Baby Rafa's Bone Marrow Transplant

When Rafa was born in April, his parents, Dwight and Ashley, immediately knew something was wrong. He had bruising and petechia (tiny spots of bleeding under the skin) all over his body. It was determined he has a rare undiagnosed blood disorder where he doesn’t produce platelets - the cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding.

At two weeks old, Rafa had a PICC line placed, and he remains platelet transfusion dependent. His transfusions require trips to the hospital 2-3 times a week. Rafa has also suffered from an active GI bleed for two out of the three months of his life. Once the GI bleed is resolved, Rafa will need a Bone Marrow Transplant. The original goal was to complete his transplant as close to one year old as possible, but it now appears it may be needed even sooner.

While certain costs are covered by medical insurance, it won’t begin to cover all the expenses the family has already incurred or will continue to accumulate throughout Rafa’s journey to transplant and through his recovery.

Please consider donating whatever you can to help this precious family. All donations will help ease the burden of some of the following expenses:

• Medical bills and supplies not covered by insurance – they recently received a $2000 bill (after insurance) for a single hospital visit

• Medications not covered by insurance - just one of Rafa’s current medications is $125 per month

• Traveling Expenses – costs involved (gas, lodging, food, etc.) traveling from their home in Chattanooga to Cincinnati, where Rafa can get the expert medical care he needs. In just the last few months, the family has driven over 3000 miles to/from appointments.

Any donation you can give will be greatly appreciated. Also, please help spread the word by sharing this link with your family, friends and online communities.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25