The Smith Family has had both an exciting and stressful year. They welcomed a new addition to their family after a difficult pregnancy that included several hospital stays, contractions, pre-term labor, and pre-term delivery. Avery was born on September 20th at 34 weeks due to a silent placental abruption and was admitted to the NICU for a few weeks. Jeremy, Erica and big sister Alice (3) were so excited to welcome him home on October 12th! The new family of four were settling into their new normal. Erica and Jeremy were adjusting to being parents of two and Alice loved being a big sister!

Things were going great, until Erica began having debilitating symptoms in February. Her symptoms started out as migraines but quickly escalated. She was admitted to the hospital three times in February due to her symptoms that included migraines, trouble breathing, vomiting, slurred speech and blurry vision. Despite lots of tests, Erica was given no specific diagnosis and was told to follow up with an internal medicine doctor. In mid May, she was admitted back to the hospital with a week long stay and had a second lumbar puncture. This showed that she was positive for Lyme disease antibodies. She did not have a positive blood test, which meant she was exposed to Lyme Disease through a tick bite but she did not have an active infection. At the end of May, Erica began having shock in the right side of her face and brain and she was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia which was treated with steroids. Things began to improve slightly but symptoms were still present. At any given time she had episodes of joint pain, abdominal pain, face and eye pain, swelling in her legs, lack of appetite/feeling of fullness, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes. She was seeing specialists for all of these symptoms but did not seem to be getting any real answers. In August, Erica was diagnosed with inflammation of her liver and bulging discs in her spine. She began physical therapy and was referred to a gastroenterologist. She returned to the hospital at the end of August due to pain in her lower right pelvis and it was determined that she had calcifications of unknown origin in her pelvis along with NASH (Nonalcholic Steatohepatitis).

The week of September 19th, Erica's symptoms escalated again. She felt full and bloated very quickly after eating. She lost 6 pounds in one week and was in severe pain. On September 19th, one day before Avery's 1st birthday, she was admitted to the hospital. On September 21st (the same day as Avery's birthday party), she was given an endoscopy. When coming out of the endoscopy, she went into anaphylactic shock and was moved to the CVICU. While in ICU, she began to experience involuntary movements, confusion, blurry vision and slurred speech. They thought these symptoms might be due to lack of sleep and the medications she was on. On Sunday night she was moved out of ICU and back to the floor to refocus on the pain and abdomen issues that she was originally admitted for. She attempted to get out of bed to look for her family and she fell and hit the front and back of her head and broke her tailbone. Thankfully, her CT and MRI scans came back clear but she is still struggling with some confusion and very blurry vision. She is also in a great deal of pain due to her tailbone.

On September 25th, Erica was seen by the neurologist who suggests she may have Myasthenia. This is an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness in the eyes, face, throat, arms, and legs. They are waiting for test results to determine if she is positive for antibodies. Myasthenia is treatable if this is what is causing some of her symptoms. She was also diagnosed with encephalitis (swelling of the brain). They are unsure if this is due to her fall or possibly due to myasthenia.

On September 26th, she was seen by a gastroenterologist who stated that her side and back pain are likely due to an autoimmune disorder and inflammation. Her vomiting is likely due to migraines. Erica was sent for a food study which determined she has gastroparesis (this may explain her struggle to eat and feelings of fullness). She is still in pain and her vision is not getting any better.

We are asking for donations to help the Smith Family with paying for mounting medical bills as well as any other financial needs they may have while Erica is out of work and healing. If you are unable to give at this time, we are asking that you please pray for this family. Pray specifically that the doctors can pin down a diagnosis so that Erica can be treated correctly, pray for Jeremy as he is holding down the fort at home, pray for Alice and Avery as they miss their mommy dearly.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the Smiths' story and for your consideration in donating to their family!