Help Ruby Mae beat gastroschisis!

Ruby Mae Shreffler was born on November 15, 2013. At 22 weeks in utero she was diagnosed with gastroschisis. The doctors said that this was a fairly common defect that meant that her intestines would be on the outside of her body but in most cases could be fixed. Week after week she was monitered until she was born at 36 weeks. After she was born her intestines were placed in a sterile bag and she was rushed to the NICU at A.I DuPont Children's Hospital. A week later she underwent surgery to put the small intestine back in her abdominal cavity. Unfortutely there was a portion of bowel that had died due to lack of blood supply. We were told after the surgery that she would soon need to go back to the operating room in a few more weeks to check the function of the the remaining intestine and to attach the bowel so it would be functional. Ruby had a rough few days after surgery. Her belly was so swollen, and she was on and off the ventilator. But she pulled through and began to drink from a bottle even though it was sucked right back out by a nasal gastric tube. She really did love that bottle though even though it was only 5 ccs! After she recovered and a few weeks had passed she went into surgery again. After 5 long hours of surgery mom and dad got the news that none of her small intestine and some of her colon were unusable and had to be removed. Also, a biopsy from the liver had been taken because of the rise in liver enzymes. Most babies were born with 250 cm of intestine. Ruby only had 13! Since that surgery she has remained in the hospital. Her liver is severally damaged because of the IV nutrition that has kept her alive. But despite this Ruby has continued to grow both in size and personality. She is a favorite among the nurses and doctors because of her good nature. She already loves Winnie the Pooh and singing. We are asking for donations to help pay for gas to visit the hospital everyday, pay for the non FDA approved drug omegaven Which is not covered by insurance and costs about 100 dollars a day, money to help pay for other medical costs not covered by insurance. Further down the road, Ruby is a candidate for a double transplant. She needs a liver and small intestine. We are asking donations to help us make the move to Pittsburgh for 6 months after the transplant. Ruby has a 4 year old sister named Jade that she has yet to meet and a mommy and daddy that are ready for her to come home. If you can't donate please keep our whole family in your prayers and share this with your friends to help Ruby!