Dylan's medical expenses

My name is Erin Carlson and I have created this Gofundme to benefit my dear friend Cindy Kieswetter and her son Dylan. As you may know, Dylan was born with Dandy-Walker Syndrome which is a rare, congenital buildup of fluid in the brain that impacts the cerebellum portion of the brain. This is a rare disorder and it impacts all areas of Dylan's life--everything from his balance, coordination, mood, behavior, speech and ability to care for himself. Additionally, Dylan has scoliosis and is scheduled to have spinal fusion surgery next week. The surgery itself is 10 hours long and will have a long recovery including additional hospital stays, therapies and treatments. During the preparations for the spinal surgery, a spot was found on Dylan's liver that required additional testing and MRI's prior to his surgery.

After Dylan's spine surgery he will no longer be able to take baths and due to his health needs Cindy is in need of modifying a bathtub to make it accessible for him.

As you can imagine, the cost to modify a bathtub to make it accessible can cost upwards of $10,000 dollars. This additional cost along with insurmountable out of pocket medical costs--each of his three MRI's that Dylan has needed in preparation for his spinal surgery have result in thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills--before he has even had the surgery.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about Cindy and Dylan and why they are so important to me. Cindy is the type of friend who even as the single mom of a disabled son who works full time she showed up at the intensive care unit of a hospital with homecooked food for my whole family when my mom had a stroke. Cindy shows up for those she cares about and she is always willing to put others before herself.

My sweet friend Dylan has the biggest heart of anyone that I know. He loves Tigger and all things Disney. His smile can change the world and he gives amazing hugs. Dylan is in high school now and is really thriving. The next few months will be a scary and long journey for him and his mom.

I would love to be able to help Cindy modify her bathroom so that she will be able to properly care for Dylan and to help offset some of the medical bills and loss of wages that Cindy will be experiencing during the upcoming months related to Dylans surgery and recovery.

Over the past decade of friendship Cindy has shown up for me no matter what in ways that she will never even know and as a single mom of a special needs child the costs have become overwhelming for her. Even the smallest donation will help provide medical treatment for Dylan and allow him to have accessibility in their home.