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| DECORAH, Iowa - Meet Courtney Smith of Decorah When Courtney was just a baby, her parents noticed she had some difficulties. Courtney was diagnosed with a neuro-muscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
"As the years went on, it's progressed and she's got a lot of respiratory issues like, just a common cold will take her as far down as to be put on life support in the PICU," said Courtney's mom Kris.
The ten year-old can't even swallow her own saliva. Her parents and helpers work around the clock to help her lead as normal a life as possible, but this summer created a whole new challenge.
"I seen the water and looked at Bill and told him, we need to get out of here," said Kris.
Like many families, the Smith's were devastated by record flooding. Their house was ruined, but the Smiths used the rebuilding opportunity to modify their house and make it more user friendly for Courtney.
"We took out a fairly large construction loan to do that," said Courtney's dad Bill.
But just as things were looking good, a whole new problem hit.
"A few weeks ago, I unexpectedly lost my job," said Bill. "I had no indication what so ever that it was coming. We've got 2 mortgages and then the construction loan, and of course there's medical expenses."
"we need to figure out a way to make our house payments and stay here. Courtney can not live in an apartment," said Kris. "We reach a point where we don't know what the outcome's gonna be."
But they say that just like their daughter does every day, they must keep fighting.
"Whatever it takes to do it."
The Smith's say they're struggling to find new jobs and care for their daughter. Bill's sister Karen is raising money to help them get through this tough time. They say and little bit will help. If you would like to help out the Smith's, donations can be set to:
Bill and Kris Smith
719 Decorah Ave.
Decorah, IA 52101
The Smith's can provide a receipt for tax purposes if needed. You can also learn more about Courtney's disease SMA by clicking here.
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