Desiree Egan-Jaramillo gently held her daughter's hand after putting her into a red Flyer wagon on a recent Thursday afternoon.

But her daughter, Fiona, wasn't on her way to an Easter egg hunt or an afternoon of playing in the park with her friends.

Instead, the 3-year old was asleep on the sixth floor of the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital, likely catching her breath from a day full of medical testing.

The pair have been at the hospital since Jan. 22, the day Fiona suddenly stopped breathing and was rushed to the Albuquerque hospital after sporadic spells of flu-like symptoms in the weeks before.

"From there, she has declined," Egan-Jaramillo said. "She stopped walking, talking, sitting and she's not holding her head up. But every test (doctors) have done has been normal."

Egan-Jaramillo, 30, of Belen, said doctors don't know what's wrong with Fiona, and have done tests from CT scans to MRI exams, all of which have come up negative.

Now, she is looking for alternatives, including flying to Denver with her daughter to get a second opinion from a different set of doctors, and she's asking for the community's help. She has set up a Wells Fargo account in an attempt to raise money to help pay for hospital and travel costs.

The mother has been staying at the hospital while her parents take care of her 14-year-old son at their Belen home.

I don't usually like to broadcast everything," Egan-Jaramillo said. "I keep to myself. But this is hard, I don't know what to do."

Egan-Jaramillo said Fiona has bounced around to different units within the hospital, and said her daughter has made some progress with eight plasma transfusions that have allowed her to regain movement in her legs.

Still, doctors have a bleak outlook and have told the mother that her daughter might not make it. They have offered to send Fiona home with 24-hour Hospice assistance, and two weeks ago doctors wanted to put her into a coma.

"They tell me they don't get cases like this," Egan-Jaramillo said. "They go home frustrated, some go home crying because they don't know what's wrong."

The Belen mother said she hopes her daughter will have new life after Colorado doctors have a look at what's going on with the little girl who used to be "bubbly and lovable."

She said Fiona has had seizures since she arrived at the hospital, and is on a special diet with the probability she will be put on a permanent feeding tube. She currently eats through a feeding tube from her nose. Doctors have also put the girl on steroids.

"(Doctors) don't think she will ever eat again," Egan-Jaramillo said. "She doesn't focus. She can't swallow. She drools a lot."

In the meantime, Egan-Jaramillo said she quit her job since Fiona fell ill. She is behind on her bills, including two months behind on her mortgage payments. She said her friends and family have planned fundraisers later this month.

Egan-Jaramillo said she is waiting on word whether or not her insurance company will cover the cost of Fiona's trip and medical bills.

"I want to try to live a normal life, but it's not normal," Egan-Jaramillo said. "I would be taking home a child that can't walk, can't sit and can't go to the bathroom.

"She's just not there anymore. I have my up and downs, but it's not easy at all. It's not easy to watch your little girl like this.

"She was perfect and healthy, and now they can't tell me anything. Different doctors are saying, 'She might not make it.' They don't know, but it's hard to hear."

Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank to account number 5586124694.

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