Aid for Aslan's Family: NICU and Funeral Costs

(Posting with the parents permission)

From the moment Aslan was born, his parents, Alicia and Adam, knew that it was going to be an uphill battle for him. Due to Alicia’s issues with preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and high blood pressure, he was born on February 23rd at 26 gestational weeks, but stopped growing at 24 weeks. He was barely a pound, and Adam called him a “ruler baby” due to his size. It seems kinda fitting, considering he was named after the deity from the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Aslan had a long road ahead, but took it in stride for a long time. Adam and Alicia sent their oldest son, Seth, to Wisconsin to live with Alicia’s family while Aslan was in the NICU, and Alicia returned to work at just 12 days postpartum with the hopes she could use her maternity leave once he was released. He was eventually taken off the respirator, and they were limiting oxygen. He would occasionally have an episode where he would forget to breathe when he would get upset, but overall, they expected him to be home by his first birthday. However, he contracted RSV in the hospital, which caused him to code. While CPR saved him, he was left without oxygen going to his brain long enough to cause significant damage.

MRI’s showed that he had very little brain activity, and that in order to be released from the hospital, he would need 24 hour medical care at home. For even the most privileged of parents, this is a big ask, but for 2 average working parents, it is impossible. Unfortunately, shortly after Aslan’s first birthday, they had to make the impossible decision to sign a DNR.

Living in America, I’m sure you can only imagine the cost of being in the NICU for over 365 days; let alone the eventual funeral expenses they will have. Neither Adam nor Alicia have family nearby, so they need the support of their community more than ever. After taking some first birthday picture for them, I decided that I wanted to set up a GoFundMe for them to help alleviate costs.