Support for the Vandegraft Family

Hi I'm Lindsey Hale and I created this page to help raise funds for the Vandegraft family.

Let me first tell you about my friend Stacy. She is the most selfless person you'll ever meet. She is the worlds best gift giver, makes the most amazing cookies and literally is obsessed with her only son Mason (16). She is rarely seen without her husband Mark by her side or her in-laws and parents. She adores her niece Kayla as well! Family is everything to Stacy!

She's got a laugh that is contagious and fills a room. She's never met a stranger and her favorite thing to do is watch Mason play baseball. She is a second mom to all of Mason's best friends and his girlfriend Addi. She's seriously just good people...and the reason for this account is because she'd be the first person to do this for someone else, but the last person to ever ask for help because she just wouldn't want anyone to fuss over her.

But here we are...making a fuss because she is so incredibly loved. ❤️

Stacy's story is best summed up by her husband Mark's words.

"Around the beginning of summer, Stacy started not feeling well. It started as occasional vomiting and just not feeling well in general. As the weeks went on, she lost her appetite and became very sedentary. We attributed the lack of energy to not eating very much. After a while longer, her abdomen, feet and legs started to swell. Again, we thought this was related to sitting around and not doing anything. A couple of weeks ago, her legs started weeping fluid. I was begging her to get to the hospital and she was convinced that if she just made it a point to get out of the chair more often and walk around the house then the weeping would stop, the fluid retention would eliminate itself and she would be fine.

On Sept 1, I was helping her out of the chair (she was so weak that she could not get up without my help) and she fell. She was having a hard time breathing and I called the ambulance. She was transported to the hospital and admitted to the ICU Saturday morning. During the day on Saturday she was moved to the cardiovascular unit with an initial diagnoses of congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation; along with the obvious edema (fluid retention). Since that time, her condition has deteriorated. Her kidneys are failing and her liver has completely failed. The liver is responsible for the production of albumin, which is a blood protein that keeps fluid in the vascular system (within the walls of the arteries and veins). Since her liver had failed, there was no albumin being produced - hence the reason for the fluid retention as that fluid was supposed to be in the veins and arteries.

As of right now, she is sedated and on a ventilator. While they do not yet know the exact cause of the liver failure, they believe it was from cirrhosis that was caused by NAFLD - Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. If she is a candidate for a liver transplant, we are hopeful that a match can be located."

Stacy was transported to Barnes in St. Louis on Sept. 7. She will need to undergo a series if surgeries. Mark and Mason will need to travel 3 hours back and forth while she's healing and they will need hotel rooms, food and whatever else

comes up.

This little family is full of fight, hope and perseverance. We expect this to be a long road because we expect that Stacy will continue this fight for as long as it takes to heal. The last thing any of them need to worry about is the financial strain this type of illness can present. Many have asked how to help and while Mark would never

ask for this help, as you can imagine it will ease one worry for them.

If you cannot donate please pray for this family! Stacy has a long road ahead. More than anything we need God's miracles. Ask God for strength and complete healing fie this sweet family.

Thank you!