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Doctors aren't sure what caused the Oct. 7, 2021 seizure or heart attack, which left little Alayah brain-damaged and wheelchair-bound. To make matters worse, her mom Leah Butler, lost her job and is caring for her around the clock.
More than $4,300 had been raised on a GoFundMe for the family as of Saturday, April 2, as Butler recently lost her job, and has been home caring for her daughter.
Alayah was taking a nap after getting back from the pumpkin patch, her mom explained. When she woke up, she started to cry.
"What's wrong, baby?" Butler asked, offering her some albuterol that doctors had prescribed for her asthma.
Alayah declined and asked for her "Pop-Pop," Butler's dad, who lives with them. The toddler was laying down and began to seize, her mom said.
"It was like she was possessed by a demon or something," said Butler, who rushed her daughter to the hospital.
Alayah was at Beth Israel Medical Center for nearly a month and then was transferred to Children's Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
"The doctors were looking at me and I was looking at them like, hello?" Butler said. "Alayah was this healthy little girl. She's really smart. She was fully potty-train at 2, and they call her 'Boss Baby,' because she's bossy. "She loves animals and was a vegan by choice."
It turns out, the toddler was left brain damaged due to lack of oxygen. Still, the cause of it all remains a mystery, her mom said.
Alayah has since returned home, where she's being cared for around the clock by her mom. She can't talk and she can't walk, but she is getting better. Last week at physical therapy, she tried to ride a stationary bike, her mom said.
"Things could be worse but after losing my job and not being able to go right back to work, things are crazy," Butler writes on the GoFundMe.
"I don’t care about me guys I just need to raise money to get her anything she need that can bring my little girl back."
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