Support for my daughter, Whitley

I’ve come to realize that asking for help is never easy, but neither is battling alone. I’ve started a GoFundMe for my daughter, Whitley. As many close friends and family know, Whitley was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 8. She was very sick as a child for the first few years after diagnosis, but has been able to remain in remission for most of her life.

Three years ago, Whitley had a flare up that hospitalized her for a few days. During this time she received a blood transfusion, and was put on a high dose steroid and IV infusion medication to help manage her symptoms. From that point until now, she has tried three separate IV infusion medications, along with weekly iron infusions for anemia and countless visits to the doctor each month for CT scans and checkups. Her body has built up antibodies to all three medications, mistakenly attacking the drugs and making them ineffective.

Many of her digestive organs have partially closed off due to inflammation, therefore creating fistulas (channels her body has made to reroute sections of her digestive track). She has struggled with severe abdominal pain for years trying to overcome everything with little to no relief. Last week after a routine GI visit, a CT scan revealed that her inflammation had significantly worsened, and she was hospitalized immediately. A picc line was inserted into her arm to feed her through an IV, as her body has essentially been deprived of vital nutrients and starving itself from the inside out. She underwent a colon and small bowel resection a few days later, a surgery we were advised would be 3 hours but lasted 7.5 due to more diseased areas than previously noted.

While in recovery, she has developed an ileus, causing her insides to swell and distend and be unresponsive to the surgery. She is currently on narcotics to alleviate the pressure and the pain, although her surgeon believes a second surgery may be required. She is also being treated for pneumonia at this time. Unfortunately, her body is not responding to surgery as well as we had hoped.

We are going on day 11 at the hospital currently, having just received another blood transfusion, with no inclination as to if or when she will be released. Right now, we’re just trying to keep her as comfortable as possible until we know next steps. This has been a huge undertaking for her, both mentally and physically, with a hefty financial burden likely to follow. We’re asking for prayers, donations, anything — we need all the help we can get. We just want to get our girl healthy and home.