3-Year Old Girl "Courageous Caitie" in the Hospital for Weeks with No Clear Diagnosis. Here's How We Can Help.

I’ve been following “Courageous Caitie” for weeks now and like many people who follow her page, there were times that I found myself tearing up for this kid and her family and yet, there were many times across the miles, that I have celebrated with them if there were news of any victories (big or small) regarding this challenging time in their lives.

See, Caitie has been in the hospital for more than a month now and she has had no clear diagnosis yet. What started out as something that looked like insect bites turned out to be something much more than that, but what exactly? The question, to this day, still remains unanswered. Caitie has had numerous tests and numerous procedures done. For a little girl of just 3 and a half years old, Caitie has done Platelet transfusion, PRBC transfusion, IVIG, lymph node biopsy and all these other medical procedures and test that I can’t even pronounce or even begin to understand.

I have known Caitie’s parents for years now. Jayjay was one of our top photographers and our mentor at our photography studio Imagine Nation Photography and I have worked with his wife as a a stylist for our boudoir photography brand numerous times now. I have always admired how passionate they both are towards their craft but I admire them even more for being such a close-knit family with their two kids, Ethan and Caitie and so when news broke of Caitie’s frequent returns to the hospital, my heart, along with many, went out to them.

“Day 43 in the hospital, 24 doctors, close to 20 plus blood extractions, 10 blood transfusions, 8 Iv insertions, 2 bone marrow aspirations, 2 citiscans,1 skin biopsy, 1 lymph node biopsy, 0 diagnosis. Tally that up and it equals to 1.. 1 God who is sovereign and in control.”

Despite all the challenges that the family has been facing, Caitie and her entire family remain strong, hopeful and faithful in deed and in prayer and has inspired and encouraged many others just by seeing their posts and being part of their journey. For others, to be part of the journey means joining them in prayer, being with them physically, sharing encouraging words, donating blood, giving breast milk, bringing in a Minion to encourage Caitie to eat more bananas and at one point, had Darth Vader and some Star Wars Storm Troopers come in to not only to have a field day with Caitie but to put a smile on the faces of other kids in the hospital as well. There are indeed moments of defeat throughout this battle, but many, many stories of encouragement and victories as well.

This little girl, who’s been battling an unknown disease for over a month now, needed some cheering up yesterday. So some Storm Troopers visited not just her, but other children confined in St. Luke’s QC as well.

As the family all try to move forward, friends and family, and even strangers are coming together to help Jayjay and Feliz as hospital bills increase steadily by the day. As of date, their hospital bills have amounted to around 1.2 Million pesos and continues to grow everyday. In lieu of this, two events have been lined up by friends and family for the following week which we hope could help the family manage their mounting bills as they still continue to find a cure for Caitie and as options of finding a cure abroad seem to be the next best option . If you feel encouraged to help this family, please feel free to support any of the events below or even share an encouraging word or two on their official Courageous Caitie Facebook Page

Tipify Me who also designs personalized and customized cases for a variety of gadgets has also decided to help the Lucas family by selling ‪#‎CourageousCaitie‬ cases.

The road ahead seems long, but it is not without fervent hope and the unrelenting capacity to love that keeps this family going. As a sign of support, we hope to see you in one of these events!