Our little Cora is a fighter!

I know Shyann and Grant are private people, but right now they need all our prayers to lift up their baby girl and a little bit of financial help to lessen the burden.

February 8, 2025 was the best day of Shyann and Grants life. They delivered a beautiful and seemingly healthy baby girl Cora Wren Rutledge. Their hospital stay was unremarkable and were discharged home the following day.

On day 3 of life, she came to the hospital for a repeat hearing screen which landed her into the NICU in respiratory distress. She was transferred to Hershey and found to have a metabolic condition called Propionic Acidemia (PA). PA makes Cora unable to break down proteins and some fats and it requires her to be on a special diet and close monitoring of her ammonia levels. She was very sick. Shyann and Grant got her the help she needed at Children’s hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) which is 3 hours away from home.

They were at CHOP for the first month of Cora’s life. She was finally able to go home once she was stabilized and they figured out the correct recipe of breast milk, formula, and her medications.

She had an uneventful 5 months at home. Shyann and Grant were finally feeling comfortable with her care.

On Thursday 8/21, Shyann noticed some quick abnormal movements in Cora. She quickly alerted Cora’s medical team and drove her to Hershey for evaluation. Once at Hershey, she was hooked to an EEG and monitored for seizure activity.

Cora has an additional diagnosis of West Syndrome now, which is also known as infantile spasms. Shyann’s quick thinking and vigilance was recognized by her medical team. These spasms can often be overlooked but they can be very detrimental to an infant. Cora must now undergo a month-long treatment of high dose steroids. She also needs to be transported to CHOP again to monitor the treatment closely since she has Propionic Acidemia.

Shyann is now a stay-at-home mother to Cora. They have lost half of their income to focus on their baby girl. Grant has used up his time due to all the hospital stays. His time spent at CHOP with his girls is unpaid.

Please consider donating to Shyann, Grant and Cora as they face yet another challenge. This journey with Cora has been excruciating and exhausting. Shyann and Grant have been so strong throughout the challenges they have been faced with. Worrying about finances is a stressor that we can help control for them. If we can all come together to donate, we could really help alleviate just a little bit of the pain they are experiencing.