Baby Willow
Donation protected
This fundraiser is for the family of Adam and Dominika Wilkins. They are a Marine Family stationed in Okinawa Japan. They have a 5 year old son named Liam and are expecting a new baby, Vernon Duane!
It was recently discovered that baby Vernon's journey will not be easy. Dominika is in her 2nd trimester and during an ultrasound, it was determined that Vernon's physical development suggests dwarfism. In the womb he is healthy; however, it has been determined by radiologists that his legs and arm are too small, his chest is small, almost flat and his skull is misshapen, a variation of dwarfism known as Thanatophoric dysplasia.
Thanatophoric Dysplasia (TD), which means "death bearing", is a severe skeletal disorder caused by gene mutation and is characterized by extremely short limbs and folds of extra skin on the arms and legs. Other features include a narrow chest, short rib cage, underdeveloped lungs, and enlarged head with large forehead. Typically babies born with this condition are usually still born or die shortly after birth due to respiratory failure.
They have had an amniocentesis test and are expecting the results within the next few weeks, which will tell them 100% if this is TD. Amniocentesis is a prenatal test in which a small amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the sac surrounding the fetus for testing and prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections, among other purposes.
The medical assistance they need is not available on the small Japanese island and they must travel to the US in order to get the help they need ASAP. The military will cover some but not all of the costs associated with getting them home and near family.
Our goal is to raise as much as we can to assist them with the financial burden of travel expenses, lodging, food, transportation and anything else they need during this time. No amount is too little to help; every penny will be greatly appreciated.
As hard as the last couple of months have been and as hard as it is to imagine, we all fear that the worst is yet to come. Please open your hearts and pray for this young family!
It was recently discovered that baby Vernon's journey will not be easy. Dominika is in her 2nd trimester and during an ultrasound, it was determined that Vernon's physical development suggests dwarfism. In the womb he is healthy; however, it has been determined by radiologists that his legs and arm are too small, his chest is small, almost flat and his skull is misshapen, a variation of dwarfism known as Thanatophoric dysplasia.
Thanatophoric Dysplasia (TD), which means "death bearing", is a severe skeletal disorder caused by gene mutation and is characterized by extremely short limbs and folds of extra skin on the arms and legs. Other features include a narrow chest, short rib cage, underdeveloped lungs, and enlarged head with large forehead. Typically babies born with this condition are usually still born or die shortly after birth due to respiratory failure.
They have had an amniocentesis test and are expecting the results within the next few weeks, which will tell them 100% if this is TD. Amniocentesis is a prenatal test in which a small amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the sac surrounding the fetus for testing and prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections, among other purposes.
The medical assistance they need is not available on the small Japanese island and they must travel to the US in order to get the help they need ASAP. The military will cover some but not all of the costs associated with getting them home and near family.
Our goal is to raise as much as we can to assist them with the financial burden of travel expenses, lodging, food, transportation and anything else they need during this time. No amount is too little to help; every penny will be greatly appreciated.
As hard as the last couple of months have been and as hard as it is to imagine, we all fear that the worst is yet to come. Please open your hearts and pray for this young family!
Organizer
Britanie Minnick
Organizer
Albany, GA
