Chiari Queens - Love For Austyn, Amelia, Aubrey, & Addy

01/18/2026

Austyn was discharged this afternoon after 2 nights in the hospital. We will follow up with her neurologist at Cincinnati when we are there next week or the following week. Her EEG showed some things but we aren’t 100% sure what they mean for her. For now, we have changed her seizure rescue med and we will wait to see what Cincinnati says. Thank you all for all of the prayers. It means everything to us that we have so many people willing to pray for our babies! ❤️

01/17/2026

01/17/2026

Things sure can change in the blink of an eye when you have a medically complex kiddo. ❤️‍🩹

We could use some prayers for Austyn as she has been admitted to the hospital. They are doing a 24 hour EEG on her. She was at her sisters wrestling match yesterday evening and fell asleep in my arms. When she woke up we could immediately tell something was not right. It seemed like she was having some seizure activity so we brought her to the ER and they took it seriously. They decided to admit her given her history and do the eeg to see what is going on.

She is very upset because her first basketball game was today and she has to miss. She just keeps saying she is not happy and this is the worst day ever. Thankfully Thomas Hospital Pediatric floor has some of the best nurses and have been nothing but amazing to us(like usual.. we have been here far to many times with her sisters in the past two months). They have loaded her up with new stuffies to love on, toys to play with, and coloring books to keep her entertained. Thankful we have somewhere to turn close to home when a trip to Cincinnati is just to far in certain circumstances.

Please just keep our girl in your prayers. She is so tough but she just doesn’t understand why she has to go through these things.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We are forever grateful for everyone’s continuous prayers and support for our girls and our family. ❤️💜

12/15/2025

Please pray for Amelia. She woke up sick Saturday morning and we ended up in the ER earlier this evening. She has Flu A, Rhinovirus, a UTI, and her lab work is all over the place. She has been admitted and is being monitored and given IV fluids and will repeat laps in morning. Pray they can figure out what’s going on and that we can keep her fever down and get her feeling better quickly.

12/05/2025

** UPDATE** Aubrey was treated & released…administered some IV medications & being referred to an allergist for further testing as this is not the first episode following a surgical procedure. Please continue to keep her in your prayers for a smoother recovery ahead & some answers…

Please keep our girl Aubrey in your prayers as she has made another trip back to the hospital/ER due to some complications from her appendix surgery this past Monday. She is still in some pain & has developed an allergic reaction to something post-surgery. Awaiting test results now & follow up on next steps for our girl…

12/03/2025

Our sweet girl was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. She is in good spirits but in a good bit of pain. Hopefully she wakes up tomorrow feeling so much better!

Thank you all so much for all of the prayers. We appreciate it more than anyone can ever know. ❤️❤️

PLEASE PRAY that this is our last surgery of the year(or next year.. or ever). 😭 4 surgeries for 4 kids in 2025. My nerves are shot and I just want to be able to enjoy what we can of Christmas and hopefully 2026 brings some peace in our lives.

12/01/2025

Aubrey did well during surgery and is resting comfortably in her room for the night. She was in a good bit of pain the few minutes she was awake but she has been asleep ever since.

Thank you so much for all of the prayers, calls, texts, and love for our sweet girl and for us. It means so much to us. ❤️❤️

Please keep the prayers coming that we can keep her pain under control, that her fever doesn’t return, and that she gets to go home tomorrow.

12/01/2025

Asking all the prayer warriors to join us in praying & blessing our Aubrey Olivia. She began having pains in her abdomen late last night continuing thru the night into the early morning hours becoming unbearable. We took a trip to the ER & after some testing, it’s revealed that she has an inflammed/enlarged appendix & will be undergoing surgery this afternoon for removal before it ruptures. She is in alot of pain & worried to death but she is a fighter & just another bend in this medical journey road she has been down. Please keep her in your thoughts & much needed prayers for a successful operation and promising outcome & recovery ahead. 💔💔

11/21/2025

UPDATE!! Amelia did great during her MRI and woke up perfectly from anesthesia. We are back at the hotel and will start the drive back home soon! Thank you all for the prayers! It means so much to us.

Please whisper a prayer for Amelia. She was just taken back for a sedated MRI of her spine. She was so brave going under anesthesia but she started crying quietly and saying she was a little scared once she was on the table. We agreed she would dream about Christmas and she went off to sleep. This never gets easier. 💔

The Ronald McDonald house was full so they were excited to get a hotel with a pool to enjoy last night!

11/15/2025

I believe I posted this on my personal Facebook but not on here when it happened in February for Austyn’s 2nd Brain surgery and Addy’s Tethered cord surgery. This trip ended up being extended almost a week longer because of issues with insurance. We decided to come home a day earlier than we had told them and suprise everyone. The video shows us suprising Aubrey at school and the relief on her face just melts my heart. She had already had her surgery for Chiari Malformation & tethered spinal cord the year before so she knew what her sisters were up against.

Everyone knows that surgery is hard. That our girls have been through so much between all of their surgeries.

This is the part everyone forgets. While we sat in NYC for weeks at a time for each surgery(4 trips. 5 surgeries. I believe close to 60 days in NYC) our life was still happening at home. School, sports, and everything in between. When one girl was in surgery, our other kids had to keep on living their normal lives without their parents and sibling. We are thankful we have a village who stepped up to help that we could trust but it never got easier leaving them.

11/07/2025

Post from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital w/ links to both CBS News & People Magazine’s articles about our family, our girls, & their medical journeys w/ Chiari Malformation & Tethered Spinal Cord…💜💚

When Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham first noticed unusual irritability, mild developmental delays, and a tremor in their baby girl, Austyn, it was the beginning of a health journey that would lead to four of their daughters being diagnosed with the same rare brain condition: Chiari malformation, an abnormality that causes brain tissue to press down through an opening at the base of the skull and into the upper spinal canal, creating pressure on the brain and spinal cord that causes symptoms like limb weakness, headaches, and nerve pain.

Austyn was 18 months old when a genetic test revealed her diagnosis. After learning that she required brain surgery, her family traveled from West Virginia to seek help from Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield, a pediatric neurosurgeon at of Children’s Hospital of New York. In March 2023, he performed a procedure to give Austyn’s brain more space and restore the normal flow of spinal fluid. When she woke up from the surgery, it was clear to her parents that she was finally out of pain. "When we did the follow-up with Dr. Greenfield, I told him, 'You gave me her laugh," said Ashlee.

In the two years that followed, Ashlee and Paul noticed symptoms in three of Austyn’s sisters — 3-year-old Amelia, 7-year-old Aubrey, and 11-year-old Adalee — and each received a diagnosis of Chiari malformation and tethered spinal cord, a related issue that occurs when the spinal cord becomes attached to surrounding tissue. Dr. Greenfield performed surgery on Amelia in October 2023, Aubrey in November 2023, and Adalee in March 2025. Austyn also underwent a successful follow-up surgery in February 2025.

While about 10% of Chiari malformation cases have a genetic link, Dr. Greenfield said it was extremely surprising to have four siblings diagnosed with the condition. Today, the girls are all active and thriving. "Dr. Greenfield gave us our family back, and that is the most amazing gift anyone could get," Ashlee said.

Read more about their incredible story, which has been featured by:

CBS News: https://nyphosp.co/3Jz2XaL
People: https://nyphosp.co/43jPFWb

Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medicine