Ashley's Medical Costs

This is for my daughter Ashley. She will be undergoing her fourth surgery to try, once again, to fix her pectus excavatum, or sunken chest as it is more commonly known. This is a congenital birth defect that causes a structural deformity of the anterior thoracic wall. In Ashley's case her sternum and ribs are putting direct pressure on her heart and lungs which causes difficulty breathing and intense pain while performing physically demanding tasks. Normally surgical intervention is not required. And if reparation surgery is required it is considered cosmetic. However in Ashley's case surgery is medically necessary due to the severity of her sunken chest.

Ashley has undergone 3 other surgeries since 2016 to try to restructure her chest wall. In 2016 the Nuss procedure was performed in the first attempt to try and give her some relief. During this procedure a single titanium bar was placed behind her sternum and sutured to her ribs. The recovery time was supposed to be two to four years with the removal of the bar at the end. However, in 2018 she was in a car accident that ultimately shifted the bar in her chest. Due to the bar shifting Ashley was left in pain once again thus resulting in her surgeon making the decision to remove the bar that was holding her chest up. During the removal of the bar it was discovered that the bar had fused to her ribs and had to be chiseled out. In 2019, after moving to North Carolina, Ashley began experiencing more pain and after locating a specialist two and a half hours away she was informed that her chest had once again caved in and was scheduled for surgery. This time the surgeon performed a modified Ravitch procedure. During this procedure her xiphoid process was removed, her ribs were broken away from her sternum, and everything was wired back together in the proper place. The surgeon stated originally that he was going to be placing a pin in her chest to keep it elevated during the healing process but decided against it.

Recently Ashley began having all of the symptoms she experienced when she first found out about her condition and sought out a new specialist. Only this time around her chest has sunken in worse than it was when originally diagnosed. On Monday, January 9th Ashley will be undergoing her fourth, and most extensive and painful surgery yet.This time around she will have 2 bars placed behind her sternum as well as a sternal lift, removal of all scar tissue from previous surgeries and the potential that part of her bone will be removed and replaced with mesh wiring. Unfortunately, it was brought to Ashleys attention recently that insurance will cover little to no cost of this $150,000-$200,000 procedure.

Ashley is hard working and has always been there to help others whenever she can. She always wanted a career in helping people which resulted in her working for the Buncombe County Search And Rescue and obtaining her EMT certification and working for Charlotte Motor Speedway after moving to Concord. She does not like asking for help as she is stubborn and very independent. But right now she needs it. I know it seems like a large amount to ask for but with insurance refusing to cover the procedure and her having to be out of work it puts a lot of stress on her and her wife Kaye. I would like Ashley to be able to focus on healing. And I would like Kaye to be able to care for Ashley without having to work extra to make ends meet. This amount will help with that and help with a portion of the medical bills. Even if you cannot donate, just sharing will help. We are all hoping that this will be her last surgery and are asking for all good vibes, thoughts and prayers that can be mustered for her. Thank you.