Brenden’s Medical Expenses

This started as a campaign to help us get Brenden home and situated from his 120 days in NICU (+14 days in rehab). Now it will be used to help with his medical expenses that always seem to pile up.

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We hate having to do this...but we really need help. 

Our son, Brenden Matthew, was born on April 1st and is still in the NICU due to many medical conditions (see **Brenden’s Story**). Jessica has returned to work for the last month to preserve medical insurance for our family. This has been extremely mentally/physically taxing on her to juggle work/going to the NICU/going home to Juliana. Mike has been unable to work so he could help balance being at the NICU and taking care of important appointments for Brenden while Jessica is at work.   Each day, specialists are seeing Brenden, evaluating him and making decisions...the nature of Mike's work would make it impossible for him to be there and work simultaneously. 

Now, we have found out that our insurance will not cover everything that Brenden will need to go home. While some  equipment is covered, he will need back up equipment (and back up for the back ups)....and 24/7 skilled nursing at home, among other expected expenses. We also will need to move from our apartment and get a different car to best accommodate Brenden’s needs. 

It’s going to take awhile to get him home. He has at least another 3-4 more weeks in the NICU (if all goes well). Then, he will be going to a rehab facility where they can train us on how to best take care of him. He had a tracheostomy on 6/12/18 and is going to have a gtube/feeding tube surgery on 6/19/18. He will require a ventilator at home. We need to become experts in how to care for all of that. During this time, neither of us can work, as we need to be present and with Brenden each day to learn...the faster we are trained, the faster he can come home. We don't know how long this part will take. A summer without Mike's income, after all of these months of him being unable to work while living off of one income and so many unexpected expenses, will definitely put us into a crisis financially.

Then, once he can come home, depending on when that is, Jessica may need to take some days off from work to get Brenden settled.  She has exhausted her "CAR" days (personal/sick in bank) and already borrowed 18 days that she needs to repay to the DOE.  She has 4 weeks left of FMLA that she could take, if needed (which would be unpaid).  

At this point, the level of care Brenden will need after he gets home and as he grows older is unknown.

So many people have reached out and asked how they can help...so here is our request. If you can’t donate, we would appreciate it if you could keep Brenden in your continued thoughts and prayers. He’s a fighter and amazing...and has already done more than anyone expected...so please keep those prayers coming!