Skylar's Story

Skylar's Story...

From Exhilaration to Devastation

Life was treating them well. Stephanie and Brandon Pritchett were expecting their third

child, a welcomed surprise! Their two girls, Brianna (13) and Skylar (9), and the entire family were over the moon with excitement and preparing for the arrival of this new baby at the end of May.

A Little History about Skylar

Last Fall, young Skylar was diagnosed with unusually high cholesterol. She was prescribed medication, and her diet was drastically modified.

In April, Skylar started to complain about leg pain. An MRI revealed a mass on the back of her right leg and a biopsy was scheduled. Additionally, the doctors ordered a full body scan to determine if there were any other tumors. The news was worse than anyone could have expected or imagined. Stephanie and Brandon were devastated to hear, “Your daughter has liver cancer”. Skylar was admitted to the hospital the next day. Skylar’s diagnosis is metastatic carcinoma with hepatoid features. This sweet little girl has since endured numerous scans, ultrasounds, a blood transfusion, insertion of a port, a feeding tube, and countless other pricks and prods. This little “Nugget”, as she is affectionately called by her parents, has been a brave rockstar.

Remember, Stephanie is Pregnant

The day after Skylar was admitted to the hospital, Stephanie went for her scheduled OB appointment. The doctors determined that the baby needed to be delivered via C-Section, several weeks early, to avoid potential complications. How much can one family endure at one time? They were still reeling from a devastating cancer diagnosis for their beautiful little Skylar, and 24 hours later, Stephanie and Brandon were at Martha Jefferson Hospital welcoming their little girl, Ava Grace Pritchett (4 lbs 6.5 oz). Two of their baby girls in two different hospitals: Skylar had her Mimi, Louise Belew, by her side as she must have an adult with her 24/7 and Stephanie and Brandon were with Ava Grace. In a split second, this sweet family went from preparing to welcome a new baby to living a complete and utter nightmare.

Currently, Brandon is staying nights with Sky while Stephanie, Ava Grace, Louise, and often Brianna spend long days at the hospital. They are making it through each day with prayer, love, and the unwavering support of family and friends.

Sky's aggressive form of cancer is rare, and UVA Children’s Hospital is diligently working to find other hospitals out of our region who have expertise with this form of cancer. Everyone has the same goal - to find the best possible care for Sky. So much is up in the air daily, they are living minute by minute, and meanwhile, the bills are already rolling in. Their family’s health insurance plan will not cover all of their medical costs.

Stephanie and Brandon are not able to focus on the financial part of this journey. They certainly know the day will come when they have no choice but to figure out how in the world they are going to pay their bills.

WHERE WE COME IN!

Stephanie and Brandon are hard-working people. They are not accustomed to accepting help and the thought of asking for help is very difficult for them. In their current state, they not only have to accept help, but allow us to ask you for help on their behalf. We are reaching out to family, friends, friends of friends, and strangers to support our wonderful family during our darkest hours.

PLEASE consider contributing to this fund. Your contributions will help our sweet family navigate mounting medical expenses and all expenses related to her care. Sky could be transported to another hospital out of state. Saving their little girl's life is their only focus while also caring for this tiny newborn and their big sister.

Please help us to reduce the worry of this financial tsunami. We can’t imagine standing in their shoes, can you?

Remember, the "Sky" is the limit when you have a community of love and support behind you!