Help Taylor Fight to Get Back on Her Feet!

Taylor, a senior in high school loves hanging out with her friends, her catering class, and making TikTok dance videos. She recently has been enjoying the freedom of having her drivers license and was looking forward to going off to college until last month, when her and her family’s world turned upside down.

Taylor had been having some minor back pain but thought it was just a pulled muscle until she woke up Saturday morning, October 1st with unusually severe back pain. Her parents rushed Taylor to urgent care where she spent the day getting test after test as her symptoms worsened. What started as back pain in the morning led to tingling in her toes that traveled upwards and by the evening, ultimately resulted in the inability to feel or move, completely paralyzing her from the chest down!

She was immediately transferred to Kaiser’s pediatric ICU in Hollywood as her doctors were worried that the sudden and catastrophic paralysis would worsen. Soon, her hands began to tingle, her vision was affected and doctors worried that they would need to intubate her.

The first few weeks in the hospital were filled with countless blood tests, a spinal tap, and hours and hours spent getting MRIs while her team of doctors tried to figure out what was causing the severe lesions that had formed in her brain and spinal cord which led to this catastrophic and rapid paralysis as well as blurred and double vision. The doctors narrowed it down to an autoimmune attack, causing severe inflammation in and around her brain and spine causing something called transverse myelitis, but the specific cause was still unknown.

Over the next four weeks in the hospital, Taylor endured, 3 IVs, a port-a-cath, and a PIC line so she could received 5 rounds of plasmapheresis, massive amounts of high dose steroids, 5 rounds of IVIG, treatment with an immunosuppressant drug, and three rounds of chemotherapy, all in hopes of stopping the progression and reversing her paralysis. Naturally, her parents were desperate for a diagnosis that would give them some answers. Unfortunately they finally got the news they were hoping to avoid. Taylor was diagnosed with Catastrophic Onset, Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating central nervous system disease that is very rare in teens her age. There are only 5,000 cases of pediatric MS in the United States. Unfortunately there is no cure but there is hope that she can recover from these catastrophic symptoms and live a healthy normal life!

Taylor may need additional chemo treatments in the coming weeks but, for now, she's been moved to Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Hospital in Downey for inpatient rehab. She has since regained some tingling in her lower extremities and is able to move her feet and legs more but is still 100% dependent on a wheelchair. Although doctors can’t predict the extent of recovery possible, her amazing therapists at Rancho are impressed with her progress so far and her determination to walk again fueled by her never-ending positive spirit. Because of this progress, they have asked Kaiser insurance to approve a longer stay at Rancho as her therapists have hope that, with a lot more physical therapy, she could walk again. But, at a daily rate of $10,442, it’s no surprise that Kaiser has denied her treatment extension and, instead, agreed to reevaluate her discharge date on a weekly basis.

Naturally, this has left her parents, Paige and Jason, feeling anxious about the need for ongoing rehabilitation services beyond what Kaiser will provide. In addition, Paige and Jason haven’t left her side during this stressful period and while, they are taking things day by day, there is mounting concern for how they will be able to afford the intensive care and services Taylor will need, especially if they can’t return to work for a while. Unfortunately it is becoming apparent that their Kaiser health insurance only covers so much and there is a lot of in home care, additional physical therapy, treatment, equipment and modifications to their home plus vehicles that will need to be paid for out of pocket.

Obviously, we can't allow money to hold back Taylor from walking again! This GoFundMe will hopefully help ease that burden and allow them to get Taylor the care she needs to someday walk, run, drive, and even dance again. Please share this GoFundMe with everyone you know who might be able to help and please continue to pray or put positive thoughts out into the universe that Taylor makes a full recovery!

With Love & Gratitude,

The Gamer & Schurgin Families

(on behalf of Taylor, Paige, Jason & Josh Rubin)