Hi everyone,

Our granddaughter Ximora has been through a lot in the last year, including two surgeries in Seattle in the past few months. Her parents, Kacie and Dareon, need some help with travel expenses, special feeding equipment not covered by insurance and they have a hard time asking. Ximora has had ongoing medical issues since birth, and finding answers has been a journey. Since around two months old, Ximora has had feeding difficulties resulting in her throwing up every time she drank her bottles. Her mom knew something was wrong and had to advocate for her as her pediatrician at the time kept brushing the concerns off. Ximora’s feeding struggles progressed, leading to failure to thrive. This is where a baby or kid isn’t gaining or growing as they should. Ximora had several tests done, including several swallow studies. One of the swallow studies she had showed she is aspirating on her milk as well as penetration of liquids into her lungs. She would gag and choke when eating baby food or anything solid.

Ximora was referred to a pediatric ENT in Seattle. After seeing the ENT, they found she had a vallecular cyst at the base of her tongue by her thyroid. Ximora was scheduled for her first surgery in Seattle. During the surgery, she was seen by the aerodigestive team, which consists of three doctors. They all did a scope to see what else they could find as well as remove the cyst. After the recovery from surgery, everyone was hoping that her feeding and swallowing would become better. However, this wasn’t the case. Ximora was referred to do an overnight sleep study next. The sleep study showed that she has obstructive sleep apnea, causing her to stop breathing at night. After these results, she was referred for another surgery that she just had at the end of January. At this time, she also had a G-tube placed, which is a feeding tube that goes into her stomach to help her gain weight and get the nutrients she needs. Ximora will be heading back to Seattle April 9th to have her third surgery in hopes of helping fix her swallow and help her breathing. In addition, back to the Tri-Cities in March for a second time for additional tests. Their journey has been full of emotions and challenges, and if you would consider donating and helping out, I know it would mean a lot to them!