This is Ashley Nichols, I am a friend of April and Daniel. Many of you may remember April from working at Hope Network. She and Daniel welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Isabel "Izzy" in late September. Her first couple of months went great, and she is a happy, sweet little girl. However, the week prior to Thanksgiving, she started to develop trouble breathing. Initially, the doctors thought this was a virus and would get better with breathing treatments and steroids. Unfortunately, she continued to have issues with breathing and ended up being admitted to the hospital in Shelby for a few days before being transferred to Levine for several days. They finally discovered that she has laryngomalacia. They thought that treating her with tapering steroids would work for now and she could follow up with ENT in January. That did not go as planned, and Izzy began to have more and more trouble breathing. Thankfully, her mother advocated for an earlier ENT appointment. They saw that specialist this week, and he scheduled her for a procedure today to further evaluate the problem. He discovered that there is actually a mass in Izzy's airway, and he was thankful that April got her in sooner for this issue due to the severity. Izzy came through the diagnostic procedure okay but remains in ICU on sedation and a ventilator for now while they do some additional testing. They are planning to do a CT scan soon to further evaluate the mass. The doctor does thinks it is benign but will likely require surgery. At this point, Izzy remains in ICU and is stable, but the upcoming treatment plan is unclear for now. They are expected to have an extended stay at Levine.

Of course, we all know that hospitalizations put a financial strain on any family. April has not been able to return to work at all, and Daniel has missed days as well. Traveling to the hospital and eating out every meal also adds up on top of lost wages.

Above all, we ask for your prayers for Izzy, April & Daniel, and their family, as well as for wisdom for the medical team caring for her. We would also like to take up a monetary collection just to show our support and hopefully ease some of the financial burden.

April has been such a light in this community and helped so many women in recovery. Now is a great time for us to show our appreciation for her and share the love of Christ.