Hi! My name is Gaëllissa. My husband Brent and I are very proud parents of a courageous princess named Reilly. She is 4 months old.Reilly is currently battling a rare disease called infant botulism. It is a bacteria that grew in her large intestine and eventually attacked the nerve endings throughout her body, causing weakness to the point where she was unable to eat, move, and breathe on her own (more info on infant botulism can be found here ).If you would like to read her story, please click here We are raising funds to help us cover some of the catastrophic medical expenses we've incurred throughout the course of our baby's illness.She is already making great strides in getting well since being diagnosed, but she has a long road of recovery ahead. Being that infant botulism is such a rare illness, many tests and scans have been, and continue to be, run on a daily basis. Reilly has had every body part and bodily fluid checked for almost every disease, virus, bacteria, and deformity, multiple times. Even after she is cleared of this illness and discharged from the hospital, she will need to be admitted to an inpatient rehab facility to continue working on her strength, mobility, and most importantly, learning to eat normally again.Reilly's illness has come to a cost upwards of $100,000, and continues to build. As you can imagine, this situation is totally unexpected and quite catastrophic. Neither Brent nor I were prepared in the least to even think about the possibility of dealing with something so severe for Reilly's first time being sick. We were armed for a cold -- not infant botulism!Fortunately, our insurance has covered most of the cost of Reilly's medical care. However, we are still expected to pay our out-of-pocket deductible fees, plus other expenses that arise that are not covered by insurance (our travel home from North Carolina, for instance). Although my maternity leave is coming to an end, I will not be returning to work while Reilly is still on the road to recovery. We knew the transition to becoming a one-income family was going to be a financial challenge; what we were not expecting was to be inundated with medical bills when we aren't even through paying for Reilly to be born.Many of you have already been so incredible in supporting us through prayer and keeping in touch with us as we go through this difficult time. Some people have even provided us with meals and paid us a visit. We are so very humbled by how much Reilly is loved! This is just one more opportunity to help us out. Literally any amount will be incredibly helpful to us; don't feel obligated to give a large, or even medium-sized, amount.Brent and I have learned so much about humility and compassion in these last few weeks, and again, we cannot thank you enough for the amount of support you've shown before today. And if this happens to be the first time you're hearing of this, or even if you don't know our family at all, I'm thoroughly impressed with your commitment to reading, and thank you for your interest!Reilly is only 4 months old and is already loved by so many -- we are in awe. Thanks for reading!