Financial expenses of loss of 2 babies
This Go Fund Me is for two very special friends & part of our Vi-family, Kala & Omar Cudjoe. Two weeks ago they buried their precious baby girl Aminah and 16 months ago they were at the same cemetery to bury their newborn son N'Kosi. As I stood at the graveside and saw this tiny casket I couldn't imagine the pain they were going through. They are not only dealing with the pain of losing thier babies but also have the finacial burdon & stress of past and present medical bills & funeral expenses. They haven't been able to afford a memorial headstone for N'Kosi and now they will need one for Aminah as well. Kala & Omar attend therapy and both were diagnosed with PTSD and depression. Omar has taken a leave from his Social Work because working with the children is difficult for him right now.
Kala is a first grade teacher & Omar Cudjoe a Social Worker for the Department of Child services.
The following is thier story in Kala's words...
"The last 16 months have been devastating. We have buried two premature babies, a boy and a girl. N'Kosi Sikeleli, whose name means God bless us, and Aminah Anne, whose was named after our mothers. N'Kosi was born on November 27th, 2012 at 25 weeks.
After being together for over 6 years, my husband Omar and I decided to have a baby. It was a wonderful, healthy pregnancy. On our last check up, just 6 days before I went into labor, the baby and I were doing well. Around 11pm on a Monday my water broke. I had premature rupture of my membranes and labor could not be stopped. He was born at 1:36am on Tuesday. He passed away 1:53am the same day.
Aminah was born February 9, 2014 at 30 weeks. We were seeing a high risk perinatologist along with our regular doctor every two weeks. I had progesterone shots every week along with other medications to stop contractions and dilation. At 21 weeks I was put on strict bed rest for preterm labor. I had to take unpaid leave from my career as a first grade teacher for the remainder of the school year. After more than two months of bed rest, I went to the ER with a sharp pain in my abdomen. My uterus had ruptured. My body shut off her blood supply. She died from loss of oxygen before she was even born.
My milk coming in was extremely devastating after my son's birth. It was a reminder that I was supposed to have a baby. I was prepared for this trigger with Aminah's death. Before leaving the hospital I arranged to donate my breast milk. This was my way of ensuring something good came from our loss.
I will never be able to carry a baby to term as a result of the rupture. Doctors have suggested surrogacy or adoption as options to extend our family. If I do become pregnant again, I will be required to stay in the hospital on bed rest from the second trimester until the baby is taken by c-section at 34 weeks."
