Sofia Merli Fund

My beautiful little niece, Sofia Nicole Merli, was born with some health complications. My sister, Natalie, and brother in law, Johnny, found out there were going to be health complications 2 weeks before she was born at week 35 of gestation. Sofia was born with Duodenal Atresia (obstruction of the bowels) and a Complete AV Canal Heart Defect. Due to the two findings, Sofia was also speculated to have Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome without any testing because my sister was so far along in her third trimester. The Merlis were told their daughter would need two surgeries after birth. The first would be on Sofia's duodenum a couple days after being born to allow food to pass from her stomach to her intestines. Then she would need heart surgery when she reached 10-12 pounds to fix the hole in her heart.

 

Sofia was born on September 19, 2015, the doctors and chromosomal testing confirmed that she had Down syndrome. She had the duodenal surgery, and they put in a Gastronomy Feeding Tube or Button to help with feeding her and ensure that she was getting her nutrition and gaining weight, especially with an upcoming heart surgery. She's on different medications and has been visiting different specialists since leaving the NICU where she was for a month after her birth. The co-pays and bills are starting to rack up. With Sofia's upcoming heart surgery, my sister will have to take off work with unpaid time off. The stress of taking care of a special needs baby girl, her second child, post operation coupled with rising financial burdens is something I would like to help my sister's family not have to face alone.

 

Please help the Merli family during this difficult time by keeping Sofia in your prayers. Any donation or assistance is extremely appreciated and will be used to help Sofia overcome these hurdles by placing her family in a position to be able to care for her and get her on the right track for the future. I know Natalie and Johnny appreciate the outpouring of love, support and prayers that have been offered to their family in this time of need.

 

Thank you and God Bless!