Rally for Baby Rebecca
Donation protected
Rebecca was born on July 25th, 2017 at St. Cloud Hospital in Minnesota to loving parents Andrea and Casey, and big sister Emma. Andrea’s first pregnancy was uneventful and Emma is a perfectly healthy and thriving 2 year old. This pregnancy was also uneventful, with normal movement until the end, when her doctor said there wasn’t enough room for much movement. Andrea went 10 days past her due date and had a difficult and traumatic labor and delivery, which included the use of a vacuum on Rebecca’s head to pull her out. After she was born, Rebecca wasn’t moving her legs at all, and only had minimal movement of her arms and head. The doctors at St. Cloud Hospital ran multiple tests, but they all came back negative or normal. Rebecca was then sent by ambulance down to the U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital NICU. The doctors there were fairly certain they knew what was wrong and tested for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. A week later the test came back negative.
The family went back down to the U for more testing, and this time the test results would take eight weeks to get back. In the meantime, when Rebecca was about a month old, she started having seizures. She was admitted back down at the U to have an electroencephalogram (EEG). Rebecca started medication and the seizures stopped for a couple days, but then came back. The doctors were not sure what was causing the seizures. They were slowly upping the dose of medicine, but Rebecca was still having around 14 seizures a day.
In October, Andrea and Casey met with Rebecca’s doctor at the U; they had received the results of her DNA test but said they still didn’t know what’s wrong.
The family switched to St. Paul’s Children’s Hospital in November. They have a new doctor that they say has been great so far. Andrea and Casey are hopeful that she will help them figure this out. As of now, the family still has no answers. Rebecca still has seizures daily, though thankfully less than before.
Rebecca started Physical Therapy at a month old and goes once a week to outpatient therapy. Rebecca is also visited at home by a therapist twice a month. She also has multiple visits to the clinic and chiropractor. Rebecca usually has 2-4 appointments a week, with some weeks having 5.
All of Rebecca’s medical needs have caused a financial strain on the family. Andrea had to close her home daycare in order to keep up with all of Rebecca’s clinic and therapy visits. Casey also had a lot of unpaid time off during all of Rebecca’s hospital stays and was unfortunately laid off last August.
Currently, the family’s only income is Casey’s unemployment benefits. The good news is that Casey was just called in for work Monday; the family is hoping it is for long-term rather than temporary work.
If you wish to help this young family and baby Rebecca, please consider making a donation to help offset the rising medical costs. Any amount, large or small, would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you for your support and generosity.
The family went back down to the U for more testing, and this time the test results would take eight weeks to get back. In the meantime, when Rebecca was about a month old, she started having seizures. She was admitted back down at the U to have an electroencephalogram (EEG). Rebecca started medication and the seizures stopped for a couple days, but then came back. The doctors were not sure what was causing the seizures. They were slowly upping the dose of medicine, but Rebecca was still having around 14 seizures a day.
In October, Andrea and Casey met with Rebecca’s doctor at the U; they had received the results of her DNA test but said they still didn’t know what’s wrong.
The family switched to St. Paul’s Children’s Hospital in November. They have a new doctor that they say has been great so far. Andrea and Casey are hopeful that she will help them figure this out. As of now, the family still has no answers. Rebecca still has seizures daily, though thankfully less than before.
Rebecca started Physical Therapy at a month old and goes once a week to outpatient therapy. Rebecca is also visited at home by a therapist twice a month. She also has multiple visits to the clinic and chiropractor. Rebecca usually has 2-4 appointments a week, with some weeks having 5.
All of Rebecca’s medical needs have caused a financial strain on the family. Andrea had to close her home daycare in order to keep up with all of Rebecca’s clinic and therapy visits. Casey also had a lot of unpaid time off during all of Rebecca’s hospital stays and was unfortunately laid off last August.
Currently, the family’s only income is Casey’s unemployment benefits. The good news is that Casey was just called in for work Monday; the family is hoping it is for long-term rather than temporary work.
If you wish to help this young family and baby Rebecca, please consider making a donation to help offset the rising medical costs. Any amount, large or small, would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you for your support and generosity.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cassie Nuice
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
Andrea Wagner
Beneficiary
