Support Gracie Arnett's Medical Journey

**Update**

Gracie still continues to face challenges with her shunt. She has had revisions to her LP shunt 6 times since January and 4 in the past 3 weeks. She has been in the hospital for 14 consecutive days as of May 12. We hope to get some answers tomorrow and pray that another surgery is not needed.

Hi everyone, I am Hailey Johnson, Gracie Arnett’s sister. When Gracie was in utero she was diagnosed with Encephalocele is a serious rare birth defect in which the tissue covering the brain, and a portion of the brain itself, protrude through openings in the skull. Less than 24 hours after she was born she was rushed into emergency surgery to correct the issue. At two weeks old she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and required a VP shunt to survive. Over the next six months of her life, she had 7 brain surgeries. After 6 months of age, she went 17 years without any complications and exceeded every doctor's expectations. At 17, she started experiencing shunt complications again. Over the past 2 years, she has had 8 shunt revisions and is currently in the hospital experiencing issues again. All of her surgeries and appointments, except the last one, have happened at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Each hospital visit and surgery required multiple days of inpatient care, and 6 weeks plus of recovery. The travel expense, time having to take off work, and medical expenses have added stress to an already stressful situation. Her medical bills these past two years have been very costly. Our mom is currently working two full time jobs to help cover expenses. Our mom is the most giving, selfless person and would never ask for help herself, so I created this GoFundMe for Gracie and our mom Jennifer to hopefully help alleviate some of the financial stress that has come along with this. If you aren’t able to help, we understand and just ask that you pray for her and anyone else diagnosed with Hydrocephalus.