The coworkers of a northern Arizona law enforcement officer are rallying around their brother after his baby girl was rushed to Phoenix Children's Hospital for emergency surgery.
Officer Stephen Farmer, 25, has been with the Chino Valley Police Department for about two years.
Thursday, he came home after work to find his daughter, 1-year-old Gabrielle, acting lethargic and throwing up.
"We went to change her diaper, [and] her diaper was full of blood. We rushed her to the hospital,” said Officer Stephen Farmer.
Doctors told them Gabrielle had what’s known as intussusception.
"The insides of her colon and everything just tighten up on each other and basically go inside out,” Farmer said.
The condition is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children three years old or younger, according to the Mayo Clinic. Gabrielle’s situation was so severe that she was flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery.
Doctors had to remove 60 percent of her colon and four percent of her small intestine. Gabrielle is now recovering from the major surgery to her tiny body.
Officer Farmer has medical insurance, but the medical bills are expected to be more than the family can handle.
"I'm sure it will be with all these days in the ICU, the surgeries, the procedures, the flight,” said Stephanie Farmer, Officer Farmer’s wife and Gabrielle’s mother.
His fellow Chino Valley Police Department officers have started a donation page to help with those costs. Sgt. Mike Pereda said over the phone that Officer Farmer has done a lot for the community, and his coworkers want to help him get through this.
"[It is] definitely hard, definitely scary at first. Then we started realizing the love and support that we had from my department and friends and family,” Farmer said.
If you would like to donate, you can do so by clicking here.
