Help The Gray Family
Donation protected
Hi, everyone. This is Josh writing to you while Meghan sits beside me, and our beautiful baby Cameron sleeps in the next room.
Meghan became pregnant in December of 2013 with Cameron. Needless to say, this was a very exciting time for us, as I was knee deep in school as a full-time student, and Meghan was beginning her new marketing job with a local car dealership. Things were looking brighter by the month as Cameron continued to develop healthily, Meghan was successful at her work, and I was achieveing academic success while still holding down part-time work.
As Cameron grew in Meghan's belly, so did his nursery. Every week seemed to bring in a new and exciting item or gift that just made his impending arrival feel that much more amazing. Things were going as we had hope and planned.
Unfortunately, plans do not always work out in the way that you hope they will. As Meghan reached the end of her third trimester of pregnancy, strange things started happening. She started to become extremely fatigued (normal during pregnancy, I know) and eventually developed severe tremors in her hands. The doctors assured us that this was simply pregnancy-related, and we tried to rest our worried minds. In August of 2014 things took a turn for the worse. As Meghan's tremors became worse, and spread to the rest of her body, her cognitive functioning began to strangely diminish. Meghan started to see and hear things that weren't there, and also began hearing music. She became paranoid, and her affect flattened until she seemed a shell of her former self. As a husband, I could only watch as my wife suffered. She would shake and kick in the night, wake up confused, exhausted and pale, and I could only watch and worry.
On August 16th Meghan and I were at a diner trying to eat after one of her OB appointments. She became suddenly ill, and I rushed her to the emergency room against the doctors orders. She was told again that everything was normal, and to go home and take a bath. We knew there was something more. Once admitted, she was monitored, given IV fluids, and released that night, still tremoring and losing cognitive function. Five days later, our lives would change forever.
On August 21st, Meghan's condition was so worrisome that I wondered how she would ever get through the delivery of a baby. Unfortunately, this worry would never be put to the test. At 1:00 PM, during a routine OB examination, Meghan had a grand mal seizure right there in the office. Her face turned white. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was violently shaking. She began foaming at the mouth. I thought she was dead. My heart stopped, and I thought I was living in a nightmare. As I called out her name, I knew she couldn't hear me. The ambulance came, and Meghan was rushed to the hospital as the doctor in the back was yelling "his heart rate is dropping!" This was, of course, about the baby. Both of my loves were slipping away.
Upon arrival, Meghan was rushed into an emergency c-section while still seizing. I waited, preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best. at 1:22 PM, Cameron Mark Gray was born. He was a healthy baby. I was so relieved. Meghan however, was not so lucky. She continued to seize after delivery, and they could not control it. She was rushed to Intensive Care, and given heavy medication to temporarily stop the seizures. Meghan had 19 seizures in a row before her body gave her a slight break.
After spending four hellish days and nights in Intensive Care, and another few on a different unit, Meghan's seizing, and cognitive impairments had not improved. She had to be transferred to Albany Medical Center's Neurology unit.
After a hellish week at Albany in which the worst was feared, Meghan was finally treated for an extremely rare condition... AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS. This was her diagnosis. Somewhere along the line, her immune system had created antibodies that attacked her brain. Her brain was swollen, and this was the cause of her seizures and cognitive impairments. It was unclear how/if Meghan would recover. No one knew what treatments would work, if any. She finally began receiving the correct infusion treatments, and began to improve. Meghan continued to need these treatments after her discharge, and as I write this, is still days away from another.
Needless to say, Meghan acquired an astronomically high amount of medical bills during her multiple stays in these hospitals, and due to these life-saving infusions. The list of all of her procedures would be another novel I would have to write. Our family now finds itself in trouble. With Meghan unable to return to work due to her recovery, and our new baby requiring the care and love that new babies need, our income has literally dwindled to nothing. The medical bills (and living expenses) pile up, and bankruptcy seems to be our only option at this point.
We have become a family in need. Any monies donated would go to the greatest of causes: Helping a new family trying to recover after a terribly traumatic experience. A family that has been through the darkest of times, and needs the light of friends and strangers to help them land on their feet. While Meghan could not be there for the first few weeks of her child's life, she is here now, and I am so grateful. I would also be grateful for the kindness of a donation. Anything that you or your family can offer ours would be a godsend.
While Meghan's condition was rare, I hope the kindness and empathy of other human beings is not. This experience proved that something bad can happen to anyone, and you never know when you will end up in need of help. I hope you can find it in your hearts to give, even just a little. We certainly will when we are able to again.
I wish you and your families health and happiness always.
-Josh Gray
Meghan became pregnant in December of 2013 with Cameron. Needless to say, this was a very exciting time for us, as I was knee deep in school as a full-time student, and Meghan was beginning her new marketing job with a local car dealership. Things were looking brighter by the month as Cameron continued to develop healthily, Meghan was successful at her work, and I was achieveing academic success while still holding down part-time work.
As Cameron grew in Meghan's belly, so did his nursery. Every week seemed to bring in a new and exciting item or gift that just made his impending arrival feel that much more amazing. Things were going as we had hope and planned.
Unfortunately, plans do not always work out in the way that you hope they will. As Meghan reached the end of her third trimester of pregnancy, strange things started happening. She started to become extremely fatigued (normal during pregnancy, I know) and eventually developed severe tremors in her hands. The doctors assured us that this was simply pregnancy-related, and we tried to rest our worried minds. In August of 2014 things took a turn for the worse. As Meghan's tremors became worse, and spread to the rest of her body, her cognitive functioning began to strangely diminish. Meghan started to see and hear things that weren't there, and also began hearing music. She became paranoid, and her affect flattened until she seemed a shell of her former self. As a husband, I could only watch as my wife suffered. She would shake and kick in the night, wake up confused, exhausted and pale, and I could only watch and worry.
On August 16th Meghan and I were at a diner trying to eat after one of her OB appointments. She became suddenly ill, and I rushed her to the emergency room against the doctors orders. She was told again that everything was normal, and to go home and take a bath. We knew there was something more. Once admitted, she was monitored, given IV fluids, and released that night, still tremoring and losing cognitive function. Five days later, our lives would change forever.
On August 21st, Meghan's condition was so worrisome that I wondered how she would ever get through the delivery of a baby. Unfortunately, this worry would never be put to the test. At 1:00 PM, during a routine OB examination, Meghan had a grand mal seizure right there in the office. Her face turned white. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was violently shaking. She began foaming at the mouth. I thought she was dead. My heart stopped, and I thought I was living in a nightmare. As I called out her name, I knew she couldn't hear me. The ambulance came, and Meghan was rushed to the hospital as the doctor in the back was yelling "his heart rate is dropping!" This was, of course, about the baby. Both of my loves were slipping away.
Upon arrival, Meghan was rushed into an emergency c-section while still seizing. I waited, preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best. at 1:22 PM, Cameron Mark Gray was born. He was a healthy baby. I was so relieved. Meghan however, was not so lucky. She continued to seize after delivery, and they could not control it. She was rushed to Intensive Care, and given heavy medication to temporarily stop the seizures. Meghan had 19 seizures in a row before her body gave her a slight break.
After spending four hellish days and nights in Intensive Care, and another few on a different unit, Meghan's seizing, and cognitive impairments had not improved. She had to be transferred to Albany Medical Center's Neurology unit.
After a hellish week at Albany in which the worst was feared, Meghan was finally treated for an extremely rare condition... AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS. This was her diagnosis. Somewhere along the line, her immune system had created antibodies that attacked her brain. Her brain was swollen, and this was the cause of her seizures and cognitive impairments. It was unclear how/if Meghan would recover. No one knew what treatments would work, if any. She finally began receiving the correct infusion treatments, and began to improve. Meghan continued to need these treatments after her discharge, and as I write this, is still days away from another.
Needless to say, Meghan acquired an astronomically high amount of medical bills during her multiple stays in these hospitals, and due to these life-saving infusions. The list of all of her procedures would be another novel I would have to write. Our family now finds itself in trouble. With Meghan unable to return to work due to her recovery, and our new baby requiring the care and love that new babies need, our income has literally dwindled to nothing. The medical bills (and living expenses) pile up, and bankruptcy seems to be our only option at this point.
We have become a family in need. Any monies donated would go to the greatest of causes: Helping a new family trying to recover after a terribly traumatic experience. A family that has been through the darkest of times, and needs the light of friends and strangers to help them land on their feet. While Meghan could not be there for the first few weeks of her child's life, she is here now, and I am so grateful. I would also be grateful for the kindness of a donation. Anything that you or your family can offer ours would be a godsend.
While Meghan's condition was rare, I hope the kindness and empathy of other human beings is not. This experience proved that something bad can happen to anyone, and you never know when you will end up in need of help. I hope you can find it in your hearts to give, even just a little. We certainly will when we are able to again.
I wish you and your families health and happiness always.
-Josh Gray
Organizer
Meghan Gray
Organizer
Queensbury, NY
