As close friends and family know, our 13-year-old daughter Presley has been hospitalized since March 23rd after the flu and strep caused her to develop sepsis and pneumonia. That combination of illnesses came extremely close to ending her life, but our girl is a warrior and fought through a cytokine storm.

Unfortunately, the severe inflammation and blood clots caused multiple organ failures and a reduction in blood flow to her extremities. On March 26th, her medical team had to amputate both of her legs in an emergency surgery to save her life. There is also some damage to her left hand that may require future surgeries, but we’re hopeful that the majority of that hand can be saved and are working with multiple specialty physicians to give her the best chance for a positive outcome.

At this point, Presley is hospitalized in a Pediatric ICU. Most of her organs have recovered, but she continues to struggle with blood clots, her kidneys not quite being ready to return to full function, and some blood pressure issues. She has physical and occupational therapy daily, wound care, dialysis, respiratory therapy, and sessions with child life, social workers, and psychologists to make sure her physical and mental health is supported appropriately. She is loved here, and the care she receives is nothing short of amazing. We are very blessed that when she had to be airlifted from her second hospital, they chose the facility she’s at.

While our family’s needs are currently met, we know Presley will require a lot of care moving forward to be able to return to a happy life in her new normal. Because of that, we’ve set up a GoFundMe in Presley’s name to make sure she has funding for things like prosthetics, adaptive mobility items, and therapies our insurance may not cover.