The kiefer family

Hi my name is Megan and I’m trying to raise money to help with medical expenses as well as normal life bills for the kiefer family. They just found out their oldest daughter Taylar has chiari I malformation. That means that the back of the skull was slightly misformed at birth, or a bit too small, and the back of the brain is a bit lower than it should be which puts pressure on the spinal cord. That causes the cord to become inflamed and not able to absord the fluid it produces which builds pressure and creates pressure around the base of the brain, including around the optic nerves. They are recommending corrective surgery in which they shave a bit of the skull and top of the vertebrae to make more room and alleviate the pressure so the cord can return to normal. According to the Dr She has Chiari Malformation "pretty bad" compared to most kids with this. That is why surgery is necessary!

Her fluid cyst in her spine is larger than most as well and it can cause damage if not addressed soon.

The optic nerve swelling could be a separate cause/issue and that means there is still inter-cranial pressure that they are concerned with - there could be something more that is not found and possibly deeper. We asked lots of questions about that and how to figure that out. He thought hard and there is a wire they will put through her skull and it will monitor the pressure for a day or two while she is in the ICU after surgery.

Stay in the hospital will be 3-4 days unless something comes up. If the pressure is too much still after the decompression surgery there is risk of brain fluid leaking through the patch and that's dangerous. It will obviously be monitored. We will have to work closely with optometrist as well because the optic nerve stuff can cause damage if not addressed.

With all this going on Mom and Dad(Amanda and Jason) will have to be off work taking care of her as well as their younger two girls. With not working and these new medical bills coming up. It would be a much appreciated gesture if you could help them out.