This story is about my lovely daughter and her family and starts with the first child, Vincent. Although challenging at times as it is for any new parents, he was a healthy little boy. Three years later came child 2, Kaitlyn, a healthy little girl. Then a real adventure came 2 years after Kaitlyn. Andrew was born with many health concerns, the biggest being a chromosomal anomaly which caused a lot of secondary issues. After only 17 days in the NICU he came home on oxygen and a feeding tube. Although he has overcome some of his health concerns today his health still remains a challenge. He has had many hospital stays at Riley Hospital for Children. It is hard to keep him healthy between his constant respiratory illnesses and seizures. He will be 2 years old the 8th of October and currently weighs only 16 lbs. and wears 12 month clothing. He cannot put himself into a sitting position, does not crawl or eat anything by mouth. He is getting physical therapy, occupational therapy and will be starting speech therapy soon, but no one knows for sure what the future holds.

Then a surprise, 16 months later number 4, Emily, came along with even more challenging health concerns. She, like Andrew, has the same chromosomal anomaly which also causes her to have some mild seizures and a slow development rate. At 6 months of age she remains on a ventilator with a tracheostomy tube. Since birth she has been at Riley. She finally came home on September 8th with a wagon full of equipment. Because of all of her equipment and the constant care she will need, Dawn and Rich have moved out of their ground floor master bedroom to make that her room and they have moved upstairs to share Andrew’s room. Vincent and Kaitlyn, at 7 and 4 years of age, are currently sharing a bedroom, which will not be appropriate soon.

The medical problems of the younger 2 children are many, but Medicaid helps significantly with those expenses and nursing care that is needed for both. A nurse comes to watch Andrew during Dawn’s and Rich’s working hours. Emily will have a nurse during those times and also while the family sleeps. This, of course, puts one more person in a house with very little space.

Hence the problem that needs addressing: the family needs a bigger house. They cannot put their house on the market until the privacy fence and the furnace/air conditioner are replaced. Dawn and Rich want to be able to handle all of this on their own, but they are stuck in a rut at the moment. They both work very hard with full-time jobs, but there is just not enough money. What they really need is enough money for the repairs necessary to list the house and then enough extra to put with the money from the sale of the house as a down payment toward a bigger place with a mortgage they would be able to manage from then on out.

Asking for money from friends and family is a very uncomfortable thing for all of us to do, but I’m hoping that reaching out to loved ones will somehow spread the news further, to people who might be more equipped to help. Go Fund Me was suggested and I thought, if you don’t at least ask, you don’t know what miracle God might perform through His believers. Thank you.