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LEHI, Utah County — Andrea Olson is a singer, songwriter, wife and mom. She also needs your help as a carrier for autorecessivepolycystic kidney disease.
"That means that my husband and myself both carry a rare gene for this disorder and each of our children have a 25% chance of being born the way Clara was," Olson said.
Clara was Olson's second child. She was born on May 25th, and died when she was just 14 hours old, and she was a victim to this rare, ruthless disease.
"She basically suffocated as soon as we took her off of life support," Olson said.
As the Olson family continues to mourn, they also know they want another child.
A costly procedure is available to screen for the kidney disorder which could help bear a healthy child through invitro fertilization. It costs $50,000, so they began a fundraising drive online.*
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The family of Noah Pozner was mourning the 6-year-old, killed in the Newtown school massacre, when outrage compounded their sorrow."I will offer a song if you will provide a donation and the money will go towards us trying a procedure to help us have a healthy baby," Olson said.
The fundraiser started just two days ago, but right away, Olson knew something wasn't right. A Facebook profile was created with her pictures, her words from her website.
Whoever was behind it started adding Andrea's friends, seeking donations for the procedure. The only problem was it wasn't Andrea or anyone else she knew.
"And it was very upsetting to feel like people were going to see this and think it was me doing these things and it wasn't," Olson said.
A scam playing on the heart strings during the season of giving. She wants to warn others using the Internet as a means to raise money to be careful where you donate.
"It's just hurtful, you know," she said.
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*ksl.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does ksl.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
