Our dear little Ruby has been through a lot the past few weeks. Last I had heard from Christina she had taken her to the ER with a fever, nausea/vomiting and crying out in pain. They were sent home. I was shocked to learn a week later that she was in pediatric intensive care, unable to speak or move her body.

The doctors are calling it encephalomyelitis, post infectious- the cause is still unclear but likely an immune response to a viral infection of some kind. Over the course of 7 days in the hospital, they treated her for any possible exposure, but it was the immunoglobulin therapy that showed the best results. She slowly progressed from not being able to talk or move, to being able to crack jokes and sit up again!

She still has a long road to recovery, including inpatient rehabilitation and learning to use a wheel chair, as there has been central nervous system damage.

Our goal is to help support them through this next phase of recovery (they already used all paid family leave to welcome their new baby this year) so they can focus on what's most important: bringing back our spunky, scooter riding, trampoline jumping, ballet dancing, story telling Ruby!

Any amount will go to good use. We love you Ruby.