Our story began when Laina was placed in our arms at 5 weeks old. Her sweet birth mom needed someone to temporarily step in for a couple months and we gladly said yes! We knew nothing about feeding tubes and kidney disease but we knew this beautiful girl was worth the journey. As time continued, and Laina\u2019s medical needs grew, her birth mom asked us to adopt her when Laina was 9 months old. Just 6 months later we were an official family of 3. Laina came to our family after a decade long journey of infertility, and though we thought our journey was beginning just as foster parents, becoming Laina\u2019s forever parents has been the most beautiful journey we have ever been on. She is the joy in our everyday (we call her our little joy bomb- have you seen her smile?) and the treasure we pray to steward well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laina\u2019s genetic diagnosis of Polycystic Kidney Disease was something she was born with. And although medication, diet and proper care have kept her happy and smiling for the past 2+ years, her kidneys have reached failure. She is in desperate need of a transplant and the time for a safe transplant is ticking faster than we would like. We have chosen to work with the transplant team at Children\u2019s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who has a well trusted surgeon and group of doctors who have transplanted a new kidney to two of our friends\u2019 children just this past year as well as countless others. Truly, they are one of the best teams in the country!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully we have found a\u00a0perfect donor match \u2013 our biggest hurdle yet! We now have a fast-paced timeline and only a few weeks until her transplant, which means we are navigating this large financial burden at rapid speed. Things like out-of-pocket deductibles for both Laina and a donor, medications, travel for the transplant and post-transplant for 12 months of monitoring, hospital stays, 2-month Airbnb stay during transplant, food, gas, and many other unforeseen expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any way you choose to step into this journey with us is worth more than we could ever express. We are so thankful for every prayer, every donation to COTA for Laina and all the other ways you have shown support during this time. We are so hopeful and expectant for the new life ahead for Laina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Children\u2019s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation\u2019s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA\u2019s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Our story began when Laina was placed in our arms at 5 weeks old. Her sweet birth mom needed someone to temporarily step in for a couple months and we gladly said yes! We knew nothing about feeding tubes and kidney disease but we knew this beautiful girl was worth the journey. As time continued, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":88,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n