Hello everyone! This is Morgan Gersten and Peyton KirkPatrick. These past few weeks have been very rough and we would love to share our story in hopes for some financial help, good vibes, prayers, and happy thoughts coming our way.

October 4th, Morgan's 26th birthday, she was admitted to the hospital because every time she stood up she would get very dizzy. We also noticed that Morgan's skin and eyes had turned completely jaundiced (yellow). Morgan's hemoglobin (the protein contained in red blood cells that is responsible for delivery of oxygen to the tissues) was at a dangerous level. Immediately, Morgan was transferred to Baptist South Hospital where she received two blood transfusions. Morgan was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA). AIHA is a condition where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own red blood cells. AIHA can be primary or secondary, meaning you could have the disease on its own or there could be an underlying cause, such as a cancer. Morgan under went a bone marrow biopsy. Luckily, the bone marrow biopsy came back clean of malignancy but still had some suspicious cells that hematology wanted to further investigate. After a 4 night stay at Baptist, Morgan was able to go home.

Following going home, Morgan immediately had appointment after appointment with her hematologist at Cancer Specialist of North Florida. They decided they wanted to do a Pet Scan, a scan that is used to detect and diagnose diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders. Morgan's pet scan results lit up in three different areas surrounding lymph nodes. This led to doctors speculating she could have lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. The hematologist decided that Morgan needed 4 , once weekly infusions of a medication to help her body to stop attacking itself. After a few days of outpatient care and 1/4 infusions, Morgan started not to feel well again. After getting lots of labs done, they realized Morgan's hemoglobin dropped into dangerous levels again, despite the two blood infusions.

On October 23rd, Morgan was admitted back into the hospital. Upon arrival, Morgan immediately received two more bags of blood. The next step was to do an endoscopic biopsy of the lymph nodes. Luckily, the lymph nodes are CLEAN! We are SO relieved to say that Morgan does not have lymphoma and will not have to undergo any chemotherapy treatments. The doctors have determined that Morgan has one of the most complex cases of AIHA that they have ever seen. After only a few days following the blood transfusions, Morgan started getting very faint every time she would stand up again. Her heart rate shoots over 160, her lips turn white, and her blood pressure even dropped to a dangerous 55/38. Morgan is unable to get up on her own to use the bathroom and do daily tasks without her heart rate going into the danger zone. Because of this, Morgan has STILL not left the hospital since October 23rd.

On November 1st, Morgan's hemoglobin dropped AGAIN. November 2nd she received two more blood transfusions. Morgan is still receiving her weekly infusions, which unfortunately, are quite expensive and cost over $1000. As of right now, Morgan is still in the hospital to make sure her hemoglobin does not drop again. It is a very long and lonely stay, but she is in the right place if something were to happen and she needs another transfusion. As of November 3rd, there is no set plan on when Morgan will be able to go home, what her future treatments will look like, when she will be able to return to work, or what her new "normal" will look like.

With all of this being said, Peyton and Morgan have decided to move into Morgan's moms house for the time being as Morgan is not working. The infusions, hospital visits, and bills are becoming to be a lot. We are swallowing our pride and asking for any help and love we can get. As soon as we have a further update on treatment plans and such, everyone will be updated.

Even if you are not able to donate, it does not cost a penny to share this link to spread the word around!

With all the love in the world,

Morgan and Peyton <3