The Essex Family
Donation protected
This is the story of the Essex family. We have had our fair share of challenges in our short history.
Our daughter Claire was born was an extremely rare condition. She has a duplicate of the 19th chromosome, which caused a failure to thrive while my wife Jessi was pregnant. Claire was born on time, but weighed only 3lbs. Since then (over 3 1/2 years) she has had multiple surgeries and procedures to address her small size and as of July of this year had a gtube inserted to help her eat. Currently she only has the mental capacity of a 9 month old and is the size of a 12 month old. Despite being almost 4. The doctors have no understanding on her condition and weekly PT, OT and multiple doctor appointments are the norm and my wife is responsible for driving her to those (sometimes 3 and 4 per day).
Our son Eli, suffers from a genetic orthopedic condition (metaphyseal dysplasia) of the Schmidt type. This condition causes a bowing of his legs and a short stature for the rest of his life. In addition, he is in daily pain from leg surgeries required to straighten his legs so that he can walk. Since his condition is rare as well, we have to drive to Orlando to see his orthopedists.
As a result of these conditions and many more. Our family has incurred nearly $135,000 in medical expenses. We filed for bankruptcy this year and a some of these expenses will be forgiven. However, this is only a temporary solution as we will incur this medical expenses again, because we are unable to pay their ongoing costs.The ongoing conditions of both Claire and Eli cause continual medical expenses monthly, which often exceed $1000.
We have tried to apply for assistance, but because I work, we receive too much per month. Therefore, both Claire and Eli (both being severely disabled) do not qualify for SSI disability. We are responsible totally for all healthcare costs.
I have worked full-time for 12 years and had insurance for that entire time, but we can no longer do it by ourselves. We are normally a very private family and do not share our personal business, but the need is very important. This is not a shameless ploy for money. We have met with lawyers, our elected officials, Social Security Administration and health insurance representatives. If there every was a "unique" case, we fit that mold. We have so many special circumstances, that we have TOO many circumstances.
We are asking for help from anyone. We would never expected that this situation could happen to our family.
Thank you,
David and Jessi
Our daughter Claire was born was an extremely rare condition. She has a duplicate of the 19th chromosome, which caused a failure to thrive while my wife Jessi was pregnant. Claire was born on time, but weighed only 3lbs. Since then (over 3 1/2 years) she has had multiple surgeries and procedures to address her small size and as of July of this year had a gtube inserted to help her eat. Currently she only has the mental capacity of a 9 month old and is the size of a 12 month old. Despite being almost 4. The doctors have no understanding on her condition and weekly PT, OT and multiple doctor appointments are the norm and my wife is responsible for driving her to those (sometimes 3 and 4 per day).
Our son Eli, suffers from a genetic orthopedic condition (metaphyseal dysplasia) of the Schmidt type. This condition causes a bowing of his legs and a short stature for the rest of his life. In addition, he is in daily pain from leg surgeries required to straighten his legs so that he can walk. Since his condition is rare as well, we have to drive to Orlando to see his orthopedists.
As a result of these conditions and many more. Our family has incurred nearly $135,000 in medical expenses. We filed for bankruptcy this year and a some of these expenses will be forgiven. However, this is only a temporary solution as we will incur this medical expenses again, because we are unable to pay their ongoing costs.The ongoing conditions of both Claire and Eli cause continual medical expenses monthly, which often exceed $1000.
We have tried to apply for assistance, but because I work, we receive too much per month. Therefore, both Claire and Eli (both being severely disabled) do not qualify for SSI disability. We are responsible totally for all healthcare costs.
I have worked full-time for 12 years and had insurance for that entire time, but we can no longer do it by ourselves. We are normally a very private family and do not share our personal business, but the need is very important. This is not a shameless ploy for money. We have met with lawyers, our elected officials, Social Security Administration and health insurance representatives. If there every was a "unique" case, we fit that mold. We have so many special circumstances, that we have TOO many circumstances.
We are asking for help from anyone. We would never expected that this situation could happen to our family.
Thank you,
David and Jessi
Organizer
David Essex
Organizer
Newberry, FL