Olivia Chitty's SMA Medical Expenses

Hello friends, family and community my name is Olivia Chitty and I was born on October 22, 2021. Shortly after my early arrival, my parents, Albert and Alyssa Chitty, were told that my blood tests were positive for type 3 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) or Kugelberg-Welander Syndrome.

SMA is a rare neurodegenerative disease that effects the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord and impacts the muscles used for activities such as breathing, eating, crawling and walking. It effects 1 in 10,000 people worldwide and is the number one genetic cause of death in infants.

The guidance given by Dr. Butterfield at The University of Utah Hospital helped us decide that the gene therapy medicine ZOLGENSMA was our best option going forward and could give me a wonderful chance at living the best life possible with such a challenging condition. However, this will be a very difficult time and hard on my liver and immune system.

I know my gene therapy treatment won’t cure me of SMA and my parents are entirely aware of that. But with family, friends and community support I’ll be given a great opportunity to live with this condition and meet as many milestones as possible.

A separate bank account has been opened up at Mountain America Credit Union (Olivia's Medical Donation) to begin setting funds aside for the financial responsibility that comes with my condition. You can also donate through Venmo to @Alyssa-Chitty. There are many unknown hurdles ahead and we are taking this therapy and it’s path one day at a time but staying positive and planning for it is key.

If there’s any interest on how to learn more about this diagnosis and the lives it impacts, please visit CURE SMA and the gene therapy site

ZOLGENSMA

With the kindest heart, I thank you for reading and educating yourself about SMA, and I am incredibly grateful for your time and help.

From my family :

We are organizing this fundraiser to help Albert and Alyssa cover Olivia’s medical costs as best as possible.

The money you generously give will be used for doctor visits, on going physical therapy, treatments, care, and medical supplies along with time Albert and Alyssa will have to take off from work for Olivia’s care.

Saying thank you doesn’t seem enough. It is difficult to describe how much your act of kindness will help Olivia and what it means to the entire family.

We are beyond thankful.