Funeral Expenses for Sunny
On Friday, September 19, 2014, our sweet baby boy Sunny earned his angel wings. He was only 20 months old. Sunny was born at 26 weeks gestation on January 17, 2013, weighing a mere 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
He never got to come home, spending all 611 days of his life in the hospital.
Sunny fought a long hard battle with many issues surrounding his premature birth. Shortly after birth, he underwent a ligation to close the PDA in his heart. In April, 2013, he received a tracheostomy, due to his chronic lung disease. He was on a ventilator all his life. In May, 2013, due to a hyperinflated lower lobe in his left lung, a lobectomy was performed to remove that lobe entirely. Sunny also had severe pulmonary hypertension, and was tube fed
With declining health, in October, 2013, he was transferred from New York Presbyterian Hospital, to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. After a rough start at CHOP, he finally started making great progress - getting stronger, and healthier to where he did not need to be in the ICU setting any longer. At that time, he was transferred to a step-down facility - Blythedale Children's Hospital in New York, where his mother, Li, lives. His father resides in India, and was only able to visit Sunny on few occasions. Li had to travel, mostly by train, to visit Sunny.
Recently, Sunny contracted cdiff (clostridium difficile), and as of yesterday, was experiecing a very elevated heart rate, and a fever of 106. His heart rate then dropped drastically today, as well as his blood pressure, to where medications had to be administered every few minutes to keep his blood pressure up. Eventually, his heart just stopped, and CPR wasn't an option due to a bleeding lung. Unfortunately, the doctors weren't able to save him.
We are asking for assistance for funeral costs. Contributions are appreciated in any denomination, and the family is grateful for any contribution you can make. If you are unable to help financially, please see the message from Li below:
"Thank you all of you for your willingness to help me and Sunny. At the same time I also know that a lot of you are facing financial difficulty too, I will fully understand that and I will appreciate that you can send your loves to my sunshine baby by cards through Facebook or to my home: Li Zhong 855 grand st. Apt 3, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Li."
Rest in Peace, sweet Sunshine boy... you no longer have to suffer, or struggle, and can fly free with the angels. You touched SO many people, as we all followed your journey. Your smile was infectious, and we all looked forward to seeing your sweet face. You will be missed by all who knew you.
Don't think of him as gone away,
His Journey's just begun.
Life holds so many facets,
This earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting,
From the sorrows and the tears,
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years.
Thinking how he must be wishing
That we could know today, ...
How nothing but our sorrows
Can really pass away.
And think of him as living
In the hearts of those he touched,
For nothing loved is ever lost
And he was loved so much.
Sunny with his loving mami, Li (left), and his aunt. 
**This page was created on behalf of Sunny and his parents by Jennifer Benton, a fellow trach mom and friend. All funds received go directly to the family. A special bank account has been created specifically for Sunnys funeral expenses.**
