Drew Finley's Medical Fund

Meet Drew Finley Kramer. This cutie was born on December 10, 2014 at 11:02am, and has since managed to defy the expectations of nearly every doctor who has learned of his case.

Drew's mommy and my sister, Molly, brought her first baby boy into the world in 2010 with her husband Keith.  Isaiah is now four and a half, and is ecstatic about having a new little brother.

In 2012, at 38 weeks pregnant with a little girl, Eden, Molly went into labor.  Shortly after arriving at the hospital, however, Molly and Keith were told that baby Eden no longer had a heartbeat and had died from unknown reasons.  Molly's grief and mourning over baby Eden were directed into an outlet - she established Eden's Wings, a nonprofit organization that sent beautiful memorial bracelets to mothers who had suffered from baby loss.  She has touched hundreds of people with this organization, and is able to honor Eden's memory through it.

In April 2014, Molly and Keith discovered they were pregnant after trying for over a year, and they were ecstatic! They soon found out that they would be having a baby boy, and Keith had already decided on a name - Drew.

At 29 weeks gestation, Molly's OB informed her that the ultrasounds were looking abnormal, and she was referred to a maternal fetal specialist.  At that follow-up visit, they received news that no parent wants to hear.

Drew was diagnosed with campomelic dysplasia, and the doctor did not expect him to survive his first 24 hours if he even made it to labor.

Campomelic dysplasia is a skeletal dysplasia, similar to dwarfism, but much more deadly.  The main problems found with this dysplasia include extreme bowing of the femur bones, resulting in the inability to walk, and abnormally small chest sizes that do not allow the infant's lungs to develop, resulting in respiratory distress and almost always death.

Obviously, Molly and Keith were devastated.  Molly continued to carry Drew to term while having constant checkups and ultrasounds - often two to three times per week.  They wanted to cherish every moment they had while Drew was still alive inside of Molly.  They were hopeful, but also realistic - they knew there was very little chance of Drew's survival.

The night of December 9th, Molly was taken to the hospital and the decision was made to induce.  The next morning, at 11:02, Drew Finley Kramer made his appearance.  Immediately, he was intubated and taken up to the NICU, and the prognosis obviously looked poor.  Molly and Keith took family up to see him in the NICU, and we had expected it to be the last time we would see him.  

That night and the next morning, Drew surprised us.  Having been on a ventilator at the maximum setting since birth, he was able to come off of it for awhile and begin using a CPAP machine! No one, especially not Molly and Drew's maternal fetal specialists, had expected this.  An extremely small percentage, around 3-5%, of infants diagnosed with campomelic dysplasia survive their first 24 hours.  Drew was a fighter.

Since then, Drew has been doing progressively better and better, and has been defying his initial prognosis continuously!  He is scheduled to receive a tracheostomy, and will hopefully be going home to his mommy, daddy, and big brother in the coming weeks!

However, Molly's pregnancy and Drew's hospitalization have been incredibly expensive, and with Drew's future medical needs including trach care, a handicap accessible environment, and continued follow-ups , the financial burden will become great for this sweet family. 

As Molly's sister and Drew's aunt, I humbly ask that you consider donating to help with the huge costs of Drew's incredible progress!  If you are unable to donate, your prayers and thoughts are deeply appreciated as well! We truly believe that the support Molly, Keith, and baby Drew have received has made all the difference.  

Please support our little Christmas miracle in any way you can! Thank you!

- Shauna Smith, sister and aunt