Madison Harrill Fundraiser

Madison’s Story

Family and Friends,

On May 15, 2017, Madison Sierra Harrill from Jesup, Georgia, thought she was about to begin her first college internship in mechanical engineering in Nevada – but instead she woke up very ill and was rushed to the local hospital. Who determined she experienced a bleed at the base of her brain.  She was airlifted to Reno, NV Trauma Center who quickly determined she needed a neurosurgeon, so the decision was made to airlift her to San Francisco.

 She is currently in UCFS Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, CA being treated by one of the top neurosurgeon’s in his field.  The neurosurgeon states Madison has Cavernous Malformation, it is a rare type of vascular malformation, meaning an abnormality of the blood vessels. A Cav-mal can occur in any part of the body but it's only a threat in the brain or spinal cord and hers is located at the base of her brain. They do not cause a problem or any symptoms unless they start to bleed. They can bleed for any reason, her traveling did NOT cause the bleed! The best treatment for Madison is to do surgery and remove it but they want to wait until some of the swelling goes down so her surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Tuesday, May 22 is a big day for Madison, this is a very serious surgery but we know God has his hands on her and has placed us in a great hospital with great surgeons, doctors, nurses, and clerical staff. It is unheard of to be flown to two hospitals in less than 6 hours so I know God had a hand in getting my baby to where she needed to be to the BEST of the BEST!

However, Madison has a long journey ahead with the scheduled surgery, recovery and a long rehabilitation so she can regain her speech and use of her left side of her body.  She has doctors and nurses to assist her along the way but she will need her immediate family to be by her side too.  

They are 2,700 miles away from home, in a city, they are unfamiliar and one of the most expensive cities in the USA.  The average cost of an apt is $2,500 a month (small studio) and they have not been able to find one as of yet.  They have been staying in one hotel room (5 people) which on average cost is $350 and they have been on wait list for any hotel room to become available at the last minute, so they are at the mercy of the cost of the room. The city is very busy at this time of year with a lot of events taking place there.  The local Ronald McDonald House is very small, with a very long wait list.  The cost of normal living expenses, such as food and Uber’s are expensive. I am so grateful for all the prayers from our family, friends, and community, now we need your financial support.  Every amount counts in achieving this goal, nothing is too small – it all adds up.

Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover everything these days and expenses are accumulating up fast! I am hoping with your generosity together as a community, we can lessen some of the financial burdens this family is facing. Most importantly, I ask that you pray for the family daily. Madision's mom, Paula Carter is staying by her side continueously and these funds will allow that to happen during this time.

We sincerely appreciate all your support in helping our family in our time of need.

On behalf of Paula & Alan Carter and Gene Harrill