Support Finnley and Journey Richardson

Hi, my name is Journey Richardson. I graduated early this last December from Service High School at the age of 17. I had completed military testing and scored a 96 on my ASVAB, which I was told is very, very high. I had been recruited by several branches and was in the process of discussing with my family on whether I should attend going to college to be a veterinarian or join military service. My mother is a elementary substitute teacher and my dad is a fireman. They both love their jobs and I wanted to have the same passion for mine.

On March 19th my life drastically changed forever, and I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Finnley. I was 1 in 2500 women who carried a baby full term without even realizing that I was pregnant. The medical term for this is called a Cryptic pregnancy and its about as 3 times more common than having triplets.

I did not know in any way that I was pregnant. My uterus was located up behind my ribcage instead of sitting lower like most women. I attempted to be as responsible as I could using birth control and the symptoms, I did have were explainable. I had little weight gain and I spotted throughout my pregnancy and again I carried the baby very high so no '' baby bump'' was present.

Saturday evening while celebrating my mother's birthday with my family I started to have mild cramping. At about 4 am Sunday morning I woke up to the cramps worsening and I thought I was ovulating. I went to work for a few hours and came home and ate breakfast with my family and the cramps worsened. I left my parents house returning to where I was dog / house sitting and tried menstrual relief and an Epson salt bath around midnight.

The cramps started becoming so severe that I was nearly blacking out from the pain. I realized that something was very wrong. I went to feel if I was bleeding heavily and in disbelief.... I felt hair. That moment will stick with me for the rest of my life. At this time, I believe I went into shock and I began googling how to give birth and realized both of our lives were in danger. Finnley was born not breathing and a deep purple color. I administered CPR and attempted my best to keep her warm. Because I was in such a state of shock my brain wasn't processing the situation and fully understanding. All I knew was fight or flight mentality.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I learned that I had severe preeclampsia and will be dealing with heart issues for the rest of my life, but they are easily manageable. However, Finn is still fighting a battle of her own. She is still in NICU for the time being, and dealing with some musculoskeletal issues, possible genetic issues, and just general difficulty eating and breathing without aide.

Finn currently is still in the NICU and we just were told that she has been diagnosed with Klippel Feil Syndrome. Klippel Feil Syndrome is a very rare congenital bone condition characterized by abnormal fusion of 2 or more of the seven bones in the neck. Finnley has all 7 of her cervical vertebrae fused together. This does not allow neck movement and causes severe medical issues with the spine and back tissue. We are truly devastated by this news as it means she will have a lot of surgeries in her future to help correct as much as possible. Since this is an extremely rare syndrome it also means, we will need to travel out of state to meet with doctors that specialize in this syndrome. We are looking for help to pay for airline travel, hotels and other medical related expenses that will come along with caring for Finnley and allow her to live as fully functional as possible. If you would consider helping Little Finnley and I please do so. Any amount is appreciated and will go to the baby for her care and needs. This will be a very long Journey for the both of us. Please keep my family in your thoughts and your prayers.

Thank you.