Care for Caliyah

Jerome and Falesha Johnson's lives were changed overnight after welcoming their baby girl, Caliyah Joy Johnson on January 16th. In addition to medical expenses, they are traveling back and forth to Seattle Children’s, eating on the go, and taking time off from their careers. All of these expenses add up significantly and quickly, so if you can support the Johnson’s in any way, we thank you. There are so many unknowns for them right now, easing the financial burden for them is something that is within our power.

Please also share on your Facebook or Instagram if you feel compelled to do so to help us meet our first goal. Thank you for helping us support this amazing family.

From Jerome and Falesha:

"On January 16th we received our biggest blessing. We also we received our biggest life test, that we will pass.
Some of you may know that doctors started seeing abnormalities on my 37-week ultrasound that suggested our daughter, Caliyah Joy Johnson, may have a rare genetic syndrome named Pfeiffer Syndrome, which causes complications with the skull and the sutures in your head to fuse prematurely, this then causes structural issues to the bones in the face, airways for breathing, and a bevy of other complications. Due to this news Rome and I switched hospitals and doctors in the last two weeks of my pregnancy. This syndrome, in addition to other complications, was diagnosed when she was born.

I was induced on January 15th at 6:30pm by 11:00am things quickly escalated and my water broke on its own and I got to 10cm dilated at 3:00pm. Once I got the green light to push our beautiful daughter arrived 45 minutes later at 4:09 on January 16th—6lbs 3oz and 18 inches long.

After birth, UW Medical Center transported her to Children’s Hospital to be treated by some of the best doctors in the world. However, Caliyah is having to breathe and eat through a tube due to complications. Which means that we have not been able to enjoy the normal baby-parent bonding period.

We are looking at 3+ surgeries to correct her skull, facial reconstruction surgery to fix her small jaw, nasal airways, and forehead in a matter of the next three years. Please pray for strength and healing for our baby girl.

As you can imagine, Rome and I are so entirely blessed that we have a room at Children’s, experienced doctors and a strong support system to take on these surgeries and fulfill the needs of our princess, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the fact that it’s going to take a lot of physical emotional support. Since most of our days and nights have been/will be spent at Children’s Hospital, we ask that you remain patient with us and how quickly we respond. If we aren’t meeting with doctors, we are enjoying time with our daughter the only way we can.

Again, we thank you all for your support during these tough times."