Hi, my name is Laura Ford. I am reaching out to ask for support for my son PJ Orsburn, and my daughter in law Rhonnalee Orsburn.

Recently, their daughter Maelee Orsburn who is two and a half months old has been diagnosed with a rare liver disease known as Biliary Atresia. Maelee has spent 14 days in Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, Washington going through a series of tests to properly diagnose her. Tuesday, August 12th, 2025 Maelee underwent an extensive surgery known as the Kasai procedure to confirm her diagnosis. At this time she is currently in the Intensive Care Unit while they verify her liver is functioning properly.

Biliary Atresia is a rare and serious liver disease that occurs when a baby's bile ducts are nonexistent or blocked, causing bile to build up in the body. In most cases, 80% of patients will end up needing a liver transplant. To treat Biliary Atresia, doctors will perform the Kasai procedure and later on a liver transplant if needed. Most newborn screenings do not include the direct bilirubin number which could lead to late diagnosis, which is what happened in Maelee's case.

This diagnosis comes with a lot of unexpected expenses, and figuring out ways to navigate through Maelee's new life journey and diagnosis. The goal for this go fund me is to lift any sort of financial burden that medical bills, procedures, medications, etc, may cause for my son and his family. I am kindly asking for any sort of donation you can provide to help in support of Maelee's needs.

A public Facebook page has been created for all of those who would like to see updates of Maelee's prognosis and follow her story. Maelee's Journey with Biliary Atresia