone that feels led to donate to help this family. As much as funds would be helpful for this family we also that you continuously pray for Sophia’s health. We also ask that you pray for Della Rae and Tyler as this is very hard on a new momma and daddy to watch their new baby need so much medical attention.