William’s Medi-flight Home

My son William is a miracle baby, born on May 14, 2020 at just 22 weeks gestation, just 7 months after burying another
son. We were told he would not survive. Many times, we were prepared to say goodbye. We were also told he would
be blind, deaf and have countless problems….William has defied every odd put against him and even so is still such a
happy baby; his smile lights up the room!
We have overcome every obstacle thrown at us, and William has fought so hard to get to where he is now; in his short
life, he has had multiple surgeries and countless procedures. The current obstacle we are trying to overcome should be
the most basic and simple…..it is simply getting us home to Halifax, Nova Scotia to be surrounded with family and the
supports that we need, and most importantly unification with William’s brother - Japheth.
My almost 4-year-old son Japheth was with his dad for 6 months until he had to go back to work. Japheth has now been
in Nova Scotia with my parents for the past 7 months...He turns 4 on July 28 th . We need to be together as a family.
William needs me to be with him in the hospital. Unfortunately, that means I am unable to be with Japheth. I have only
been able to see him via cell phone and it is weighing heavy on all of us. Japheth has never even met his brother. This
breaks my heart.
Living in the hospital for over a year takes a mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual toll not only on a person’s body,
but also on their relationships! This has been exhausting and depressing and in many ways, my worst nightmare. Never
in my life did I think I would have to fight for what I have had to fight for, my resources and energy are completely
depleted.
William’s medical team has deemed him stable for medical transport for admission to IWK Health Centre in Halifax. The
medical team at IWK are prepared to assume William’s care and prepare him for discharge to our family home…
HOWEVER…here is where we come up again against our HUGE obstacle. Alberta Health Services (AHS) is only able to
transport William within Alberta. The care team has put forward requests, but was unable to secure government
funding for a medical transport flight to Nova Scotia, which costs around $50,000.
We need to get William home to Halifax safely and we need to start living our life together, as a family, outside of these
hospital walls.
All of our supports are in Nova Scotia and that is where William and I need to be. We need to be home surrounded by family who
may support William’s care 24hrs/day versus care aides from the community. My boys need to be together, my parents need to be
grandparents, and I need to be mom to BOTH of my boys!
It is not simple to pack up a baby who has a trach, oxygen tanks, feeding tubes, ventilator, and drive across Canada. William’s
medical condition does not allow for safe transport by land or commercial flight. He requires medical transportation to support
his fragile lungs.
Please accept this letter as our heartfelt plea for financial assistance. Our family is doing all it can but we simply cannot
come up with these resources on our own.
If you would like to help our family, you can contribute to our GoFundMe account here: https://gofund.me/81ec45ce
We are grateful for any support you may be able to offer. Even a small donation could help reach the fundraising goal. It would be
great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.