Friends,

I am reaching out in a time of need.  As most of you know, my daughter Caitlin and her fiance, Blake, are expecting their first child.  What should be a time of anticipation and excitement as taken a turn in the opposite direction.  They were so excited to find out the sex of the baby on their last visit, but the excitement quickly turned to saddness and devastation as they were told the baby has a rare birth defect, about 1 in 10,000, called Anencephaly.  Basically, if the pregnancy goes to term, the baby may live for a few hours or a few days at the most. Therefore, they have choosen to terminate the pregnancy.  However, because of the laws in Nebraska, and I don't fully understand why, their medical insurance will not cover the procedure and they must pay out of pocket for it.  As you can imagine, they are going through it emotionally and now have the added stress of the financial burden as well.  They are processing the news the best they can and wish to move forward from this as quickly as possible.  I will be taking time off of work to go out there to provide the emotional support to help get my daughter and Blake through this, but can't do much else at this time.  That is why I am reaching out, and believe me, I would not ask if it was not needed.  The procedure is $2,000 out-of-pocket and they are scheduled for this Thursday, June 16th, due to the fact that Caitlin is almost at 21 weeks in the pregnancy.  They have some $ to put towards the cost from Blake's family but there are added expenses of having to get up to Omaha today for genetic counseling and again on Thursday when the procedure will be done, including a car rental and hotel stay, etc., not to mention missing work hours.  If you feel so inclined, any amount to help them out would be greatly appreciated.   If you would like to help out, but just can't, we totally get it.  Your prayers, healing thoughts, and positive energy are also much appreciated.  Thank you all!