Post-surgery housing costs

I'm Raizel. I'm raising money for housing and food costs following my son's upcoming surgery to correct his chest wall deformity known as 'pectus excavatum.' I'd first like to share a little bit about my son, Kai`noa. He is 17 years old, and will be entering into his senior year of high high school at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School. He is one year away from his high school diploma and AA degree, with plans to pursue his career in sports physical therapy. These past few months have been rough on him academically due to juggling school, work, and his love for physical fitness. He loves weight lifting; he also cycles to work, which is physically exhausting on his heart and lungs, and is spent after a day of school and work. We are working on getting him a car for him in the near future which is a whole different ball park. So. Before moving to Florida in 2018, we noticed his chest wall looked a bit sunken in. As he has gotten older, and having had a significant growth spurt in the past couple of years, this sunken appearance has only become more definitive. He was officially diagnosed with pectus excavatum in 2019. This is where the chest sternum grows inward, which alters the natural movement of the heart and lungs with simply standing up straight and breathing.

 

Fast forward through echocardiograms, chest CTs, pulmonary function tests, and physical exams--he has decided to take the step to have surgery to correct this. This surgery will allow 30% more room for chest expansion, allowing the heart and lungs the space needed for optimal function. The hospital we are entrusting with this task is located four hours north of our home. As this is an invasive surgery that will insert two bars into his chest (Nuss procedure), he will be hospitalized for 3-5 days afterwards and need to remain in the immediate area for one week following hospital discharge.

 

If you've read this far, please stick around for another minute. Kai`noa is scheduled for The housing I've secured is just shy of $1,400 (staying from May 30-June 10), with gas and food quickly adding up. My husband is staying back in Clearwater working, so I'll take our 6- and 11-year-old kids to Jacksonville with me. With inflation of gas and housing accommodations; this is a big expense for our family of 6. I'm praying and putting faith in God that all things will work out. Having any help is so important to me because I have so many responsibilities split so many ways, and not having family close by to help makes this all that much more overwhelming. So while I hesitate to, I am also learning to ask for help.

 

I am partnering with my LED name board company. For each $100 donation, I'll be putting that name in a drawing, pulling ONE name at random, and making that person one of my beloved LED Name Boards as a HUGE thank you! I intend to use this money for our hosing, and put the rest into gas and food while in Jacksonville. Thank you for your support. Please also say a prayer <3