Olivia’s story began before she was born. When I was five months pregnant, a series of abnormal ultrasounds led to genetic testing, and doctors discovered that Olivia had an extremely rare genetic disorder—an unbalanced translocation of her 8th and 22nd chromosomes. She was the only known person in the world with this genetic makeup. This diagnosis made my pregnancy high risk and gave Olivia an uncertain life expectancy from the very beginning.

Since birth, Olivia faced a wide array of medical challenges: failure to thrive, microcephaly, chronic lung disease, epilepsy, specific antibody deficiency, growth deficiency, profound hearing loss in both ears, oral aversions, ASD, and g-tube dependency. She was nonverbal, non-ambulatory, and completely dependent on others for care and advocacy. Most of her life was spent in hospitals due to severe illnesses, seizures, and feeding difficulties. This past year, Olivia’s health declined much faster than we had anticipated and on May 5th, 2026 at 8:55 pm she went to heaven in the arms of her family in her own bed. Our family has found comfort that she is no longer in pain and can run free in a body that does not fail her.

Olivia was so much more than her diagnoses—she brought light to everyone she met Many people have asked how they can help, and while it’s never easy to ask for support, we are now reaching out. Funds raised will help cover Olivia’s funeral expenses and other bills as we adjust to this unfortunate new normal. Your support will ease our family’s burden and allow us to focus on helping our other two children adjust to the loss of their sister.

If there is one thing that I hope Olivia taught anyone, it is that disabled individuals are people too. They deserve inclusion and to be treated with respect, dignity, and kindness. If you cannot afford to donate, please greet the next disabled person you see. Even if they cannot respond, make eye contact, or react the way society expects them to, every person deserves to be treated with kindness. Disabled people are people too.