This go fund me is for my sister, Ashley and niece Mazikeen. Mazikeen was born with trisomy 18- She is currently 7 weeks old and has beat so many odds that she has had stacked against her. Ashley was told prenatelly that Mazikeen has trisomy 18- she was told she should have an abortion because Mazikeen would not make it to birth or survive birth. That was not an option for Ashley or her boyfriend, Donovan. They wanted to give Mazikeen the best chance at life. Ashley and Donovan were both aware that Mazikeen may not survive and would be born sleeping. Their goal was to have her be born alive and be able to take her home on hospice so her family can love on her. Ashley was induced with Mazikeen at 37 weeks. She vaginally delivered a 4lb 4oz baby girl- This was the first time she beat the odds ( they pushed for a c-section to reduce the stress on the baby, but it came with to many risks for Ashley). Mazikeen needed some support as soon as she was born but was taken off of that after about 4 minutes. She was taken to the nicu to assess her due to her diagnosis. Mazikeen spent 5 days in the NICU at HUP in Philadelphia. She did not require any form of breathing assistance or medical assistance besides being under the billi lights for a few hours right before they were discharged home. Maizkeen was prenatally diagnosed with a large VSD in her heart that will require surgery to fix. Every doctor that came in was shocked by how well she was doing given her Trisomy 18 diagnosis. Mazikeen was discharged home on hospice and formed a strong bond between her siblings and family. She is very loved ( and spoiled). On September 24, Mazikeen was throwing up and Ashley took her to Hershey medical center where she spent 5 days in the PICU. During this time she was on high flow oxygen and diuretics to help remove the fluid around her lungs and heart. This helped temporarily and she was discharged home with closely being monitored by her cardiologist at CHOP.

On Thursday October, 1 Mazikeen had a weight check at her pediatricians office. She was showing some signs of a cold and working a little harder to breathe. Her pediatrician stated she should take her to CHOP to be evaluated. We went to CHOP at King of Prussia and she was quickly taken back and placed on CPAP for breathing assistance. She was then transferred to CHOP main in Philadelphia where she will stay until she has heart surgery to fix her VSD.

She is currently at CHOP admitted to the CICU. She tested positive for rhinovirus. X-rays show that Mazikeen has a few fractured ribs, and a ping pong skull fracture ( likely due to birth trauma)- Children and youth investigated and closed the case for the fractures and they are working with a bone specialist now as Mazikeen has very fragile bones. She has been weaned from CPAP to high flow oxygen and she is not working as hard to breathe. On Monday, 10/06/2025, her family will meet with a team of doctors to discuss the next goal- heart surgery and how they plan to prepare and fix the VSD.

CHOP CICU has pod's for babies and it is shared with 3 other babies. Ashley is not allowed to sleep in the pod next to Mazikeen. They do provide " family rooms" which you have to sign up for each night and if granted it allows access rom 600pm to 900am. This is not always available though. They are working with social workers and trying to get into the Ronald McDonald house but ashley still does not want to be away from the baby. Donovan will be coming back to work during the weeks and then travel back to CHOP on the weekends.

Ashley and Donovan have 5 other children at home. CHOP is about 2.5-3 hours away depending on traffic. Her other children are being taken care of by family during this time. This go fund me is to help offset costs between traveling between York and Philadelphia, food for staying at CHOP ( hospital food can become very expensive)- The hospital provides a family refrigerator but it is shared between all of the families in the CICU so to store food she does not feel comfortable. The funds will also help financially to help with bills that were past due from when she was born and in the NICU and the last hospital stay, and for time when Donovan will be off work for her heart surgery. He is currently the sole provider as ashley has not returned back to work from delivery and being at Mazikeen's bedside. Any little bit will help and help take off the stress from them with needing to come up with money or drown in debt. Ashley and Donovan are very appreciative of any donation but mostly if you can not donate or have the means, please pray for Mazikeen. She has beat so many odds- She wasnt suppose to survive birth, the first few hours after birth, the first week, etc and she is showing that she is writing her own story and there is no timeline she is following. We are so thankful everyday we do have with her and pray that God allows her to be earthside for a long time.

Thank you,