Addy’s Journey

Dear Family and Friends, 

On Tuesday, February 11, my son and daughter-in-law, Tyler and Emily Rippeteau gave
birth to their second child, a daughter, Addilyn Isabel. Addy weighed in at 6lbs. 15oz. She is as beautiful as can be and a near carbon copy of her big brother, Malcolm!

Below is the story of Addy's struggles. Tyler and Emily have requested that this NOT be
posted or shared on any social media sites. However, please feel free to forward this email
to anyone you believe may be interested in helping out. Thank you for respecting their
request. 

Addy has had a rough start in that she is unable to suck and swallow on her own. She was
transferred to the NICU at the hospital she was born in, and then transferred to a higher
level of care children’s hospital in Denver, and remains there on the NICU. She is currently being fed with a feeding tube and is stable. She has undergone many tests in her short little life already, and more testing to come.

Tyler and Emily have made the difficult, but necessary decision to move forward with an
operation that will reposition and expand her lower jaw in order to clear her breathing
pathway and hopefully help her eat on her own. The procedure is called Mandibular Jaw
Distraction.  At this point Addy is too young to undergo this operation, but given her otherwise strong health, the medical staff attending to Addy is confident that she'll be strong
enough in about a week and a half. In the meantime, she'll remain on the NICU at the
hospital in Denver.

We are blessed that we live in this time of modern medicine and all the technology that is
already making Addy’s life more manageable and comfortable. It gives us great hope for a positive outcome. 

Tyler, Emily, and their two year old son live in Longmont, Colorado which is approximately 45 minutes from the hospital, too close to qualify for a Ronald McDonald room, but far
enough that going back and forth will add yet more expense to their already long list of
unexpected expenses.

Emily will not be able to work as often as she planned, thus reducing her revenue stream
significantly. Tyler recently partnered with a friend and started a distribution business. As most of us know, with any new business venture, the founders/owners are the last to be
paid.  

As you can imagine, this is a very stressful time for Tyler and Emily, and even for Addy’s big
brother, Malcolm. We are not certain what lies ahead for Addy, but are hopeful that a
solution exists. She has a long road ahead of her and we are grateful that she is in such
good hands.

I am reaching out to virtually everyone I know to ask that you consider a financial donation to help them out. I know that their priority is to make sure Addy receives the best possible care, but given all the restraints and restrictions of our less than perfect health care
situation in this country, the expenses are going to be beyond what any of us can imagine. I know money is not the solution to our sweet baby girl’s health issues, but I do know having some financial assistance will help. I’ve never done this sort of thing before, but will stop at nothing to help relieve some of their stress, worry, and pain. Any donation will help, so
please don’t be reluctant if it’s just a small amount that you can contribute. It will help with all their deductibles, their travel expenses, their childcare expenses for their two year old, and all other expenses associated with Addy's health concerns.  

Please consider helping in any way that you can and just a gentle reminder NOT to post or share on any social media sites for now.

With Heartfelt Gratitude, 
Peggy Hough and Addy’s Family 

P.S. Please note that there is an OPTIONAL “tip” button on the GoFundMe page. You must scroll over to “other” and enter $0 if you would rather not tip them. Several generous
donors have advised me of this and I want to pass it along to anyone else considering
making a donation.
Thank you.