Angels for Ayva

Hello, my name is Lindsey, and I have been blessed to have a beautiful niece, Alexi, who is 20 years old, who just had a beautiful little baby girl, Ayva Lynn on May 16, 2020. During Alexi’s pregnancy, it was discovered that Ayva had a cleft lip and palate. Our family has done our best to prepare to care for a baby with a cleft lip/palate, including learning feeding techniques and meeting with a craniofacial surgeon, among other medical staff. However, we were not prepared for what happened when she finally arrived. Alexi had to undergo an emergency C-section due to Ayva’s heart rate dropping. And when she arrived there seemed to be something else wrong. Her eyelids were fused, and she had a cyst on her right nostril obstructing her airway. She has been in the NICU undergoing many tests and being seen by many specialists. She had an MRI of the brain and is thought to have Septo Optic Dysplasia, which is a condition affecting the optic nerve, brain, and hypothalamus. What this means for Ayva is that she is blind, and will have issues with hormone production/regulation, especially that of growth hormone. She may have intellectual and developmental delays and she will need to undergo treatment with many specialists. First, she will have the cyst on her nose removed before leaving the hospital, then have her lip fixed between 3-4 months old. 

Other than numerous medical bills, Alexi does not have transportation to be able to get Ayva to all of her medical appointments, since she was involved in a car accident in her early pregnancy, and the at fault insured did not pay out enough to replace her totaled car . Her finance, Jordan, has a vehicle but of course must use it to get to work to support his new family, this would leave Alexi without her own means of transportation for her and Ayva whom will have numerous doctor and specialist visits for years to come. 

We have never used "GoFundMe" and struggle to ask for someone else's hard earned money especially during a pandemic. We all have our own struggles, as Americans, Fathers, Mothers, Sons, and Daughters, it's been a test to all of us. If you can help in anyway, words cannot describe how grateful we would be. #Angels4Ayva