Support Baire's Essential Medical Therapies

Hi everyone! As most of you know, my name is Kayla Furrer and I am starting this GoFundMe for my son Baire's medical needs. Baire just turned 3 years old today (2/22)! With that being said, there are a lot of changes that happen when a child with special needs turns three. I want to start by giving a little backstory here on Baire's journey to three years old.

When I was 20 weeks pregnant with Baire, I went in for a routine ultrasound. The same day, I got a call from Kaiser saying that they found fluid in Baire's brain and kidneys and that I needed to come in for a Level 2 ultrasound the following day. There were a couple of specialists there for my Level 2 ultrasound for Baire to review the results as they were getting them. After they were done, the specialists came in and said, "Everything looks great! We just saw he has a small head, which means he will have a smaller head than his peers." Not really thinking anything of it, I was then put in a room with a member from Kaiser to review options of aborting the pregnancy. I was so confused about why I would even need to discuss this, let alone consider this, if all that was "wrong" with Baire was his head being smaller than 'normal'. We immediately declined any abortion options, and I started getting ultrasounds monthly just to monitor his head size and ensure it was growing, which it did follow the growth curve but it was a lot lower than the 'normal' growth curve.

Baire was due on 2/26/22 (fun fact, one of his oldest brothers was born 11/26 and his youngest brother was born on 7/26!), but he decided he wanted to have one of the coolest birthdays ever and was born on 2/22/22. The delivery was normal but the doctors found that his blood sugar levels were low, and yes, he did have a very small head. We stayed in the hospital for four days, and before we left, they had us schedule an appointment with the infant high-risk team at his 6-month check-up.

During this time, I only saw Baire with the eyes of a loving mother. I didn't see his small head or his missed milestones. I was going through the motions of a mother who had three other children to raise, as well as a nursing infant. Not to mention, there was a 6-year gap between Baire and my next son, so I really naively thought Baire was maybe a little delayed but I still considered him "normal".

At Baire's six-month check-up, that's kind of when everything started to change. He was observed and did not meet the developmental requirements a 6-month-old should have. Within that same month, we were referred to several other specialists, one of them being a pediatric specialist who ended up diagnosing Baire with spastic cerebral palsy at 7 months old. Hearing this diagnosis made me one motivated mama. I was so determined to do all of the in-home exercises that I was introduced to and felt like I could "fix" him. After about a month of his diagnosis, Baire went through RSV, flus, and winter colds from October to February. It almost seemed like he regressed in his development after being sick for nearly four months straight and it made it nearly impossible to work out with him and give him the therapy that I knew he needed. During that time, though, we were introduced to CCS (California Children's Services), Alta Regional Center, Orchard, and Easter Seals. Because of these places, Baire was able to get all the equipment he needed from his AFOs, wheelchair, a walker, a stander and start the process of getting therapies from Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, to Speech Therapy. He was allowed to see each therapist once a week for 45-minute sessions. These therapists would come to Baire's daycare and be able to do the therapies "in-home." As a working mom, this was a godsend.

Yes, I did hit a few bumps in the road, however. Baire was considered TOO special for the two mainstream daycares he was in and ultimately required me to reach out to the public in hopes of finding someone I could hire directly. We were blessed enough to find Baire's new nanny, Elizabeth, who was open to the idea of taking care of a baby like Baire and having different therapists come to her house each week. It has been a little over a year and three months now and Elizabeth still watches Baire. I am forever grateful that I had someone step up for Baire the way she has, truly.

There were so many changes that happened with Baire from 2-3 years old. We received his first EEG (a test that measures your brain activity using electrodes on your scalp), and it was determined he was having seizures. I speak with his neurologist regularly and Baire has been on medication for several months now but still has seizures frequently, specifically when he's transitioning from being awake to falling asleep. Baire received a G-Tube (feeding tube) through surgery in October to ensure Baire is getting enough nutrients for his body. Baire received his first MRI scan a couple of months after his 2nd birthday, which resulted in a lissencephaly and pachygyria diagnosis, which essentially are both rare brain disorders "whereby the whole or parts of the surface of the brain appear smooth." A child that has these disorders is time-stamped with a life expectancy of up to 10 years. If I did my math right and if we all went by what the doctors say, that would mean I have 7 or fewer years with my baby Baire. This is absolutely painful to write, but I am not giving up on him, and I NEVER will.

Because Baire just turned 3 years old today, all of the therapies and services that came to Elizabeth's house are now all transferred over to a school within the school district of our residence, which means no more therapists going to Elizabeth's house. Unfortunately, Elizabeth's house is outside of the school district by about 2 miles, and the school/school district refuses to provide transportation for any special child outside of the school district boundaries, which means no school for Baire as long as he's at Elizabeth's house or I pay out-of-pocket costs for transportation costs, which can be thousands of dollars a year.

SO, now I have my three-year-old Baire who cannot attend school (where he would be getting his therapies) and who will continue his time with Elizabeth for now with no therapists coming to Elizabeth's house because those services are no longer applicable.

The only viable option for us to ensure Baire gets the services he needs in order to give him a fighting chance is to get these therapies back but pay for them out of pocket. With (1) hour therapy sessions being almost $150 per session, it is not cheap, and we cannot afford it despite how hard his father and I work. I did know that this was coming, so I did sign up Baire for an HSA (health savings account); however, it comes with an extremely high deductible and monthly payments. I do believe it is the answer to ensure Baire meets all his therapy needs for the next year at a minimum and for the rest of his life honestly. This is the reason for this GoFundMe page. My family and I really need help being able to afford this health insurance plan so I can get Baire his therapies back plus MORE. I am asking anyone who is able to, to please help Baire get the therapies he absolutely needs. His therapies could benefit his abilities, which could, in turn, give him a much longer life than what is currently expected for him.

Out of our five children, Baire is the most special in so many ways; we really cannot lose him. If you know him, you love him. His smile makes anyone's day better. He laughs, he cries, he loves, and he is loved. He deserves opportunities to grow and show what he is truly capable of.