The Need: We’re in need of assistance to help with the cost of medical care for our 10-year-old son (around $10,000 in out-of-pocket medical debt), and to provide a home tutor for our son to help him catch up on months of school that he’s missed due to illness.

Backstory: My name is Kim Gilbert and I am fundraising for my 10-year-old-son, Reed. Reed started having stomach pain in January 2024 - pain that was so severe that we took him to the ER. After a CT scan, he was diagnosed with swollen lymph nodes in his stomach - a really painful condition. This could have been caused by a virus but a definitive answer wasn't given. We’ve been seeking answers since. The pain continued and after two more visits to the ER, and visits to his pediatrician, we were referred to a pediatric GI doctor. Several more tests were conducted: a colonoscopy, endoscopy, breath test - all returned with “normal” results and no real answers. Reed continued to be in pain without any relief and to have other gastrointestinal symptoms. On May 1, Reed had another CT Scan which found that his appendix was abnormal. He had an emergency appendectomy on May 2nd. The surgeon reports that this may help his pain, but it may not, as they still aren’t certain of the underlying cause of things. If it doesn't help, we will need to go the functional medicine approach to provide supportive care, which most likely won't be covered by insurance. While we are lucky enough to have medical insurance, we have a very high deductible and have already incurred almost $10,000 in out-of-pocket medical debt as a result of trying to get the appropriate care and diagnosis for Reed. And there will be more to come, sadly.

Due to his illness, Reed hasn't been in school since the end of January 2024. We’re doing some work at home and he is meeting virtually with his teacher. But missing months of school is hard on any kid, and we need to hire a tutor over the summer to help get him caught up.

A Truly Difficult Year: This year has been very difficult as my husband was out of work for 6 months due to having surgery for a torn rotator cuff. (He is an electrician and this was a career-limiting injury with a 6-8 surgical recovery time.) This is very difficult for us to ask for help but unfortunately we have to come to this as a last resort. For a while, I was able to work a second job while my husband had his long surgery recovery, but as Reed became ill, I had to leave the 2nd job to provide care for Reed (thankfully, I still have my primary job, but it’s not enough to manage this perfect storm of medical crisis expenses). My husband has missed a lot of work due to his surgery, and helping with Reed’s care, and doesn’t have any paid time off since returning to work from surgery. We’re very hard working people and just need an opportunity to ensure that our family is provided for, and to help us care for our son as best we can at this difficult time.

It’s important to us to help pay it forward as soon as we’re able, and to help our kids understand the need to help others. Reed would like to help other kids and families in need and will be collecting toys and cards of support for kiddos at the Children’s Hospital later this summer, as he’s able. Being sick has opened his eyes to how many kids and their families are in need of support while battling illness. If you’d like to receive an update on his efforts later this year, please be sure to leave your email address for us in the notes of this campaign or send us a message. We can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read all of this, and for your support and prayers. We truly appreciate it.