
Payton’s hospitalization & medical equipment
Donation protected
Hello! I’m Kaitlin, Payton’s aunt. For those who don’t know Payton and her story, Payton was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at 6 days old and received life-altering gene therapy at 16 days old to treat SMA. While the gene therapy she received was life-saving, Payton still has SMA and faces challenges in every aspect of life. If you’d like to see this fierce little girl’s journey, her Instagram is @paytonspurpose.
It was an exciting start of the month as Payton got to experience preschool and meet new friends. She only attended preschool for FOUR whole days and came down with a cough that progressed into a respiratory illness that prompted Paige and Tyler to bring her to the emergency room on Sunday evening, a week before Christmas. She tested positive for RSV and had trouble keeping her own oxygen levels high enough to be safe to go to home. Payton was admitted to the Pediatric ICU to best manage her respiratory failure and placed on bipap for 5 days and continues to be on it nightly. She has worked very hard with respiratory therapist doing multiple therapies to get all the nasty thick secretions out of her lungs. Due to her weakened muscles from SMA, it has taken quite a bit of effort. In preparation to keep her healthy the doctors want to send them home with lots of equipment to support Payton while she recovers from RSV and for ‘sick seasons’ in the future.
With this new equipment has come great cost. Many SMA families go through these sick seasons and have lost a child who can not overcome the respiratory failure. This weighs heavy on Tyler and Paige as each day presents challenges, but Payton is growing stronger with the treatments.
Four new DME (durable medical equipment) are being sent home for Payton’s recovery: a pulse oximeter, a concentrator for oxygen supply, a ventilator for Bipap, and a CPT vest.
These items are not available for rent to own given Payton’s size. The items are a monthly rental that the Tyler and Paige will pay until both the deductible and out of pocket are met for insurance, which will start over on Jan 1.
On top of the cost their family will incur for her hospitalization and medical equipment, Tyler and Paige are unable to work while Payton is hospitalized and, due to her continued therapies at home, will not be able to work until Payton is healthy again.
This illness has come with some awful timing, as they face the prospect of spending Christmas in the hospital. They are grateful for the care Payton received and know they will continue to have to fight to keep her healthy. Any financial support is appreciated as it would help ease their transition to managing her care better at home.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kaitlin Drennen
Organizer
Graham, WA
Paige Drennen
Beneficiary