In honor of our baby Maxim, we are joining with UVA Health to support the care of patients at UVA Children’s Hospital. These families are faced with enormous expenses, many that are not covered by insurance. And many nonprofits don’t pay direct medical costs - so families who need help often have nowhere to turn. We don’t ever want another family to hear “there is no fund available to help cover the cost of saving your child’s life.” So we’ve created TWO funds to help families wherever they need it most: 

• UVA Health's Miracle Maxim Fund
  
  Why should you give to this fund? 

• Gifts through this page are fully tax-deductible & managed by UVA Health. 
• Over 50% - The number of UVA Children's patients on Medicaid or other financial assistance.
• More than $148,500 - Amount spent in 2020 by UVA Children's to help eliminate barriers to the cost of critical care for their families.
• 11.5% - Share of UVA Children's total unrestricted funds spent in 2020 to help families get critical care for their children.
• $113,000 - The bill for our baby's first week of lifesaving care at UVA Children's.
• $76,000 - Maxim's in-hospital pharmacy expenses for 6 days.
• $12,000 per injection - The cost of just one medicine, which helps prevent catastrophic brain damage. Its treatment plan requires 2 shots per day for 4 weeks. 
• A two-night stay was roughly $9,000. An overnight stay was $7,000. An out-patient EEG & interpretation by several specialists was nearly $2,000. Maxim will require this kind of care for the rest of his life.
  
• Some families are uninsured. Others have their claims rejected & have to watch their children suffer as they fight to secure funding. And even traditional insurance plans often only cover 70-80% of expenses. If you take Maxim's first week as an example, a 20% coinsurance responsibility would be $22,600 - almost $98,000 per month. Many patients are hospitalized at UVA Children's for weeks... or months... or on & off for years. 
   
• Miracle Maxim's Private UVA Hospital Fund
  A secondary fund has been established to cover direct medical expenses that cannot be paid by UVA. For more information, please email us at: miraclemaxim21@gmail.com. 

The needs are real. The costs are enormous. But Max is worth it. They’re all worth it. To honor these children & their incredible bravery, constant smiles in spite of significant pain, & the sheer joy they bring the world, please join us in helping bring hope to the families on UVA’s 7th floor - donate today. As our friend Ryan Lightner says, "For the kids!" 

Who are we & why are we doing this?
At just 5 months old our baby Maxim was hospitalized at UVA Children’s Hospital in 2021, diagnosed with an extremely rare seizure disorder. Within hours, our lives were turned upside down. Doctors were unsure if Max would suffer catastrophic brain damage or even die before age 5. In the midst of that nightmare, we were also facing huge immediate expenses (just 4 weeks of one medication costs roughly $200,000) followed by the likelihood of a lifetime of high-cost specialty care. We were lucky - Max responded well to treatment & was able to return home, we had insurance from my husband’s military service, & I was familiar with the healthcare system & some available resources due to my career in nonprofits. But mostly, we were blessed by the overwhelming support of family, friends, our church, our local community, & even complete strangers. Thanks to their generosity, we’ve been able to meet his every need so far. But not everyone is so lucky. Please donate today & help a family in their darkest hour. Help us pay forward the generosity that was shown to us when we needed it most.

Note: All contributions given are considered gifts by IRS standards. No goods or services will be exchanged for any donation to either fund.