A Kelowna toddler is fighting for her life after being diagnosed with a rare inflammatory disorder.
Abigail Lyons, 2, was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital last week after her mother, Jordain, was called to pick her daughter up from daycare after staff observed her unable to stand and saying ‘ow, ow.’
Abigail has since been flown to the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder that causes inflammation of the spinal cord.
A GoFundMe page has been started by family friends to help cover medical costs.
“[Jordain] is one of the most caring and selfless people I know, she’s a single mom and Abby’s father is not in the picture and does not support them financially,” said Payton Gosselin, who started the fundraiser. “She works at the Foundry helping troubled youth and is a dear friend to my daughter and I. She needs help so she can continue to be by her daughter’s side during these troubling and uncertain times and to have her mom there to support them.”
The page said Abigail will need to be on a ventilator for “many weeks.”
In an update provided on April 15, Jordain said Abigail has been moved to a new method of treatment and is still fighting, showing her ‘feisty personality’.
“A few days in they had to change her ventilator to a nasal vent because she bit right through the tube — a true demonstration of her feisty personality,” read a post on the GoFundMe page from Jordain and Michelle Lyons. “She is pretty clear that anyone in yellow scrubs is not welcome at her bedside and she vigorously shakes her head no when they arrive. She still wants to watch cartoons and loves her mommy to be by her side.”
The GoFundMe has passed its $25,000 goal but is still open for donations.
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