Defying Feingold
Donation protected
Meet Aurora! She is quite the fighter for being only 3 months old. (She must get that trait from her parents. I know first-hand working with her mother.) Aurora has been through more medical procedures and events than most of us see in a lifetime. At only 2 days old she had her first surgery to connect her stomach to her intestines. She had a g-tube placed to receive feedings starting at 1 month old. She's had more xrays, CT scans and fluoroscopy studies than one can count. She's experienced a surgical infection, rhinovirus landing her in isolation, and most recently had multiple episodes of respiratory distress due to pneumonia. Aurora is pending surgery for esophageal atresia, which will connect her esophagus. Having this surgery will give her the ability to learn how to feed, easier clearance of secretions, and bring her home to her family!
Aurora was diagnosed with Feingold Syndrome, an extremely rare gene deletion syndrome which likely caused many of the complications. It's hard to say what the future will hold, it's too rare to understand completely. She has a long road ahead of her.
In the meantime, this family has been on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Financial concerns/stress should be the last thing they should deal with while their baby is in the hospital. They have one working vehicle because they cannot afford to get the other fixed. Danielle relies on Justin to take, pick her up from work, and then drop her off at the hospital to see Aurora. All the while he is caring for their toddler at home. When Danielle finally gets home, Justin is off to work. Medical bills are piling up! Imagine the cost of gas driving every day to different cities. Another child to care for at home can be expensive.
Danielle returned to work after 6 weeks post-partum just to save her FMLA time for pending procedures and when Aurora finally comes home. She does not have any PAL time to take for those "emergency" phone calls needing to urgently leave work. You will never hear her complain about finances. You won't hear the struggle. It's real though, and it will be for a long while. Whatever you can give, anything at all, will help this family.
Thank you!
Aurora was diagnosed with Feingold Syndrome, an extremely rare gene deletion syndrome which likely caused many of the complications. It's hard to say what the future will hold, it's too rare to understand completely. She has a long road ahead of her.
In the meantime, this family has been on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Financial concerns/stress should be the last thing they should deal with while their baby is in the hospital. They have one working vehicle because they cannot afford to get the other fixed. Danielle relies on Justin to take, pick her up from work, and then drop her off at the hospital to see Aurora. All the while he is caring for their toddler at home. When Danielle finally gets home, Justin is off to work. Medical bills are piling up! Imagine the cost of gas driving every day to different cities. Another child to care for at home can be expensive.
Danielle returned to work after 6 weeks post-partum just to save her FMLA time for pending procedures and when Aurora finally comes home. She does not have any PAL time to take for those "emergency" phone calls needing to urgently leave work. You will never hear her complain about finances. You won't hear the struggle. It's real though, and it will be for a long while. Whatever you can give, anything at all, will help this family.
Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Rae Silkey
Organizer
Chesapeake, VA
Danielle Young
Beneficiary
