Baby Hero Ortega's Recovery Fund
Donation protected
Hero: a person of superhuman qualities and semi divine origin.
About 5 or 6 years ago, Mannie and I picked out the names of our future children. If we had a boy, his name would be Hero. We were certain of that. What we didn't know was that his name would be so perfect.
This is his story.
On December 13th 2020, I was sent to an emergency c-section after laboring, as I was not dilating quickly enough, it had been too long since my water broke, and Hero's heart rate kept randomly dropping.
Once they took him from my stomach, all I can remember is Mannie saying "he's out" and then nothing. No baby cry, nothing. When he was born he was blue, not breathing, in critical condition. The doctors immediately took him away to get his heart beating and put him on breathing support.
Within hours he was transported to another hospital where he could receive specialized care.
I did not see him when he was born. And was not able to see my baby for the first time until 3 days later. Now, 10 days in, we have not been able to hold him or see his eyes open just yet.
Here's what we know about his medical conditions. He has a congential heart defect called pulmonary artresia which means the artery from his heart to his lungs is not connected making it so he can't breathe on his own. He has a hole in his heart which is making it so his heart is not beating as strongly as it's supposed to. He likely suffered brain damage in his first few minutes of life, due to the lack of oxygen so had to receive a treatment called therapeutic hypothermia. He was put on a cooling blanket for his first 3 days of life which reduced the amount of oxygen that needed to go to his brain to prevent further brain damage. The doctor's speculate that he may have down syndrome, but we are waiting on test results. Out of everything, that is the least of our worries.
Right now, there are a lot of unknowns. He will be going through a series of MRIs, CT scans, and tests that should give us more information. He will need surgery. We just don't know when yet. At this point the doctors have not been able to give us a timeline of when we can hold him or when he can come home.
We are taking things one day at a time and celebrate the tiny victories.
He was able to transition off an oscillator to a more natural breathing ventilator.
He was able to ween off some of the medications.
The doctors are able to include small amounts of my breast milk into his feedings.
He has tolerated all of his treatments well, so far.
So, I have created this Gofundme. As many of our friends and family have asked how they can help.
At this point we have no idea how much his medical expenses will be and we are working on qualifying for various programs to help. But in the meantime, we are paying for his insurance through COBRA. As you all must know it is very expensive. If we reached our goal of $3500, it would cover his insurance for his first 6 months of life.
And if we are able to qualify for alternative insurance or programs, we will put the money towards his surgery or other medical expenses.
Thank you all for taking the time to read his story.
Here's to Hero. May he keep fighting. He is so loved.
About 5 or 6 years ago, Mannie and I picked out the names of our future children. If we had a boy, his name would be Hero. We were certain of that. What we didn't know was that his name would be so perfect.
This is his story.
On December 13th 2020, I was sent to an emergency c-section after laboring, as I was not dilating quickly enough, it had been too long since my water broke, and Hero's heart rate kept randomly dropping.
Once they took him from my stomach, all I can remember is Mannie saying "he's out" and then nothing. No baby cry, nothing. When he was born he was blue, not breathing, in critical condition. The doctors immediately took him away to get his heart beating and put him on breathing support.
Within hours he was transported to another hospital where he could receive specialized care.
I did not see him when he was born. And was not able to see my baby for the first time until 3 days later. Now, 10 days in, we have not been able to hold him or see his eyes open just yet.
Here's what we know about his medical conditions. He has a congential heart defect called pulmonary artresia which means the artery from his heart to his lungs is not connected making it so he can't breathe on his own. He has a hole in his heart which is making it so his heart is not beating as strongly as it's supposed to. He likely suffered brain damage in his first few minutes of life, due to the lack of oxygen so had to receive a treatment called therapeutic hypothermia. He was put on a cooling blanket for his first 3 days of life which reduced the amount of oxygen that needed to go to his brain to prevent further brain damage. The doctor's speculate that he may have down syndrome, but we are waiting on test results. Out of everything, that is the least of our worries.
Right now, there are a lot of unknowns. He will be going through a series of MRIs, CT scans, and tests that should give us more information. He will need surgery. We just don't know when yet. At this point the doctors have not been able to give us a timeline of when we can hold him or when he can come home.
We are taking things one day at a time and celebrate the tiny victories.
He was able to transition off an oscillator to a more natural breathing ventilator.
He was able to ween off some of the medications.
The doctors are able to include small amounts of my breast milk into his feedings.
He has tolerated all of his treatments well, so far.
So, I have created this Gofundme. As many of our friends and family have asked how they can help.
At this point we have no idea how much his medical expenses will be and we are working on qualifying for various programs to help. But in the meantime, we are paying for his insurance through COBRA. As you all must know it is very expensive. If we reached our goal of $3500, it would cover his insurance for his first 6 months of life.
And if we are able to qualify for alternative insurance or programs, we will put the money towards his surgery or other medical expenses.
Thank you all for taking the time to read his story.
Here's to Hero. May he keep fighting. He is so loved.
Organizer
Ona Reece Ortega
Organizer
Henderson, NV