Hadley's Medical Fund

When Celeste Hadley was born, everyone held their breath to see if they could hear hers. Celeste is a very special girl born at The Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts to Tahlia and Justin, our good friends. Celeste immediately was given a breathing tube and monitored carefully in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). After little more than a week following her birth, she underwent major Cardiac surgery to repair a heart that had a congenital heart defect (CHD); specifically Tetralogy of Fallot.

Early in Tahlia's pregnancy, the expecting parents were told that Celeste's heart was missing a valve and also had a hole in it. Nature compensated for these complications by making her heart and arteries incredibly large. Her heart and arteries were so large in fact that they took up space where her lungs should have developed in utero. For much of the pregnancy, doctors were uncertain of Celeste's future. After many reports and recommendations, Tahlia and Justin agreed with their Albany based providers to move their delivery and post-partum care to the Boston based Children's Hospital because Boston Children's specializes in pediatric cardiothoracic care procedures and offered the best hope for Celeste. 

The plan was for Tahlia to stay in Boston for two weeks prior to her delivery date in case she were to go into labor, while Justin remained in Albany and continued to go to work to support the family. Ben and Johnathan, their two young boys are staying with their grandma in Connecticut. Tahlia is determined to stay by her daughter’s side in Boston to support Celeste in her marathon recovery and Justin will continue to work extended hours in exchange for shortened weeks in Albany so he can be with Tahlia and Celeste as much as possible. The hospital has provided accommodations to assist the Hadley family while they are staying in Boston but even at lowered rates, the fees and expenses of staying in the city of Boston are overwhelming. In addition to housing expenses, Tahlia and Justin are burdened with paying for their normal day to day bills, traveling expenses, food, and caring for their two boys out of state. 

We could not imagine a family more deserving of your help and support during this difficult time. We, of course being their long-time friends since college are biased. Here are some of the few things that we think make them so deserving of your support:

Tahlia volunteered at the organization, So Other's May Eat (SOME) in Washington, D.C. for two years after graduating college. 

She has since become a beloved youth minister at a church in the capital region; often attending her kids' extra-curricular activities.  She also has traveled for fundraisers and has led mission trips.

Both are incredibly generous, kind and thoughtful people. In fact, when she was asked about setting up a gofundme on their behalf; Tahlia's primary concern was how to thank the people who have donated (so please leave your information if you choose to donate). 

They also serve as a great example of a loving and respectful marriage and how to raise children in today's world. Both Justin and Tahlia are amazing parents, who care about their children more than anything else. Being their close friends, we have been searching for a way to help them and agreed that this would be the best way we could help. We hope that you will consider sparing any small amount to help this amazing family.