Support the Killin family

On June 15th my sister Taylor was admitted into the ICU and diagnosed with Diabetic ketoacidocis and Acute renal failure. After being in the hospital for a few hours she was then told she’s pregnant! Scary and exciting news all at once. About 2 months after that she had an appointment with her Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctor just to make sure everything was going smoothly with her pregnancy. During the ultrasound her doctor noticed that baby’s brain and spine had some abnormalities. After a few more scans and tests, baby was diagnosed with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele with Chiari II malformation. Myelomeningocele is the most serious type of spina bifida. With this neural tube defect, a sac of fluid comes through an opening in the baby's back. Part of the spinal cord and nerves are in this sac and are damaged. This type of spina bifida causes moderate to severe disabilities, which may include difficulty or inability to walk. With the Chiari type II malformation, the cerebellum and brain stem grow abnormally and cause pressure inside of the skull. As a result of this diagnosis, Taylor was referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. After a series of appointments with many doctors and surgeons, they have decided that Taylor and baby qualify for an in utero surgery at 24 weeks gestation to close the opening in baby’s spine and hopefully reverse the Chiari. After surgery Taylor and her husband Cory will need to stay in Rochester for 2 and a half weeks and will have weekly follow up appointments here in Cedar Rapids when she returns home. At 36 weeks she will return to Mayo to deliver baby via C-section and will have to stay there while baby is in the NICU. This journey won’t be easy and there are many unknowns. The last thing I want Taylor and Cory to worry about is the financial side of things which is why I created this GoFundMe. Donations would be greatly appreciated and if you are unable to donate we would love if you could pray for Taylor, Cory, Knoxlee and their new baby.