Help Baby Carleo
Donation protected
*Thank you for visiting our family’s campaign. Let us take a moment to fill you in on our journey.
Getting pregnant has never been easy for our family. Staying pregnant has been even more challenging. Nevertheless, God has blessed us with three beautiful children…though along the way, we have suffered two miscarriages (one of which was a late loss).
Last year, while we were contemplating the tough journey we have had in adding to our family and trying to decide whether or not to call it quits, the unexpected happened: we found out we were expecting. This was huge considering past pregnancies required intense medical therapies and several months of waiting. Clearly, another plan was overriding our feeble attempts at determining our future.
For the first trimester, everything was going as planned: the usual morning sickness, fatigue, crankiness, etc…so we never thought anything was amiss. In February, at the baby’s anatomy scan, doctors discovered that the baby had a heart defect and we were, as you can imagine, devastated. With the baby having a heart defect, the specialist was sure baby had to have something else wrong with him or her. He urged us to have an amnio performed to dig dipper. We declined, however, since this is what caused the premature labor and ultimate death of our first miscarried baby. That being said, we chose to do a panorama test instead.
The panorama test has concluded that the baby has a 1 in 19 chance of 22Q11.2 deletion. What the heck is that we wondered?! Well, in case you are wondering, 22Q11 is a broad genetic condition that can lead to facial malformations, small stature, immunological issues, and so forth. There’s really no telling which of these the baby has. So, like everything else, we leave it in God’s hands. Around the same time the panorama results came in, we had some additional ultrasounds to investigate baby’s heart condition further. Doctors have since diagnosed it as Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). TOF, although treatable, means the baby has a series of defects: holes in the heart (septal wall defects), mispositioned aorta, narrowed pulmonary artery, etc. The baby will require one or more open heart surgeries in the months following his or her arrival and perhaps later in life.
All of this news was a lot to handle. Regardless, with your prayers and encouragement, we have been able to hold our heads high and continue fighting for the baby….even in the face of doctors urging us time and time again to terminate the pregnancy. Termination was not an option in our minds!
So, how can you help us?
First and foremost, we ask for your prayers, positive thoughts, encouragement, and the like. We stand strong on our faith, but we, too, sometimes need strengthening.
Those that know our family know that we are not ones to ask for help. We are, however, preparing for the multiple surgeries that this baby will require and, unfortunately, the potentially high amounts of coinsurance that our medical insurance requires.
While we have excellent health insurance, the surgery(ies) that the baby will likely require may come with considerable coinsurance fees. In addition, we are readying our home with the appropriate items required for a baby with a heart condition (e.g., gloves, masks, pulse oximetry machines).
The baby will likely require extended stays at Miami Children’s hospital (about an hour and half from us), need in home care, and so forth. This all equates to a lot for us to wrap our heads around.
We have set our campaign low because we are unsure of what the future holds in terms of surgeries, medical equipment needs, etc. The potential need can easily dwarf our goal. No donation is too small, so please do not feel burdened or obligated. Even if you cannot support us financially, we appreciate you reading our story and providing us encouragement.
In addition, we have three anxious siblings who are excited for their new baby brother or sister but are also very sad that the baby is sick. If you can, send them a funny Ecard so that they can just be encouraged and excited :)
Once again, we are a praying family! We have been through a lot in life (a murdered sibling, serious health problems of our own, loss of children). We know that prayer works. It’s healing, transformative, and strengthening. So please PRAY! We feel the prayers of those of you who have already been praying. There is a sense of overwhelming peace in our lives right now. Please keep up the great work.
*Once Isabella was born she stayed 3 weeks 5 days in our local Level 3 NICU were she struggled with feeding and oxygen level issues. While she was there it was confirmed that she indeed has 22q11.2. Once we were able to bring her home she was to take 4 medicines and 24/7 monitoring of her oxygen levels.
She has done fantastic thus far and out did the initial assumptions of surgery immediately after birth and the second at 4 months! She will be 5 months at the time of her surgery 10/13/15.
With Love,
The Carleo Family
*GoFundMe will deduct a 5% fee from each donation you receive. WePay deducts 2.9% + $0.30 per donation
Getting pregnant has never been easy for our family. Staying pregnant has been even more challenging. Nevertheless, God has blessed us with three beautiful children…though along the way, we have suffered two miscarriages (one of which was a late loss).
Last year, while we were contemplating the tough journey we have had in adding to our family and trying to decide whether or not to call it quits, the unexpected happened: we found out we were expecting. This was huge considering past pregnancies required intense medical therapies and several months of waiting. Clearly, another plan was overriding our feeble attempts at determining our future.
For the first trimester, everything was going as planned: the usual morning sickness, fatigue, crankiness, etc…so we never thought anything was amiss. In February, at the baby’s anatomy scan, doctors discovered that the baby had a heart defect and we were, as you can imagine, devastated. With the baby having a heart defect, the specialist was sure baby had to have something else wrong with him or her. He urged us to have an amnio performed to dig dipper. We declined, however, since this is what caused the premature labor and ultimate death of our first miscarried baby. That being said, we chose to do a panorama test instead.
The panorama test has concluded that the baby has a 1 in 19 chance of 22Q11.2 deletion. What the heck is that we wondered?! Well, in case you are wondering, 22Q11 is a broad genetic condition that can lead to facial malformations, small stature, immunological issues, and so forth. There’s really no telling which of these the baby has. So, like everything else, we leave it in God’s hands. Around the same time the panorama results came in, we had some additional ultrasounds to investigate baby’s heart condition further. Doctors have since diagnosed it as Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). TOF, although treatable, means the baby has a series of defects: holes in the heart (septal wall defects), mispositioned aorta, narrowed pulmonary artery, etc. The baby will require one or more open heart surgeries in the months following his or her arrival and perhaps later in life.
All of this news was a lot to handle. Regardless, with your prayers and encouragement, we have been able to hold our heads high and continue fighting for the baby….even in the face of doctors urging us time and time again to terminate the pregnancy. Termination was not an option in our minds!
So, how can you help us?
First and foremost, we ask for your prayers, positive thoughts, encouragement, and the like. We stand strong on our faith, but we, too, sometimes need strengthening.
Those that know our family know that we are not ones to ask for help. We are, however, preparing for the multiple surgeries that this baby will require and, unfortunately, the potentially high amounts of coinsurance that our medical insurance requires.
While we have excellent health insurance, the surgery(ies) that the baby will likely require may come with considerable coinsurance fees. In addition, we are readying our home with the appropriate items required for a baby with a heart condition (e.g., gloves, masks, pulse oximetry machines).
The baby will likely require extended stays at Miami Children’s hospital (about an hour and half from us), need in home care, and so forth. This all equates to a lot for us to wrap our heads around.
We have set our campaign low because we are unsure of what the future holds in terms of surgeries, medical equipment needs, etc. The potential need can easily dwarf our goal. No donation is too small, so please do not feel burdened or obligated. Even if you cannot support us financially, we appreciate you reading our story and providing us encouragement.
In addition, we have three anxious siblings who are excited for their new baby brother or sister but are also very sad that the baby is sick. If you can, send them a funny Ecard so that they can just be encouraged and excited :)
Once again, we are a praying family! We have been through a lot in life (a murdered sibling, serious health problems of our own, loss of children). We know that prayer works. It’s healing, transformative, and strengthening. So please PRAY! We feel the prayers of those of you who have already been praying. There is a sense of overwhelming peace in our lives right now. Please keep up the great work.
*Once Isabella was born she stayed 3 weeks 5 days in our local Level 3 NICU were she struggled with feeding and oxygen level issues. While she was there it was confirmed that she indeed has 22q11.2. Once we were able to bring her home she was to take 4 medicines and 24/7 monitoring of her oxygen levels.
She has done fantastic thus far and out did the initial assumptions of surgery immediately after birth and the second at 4 months! She will be 5 months at the time of her surgery 10/13/15.
With Love,
The Carleo Family
*GoFundMe will deduct a 5% fee from each donation you receive. WePay deducts 2.9% + $0.30 per donation
Organizer
Steve Carleo
Organizer
Delray Beach, FL
