Caring for Rose J. Ortiz
Donation protected
A little bit about Rose,
As many of you already know, little Rose Josephine was born on Wednesday, March 22nd. At 34 weeks, Rose weighed in at 3lbs 2oz. Little Rosie joins the Ortiz family as daughter to Joe and Rebecca and sister to Sam (5) and Elizabeth (almost 2!) Our sweet girl came into this world with a quite a few battles lined up ahead for her and her family.
What we know:
*Rose's birth was a premature cesearean birth, that ended up being a scary event all on its own. Many doctors were present to help her into the world, unfortunately during the delivery her right arm was broken.
*We know that Rose was born with something called "Contractures", a medical condition where some of her pliable connective tissues (in her legs, arms, fingers) become less flexible and limit her movement.
*That at this point in time, her vocal cords are paralyzed. As we are learning, vocal cord paralysis can affect your ability to speak and even breathe.
*Rose has had a few "Apneic Episodes". Periods of time where her breathing slows down or even stops.
What's "happening" now:
*Rose was transferred to a higher level of care hospital in Anaheim where she can have more immediate access to specialists and neo-natal care.
*Rose has an AMAZING team of medical professionals at Kaiser that are working non stop to care for, diagnosis, and treat all of her needs.
*She is currently "intubated", to help her breathe. She has a feeding tube, and we are thankful that Rebecca has been able to pump and Rose is able to have breastmilk!
*Rose is scheduled for an EEG to rule out seizures, she is waiting for results from genetic testing to tell us more about the contractures, and she has been seen by ENT Dr's regarding her vocal cord paralysis. In short, everyone at Kaiser is in motion to put the puzzle of her struggles together.
What this all means for the Ortiz's:
As of tomorrow, Sunday March 26th Rebecca will be discharged from the hospital and Rose will continue on in the NICU for as long as needed for her to grow in strength and health. The Ortiz's have been so blessed by the outpouring of love and prayers and kindness of friends and family near and far during these last few days. As you can all imagine they have been through an incredibly emotional marathon.
How you can help: Over the last few days we have been overwhelmed by the love and generosity of everyone in the Ortiz's life. So many texts, phone calls and emails asking "how can I help?" "Can we watch the kids?" "Make a meal?" "Send food?" And above all, "How can we be praying?" We cannot tell you what these words, and love have meant during this time. Well, now I (Rebecca's sister) have an answer for the "How can I help" question.
The next 6-8 weeks are going to be a marathon of juggling for Rebecca and Joe. Rebecca is being discharged but still has weeks of recovering from her C-section. While they will still have the regular tasks of parenting Sam and Lizzie, they will now have the added job of parenting little Rose. As I stated before Rose has been moved to Anaheim which is a good 16 miles from their home, and as it is on the 55 and the 91 during some times of day almost an hour of travel.
The Ortiz's immediate needs are going to be:
*Childcare - getting Sam to and from school on days they are at the hospital. Staying with Lizzie during her naps and times that she can not be with them. There are so many folks in their lives that can help out here and there, but as is so often the case with families with young children, their friends and even family members have young children as well. In order to make it possible for Joe and Rebecca to feel free and relaxed about visiting Rose whenever they can, we are attempting to find someone that will be able to help on a more formal basis with these needs.
*Medical Costs - We are so thankful that the family is blessed with Kaiser insurance. As we all know insurance will not cover everything so any relief we can give them in this area will be a blessing.
*Potential lodging closer to the hospital - One thing that Joe and Rebecca are considering is how to be closer to Rose. As you can imagine, it is important for them to have quick and constant access to their little daughter. We will be researching the possibility of renting something small and short term where one of Rose's parents can be during most times so that they can be easily accessible to Baby girl and if they are needed for emergencies they can be readily available and quick to arrive.
*Transportation & Groceries - during this time of constant traveling/family separation some of the day to day "chores" such as shopping etc will be hard to manage. We are hoping to sign up for a grocery service such as Amazon Fresh, where they can do the bulk of their shopping online and have it delivered to remove this "task" from their day. So many of you have asked what you can do, and I thought that I would provide this central hub where if you are able, you can donate to a fund for Little Rose and her family. $5, $10 dollars, all collected can be an enormous blessing to this family. For those of you who know and love Rebecca and Joe, you can imagine that they would never ask for such a thing as this, however, even as I sit here I know that even just the smallest amount will mean less stress, less worry and more time for them to be together as a family as they walk through this trial. We are hoping to raise enough in the next week or so to get a few of these first financial obstacles out of the way. Again, we are so thankful for all of you! We will be posting updates whenever we can when new information is given to us.
As many of you already know, little Rose Josephine was born on Wednesday, March 22nd. At 34 weeks, Rose weighed in at 3lbs 2oz. Little Rosie joins the Ortiz family as daughter to Joe and Rebecca and sister to Sam (5) and Elizabeth (almost 2!) Our sweet girl came into this world with a quite a few battles lined up ahead for her and her family.
What we know:
*Rose's birth was a premature cesearean birth, that ended up being a scary event all on its own. Many doctors were present to help her into the world, unfortunately during the delivery her right arm was broken.
*We know that Rose was born with something called "Contractures", a medical condition where some of her pliable connective tissues (in her legs, arms, fingers) become less flexible and limit her movement.
*That at this point in time, her vocal cords are paralyzed. As we are learning, vocal cord paralysis can affect your ability to speak and even breathe.
*Rose has had a few "Apneic Episodes". Periods of time where her breathing slows down or even stops.
What's "happening" now:
*Rose was transferred to a higher level of care hospital in Anaheim where she can have more immediate access to specialists and neo-natal care.
*Rose has an AMAZING team of medical professionals at Kaiser that are working non stop to care for, diagnosis, and treat all of her needs.
*She is currently "intubated", to help her breathe. She has a feeding tube, and we are thankful that Rebecca has been able to pump and Rose is able to have breastmilk!
*Rose is scheduled for an EEG to rule out seizures, she is waiting for results from genetic testing to tell us more about the contractures, and she has been seen by ENT Dr's regarding her vocal cord paralysis. In short, everyone at Kaiser is in motion to put the puzzle of her struggles together.
What this all means for the Ortiz's:
As of tomorrow, Sunday March 26th Rebecca will be discharged from the hospital and Rose will continue on in the NICU for as long as needed for her to grow in strength and health. The Ortiz's have been so blessed by the outpouring of love and prayers and kindness of friends and family near and far during these last few days. As you can all imagine they have been through an incredibly emotional marathon.
How you can help: Over the last few days we have been overwhelmed by the love and generosity of everyone in the Ortiz's life. So many texts, phone calls and emails asking "how can I help?" "Can we watch the kids?" "Make a meal?" "Send food?" And above all, "How can we be praying?" We cannot tell you what these words, and love have meant during this time. Well, now I (Rebecca's sister) have an answer for the "How can I help" question.
The next 6-8 weeks are going to be a marathon of juggling for Rebecca and Joe. Rebecca is being discharged but still has weeks of recovering from her C-section. While they will still have the regular tasks of parenting Sam and Lizzie, they will now have the added job of parenting little Rose. As I stated before Rose has been moved to Anaheim which is a good 16 miles from their home, and as it is on the 55 and the 91 during some times of day almost an hour of travel.
The Ortiz's immediate needs are going to be:
*Childcare - getting Sam to and from school on days they are at the hospital. Staying with Lizzie during her naps and times that she can not be with them. There are so many folks in their lives that can help out here and there, but as is so often the case with families with young children, their friends and even family members have young children as well. In order to make it possible for Joe and Rebecca to feel free and relaxed about visiting Rose whenever they can, we are attempting to find someone that will be able to help on a more formal basis with these needs.
*Medical Costs - We are so thankful that the family is blessed with Kaiser insurance. As we all know insurance will not cover everything so any relief we can give them in this area will be a blessing.
*Potential lodging closer to the hospital - One thing that Joe and Rebecca are considering is how to be closer to Rose. As you can imagine, it is important for them to have quick and constant access to their little daughter. We will be researching the possibility of renting something small and short term where one of Rose's parents can be during most times so that they can be easily accessible to Baby girl and if they are needed for emergencies they can be readily available and quick to arrive.
*Transportation & Groceries - during this time of constant traveling/family separation some of the day to day "chores" such as shopping etc will be hard to manage. We are hoping to sign up for a grocery service such as Amazon Fresh, where they can do the bulk of their shopping online and have it delivered to remove this "task" from their day. So many of you have asked what you can do, and I thought that I would provide this central hub where if you are able, you can donate to a fund for Little Rose and her family. $5, $10 dollars, all collected can be an enormous blessing to this family. For those of you who know and love Rebecca and Joe, you can imagine that they would never ask for such a thing as this, however, even as I sit here I know that even just the smallest amount will mean less stress, less worry and more time for them to be together as a family as they walk through this trial. We are hoping to raise enough in the next week or so to get a few of these first financial obstacles out of the way. Again, we are so thankful for all of you! We will be posting updates whenever we can when new information is given to us.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathryn George
Organizer
Costa Mesa, CA
Rebecca Ortiz
Beneficiary
