Makayla the Heart Warrior
Donation protected
Makayla is a beautiful and smart 6 year old girl; the youngest of 3 kiddos. She was born premature with Complete Heart Block on March 6th, 2008 and received her pacemaker 3 days later. She had been healthy as any other kid her age up until recently.
Makayla was admitted to the ICU Monday, August 25th. She had been lethargic for weeks. We went through dozens of appointments, labs, x-rays, ultrasounds and ER visits with NO true answers. I refused to accept that I was overreacting or that she just had gas and or constipation as they had said several times. Then one morning she woke with her face swollen; she haden't eaten anything of substance in weeks and she was no longer able to support her weight when she stood. I took her to her doctor and demanded answers. The nurse checked her heart rate and discovered it was at her pacemakers MAX limit, 180 BPM. Her doctor came in immediately and said we would be going right over to the hospital. Upon arriving they did another x-ray and drew vials of labs. Within a few hours they discovered several systems were in distress. Her liver enzymes were 10 times greater then normal, her gallbladder had thickened, thyroid counts were elevated and her heart was enlarged 3 times it's regular size. We were then taken to the ICU for immediate intervention. They began administering several drugs to start repairing the damage within her body. She was exhausted. She was pissed. The first 2 nights I was in a daze: In shock and confused of what was happening. Listening to my baby cry out in pain and frustration was heartbreaking. Then trying to explain to her that more needle sticks were necessary to make her well only angered her more.
We are now at our one week mark with NO release date in sight. The cardiologist has said that the damage to her heart hasn't increased but that it hasn't decreased either. Now were just taking it day by day. I made my baby a promise that I would NOT leave her side while she went through this ordeal. Being that we are a 2 income family by necessity, me being here is taking a toll on our finances. We've had many people ask how they could help us out and then a friend recommended this site and I thought that would be a great idea. Any money that we raise beyond what we need will go to the other children in the hospital. We will be buying them gift bags with toys and games that will keep them occupied and hopefully distracted as they go through their journey of healing. If you are able to help out we thank you, if not and you're just reading this I hope you will say a little prayer for us. Life is full of many obstacles and I know, like the many we've faced already, we will overcome this too!
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Gray
Makayla was admitted to the ICU Monday, August 25th. She had been lethargic for weeks. We went through dozens of appointments, labs, x-rays, ultrasounds and ER visits with NO true answers. I refused to accept that I was overreacting or that she just had gas and or constipation as they had said several times. Then one morning she woke with her face swollen; she haden't eaten anything of substance in weeks and she was no longer able to support her weight when she stood. I took her to her doctor and demanded answers. The nurse checked her heart rate and discovered it was at her pacemakers MAX limit, 180 BPM. Her doctor came in immediately and said we would be going right over to the hospital. Upon arriving they did another x-ray and drew vials of labs. Within a few hours they discovered several systems were in distress. Her liver enzymes were 10 times greater then normal, her gallbladder had thickened, thyroid counts were elevated and her heart was enlarged 3 times it's regular size. We were then taken to the ICU for immediate intervention. They began administering several drugs to start repairing the damage within her body. She was exhausted. She was pissed. The first 2 nights I was in a daze: In shock and confused of what was happening. Listening to my baby cry out in pain and frustration was heartbreaking. Then trying to explain to her that more needle sticks were necessary to make her well only angered her more.
We are now at our one week mark with NO release date in sight. The cardiologist has said that the damage to her heart hasn't increased but that it hasn't decreased either. Now were just taking it day by day. I made my baby a promise that I would NOT leave her side while she went through this ordeal. Being that we are a 2 income family by necessity, me being here is taking a toll on our finances. We've had many people ask how they could help us out and then a friend recommended this site and I thought that would be a great idea. Any money that we raise beyond what we need will go to the other children in the hospital. We will be buying them gift bags with toys and games that will keep them occupied and hopefully distracted as they go through their journey of healing. If you are able to help out we thank you, if not and you're just reading this I hope you will say a little prayer for us. Life is full of many obstacles and I know, like the many we've faced already, we will overcome this too!
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Gray
Organizer
Stephanie Gray
Organizer
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