Hello all,

Thank you for taking a minute to learn about, pray for, and potentially donate to my wonderful brother and sister-in-law as they ready themselves to welcome their sweet boy, Joseph Michael, into this world.

For those of you who don’t know, my brother Andrew and his wife Erin have 5 wonderful children and live in Ridgecrest, CA where Andrew works as a flight test engineer on the Naval base and Erin is a homeschool consultant for a charter school as well as homeschool teacher for their 5 children. Their newest blessing, Joseph, was diagnosed at 20 weeks gestation with spina bifida and a Chiari II malformation. Blessedly, after many appointments and tests, both he and Erin are candidates for intrauterine fetal surgery which is set to take place December 7th.

This, however, comes with many complications. Firstly, the closest surgical and delivery teams that are trained to care for Joseph’s needs with this diagnosis are located 160 miles away in Pasadena, CA. Secondly, post-surgery, Erin will need to be on strict bedrest in order to stave off preterm labor and help Joseph continue to grow as long as possible before his grand debut. The surgeon has informed them that this is typically anywhere from 31-37 weeks. Thirdly, the whole family will need to relocate to the Pasadena area in January, for an estimated two to three months, so that they are close to the appropriate hospital that can care for Joseph’s needs when he is born. As you can imagine, short-term housing in the LA area for a family of 7 is not inexpensive. Add on medical bills and extra care for children while Erin is on bedrest/caring for Joseph during a potential NICU stay and the financial stress can be overwhelming. This GoFundMe has been set up on behalf of Andrew and Erin to help alleviate some of that financial burden so that they are able to focus on their family and bringing Joseph into the world as safely as possible.

First and foremost, we ask for prayers regarding Erin/Joseph’s surgery, continued pregnancy and delivery. Secondly, we’d like to thank you for taking the time to understand the need of this wonderful family. We hope you will feel led to contribute what you are able and join us in Joseph’s journey where he will be welcomed into this world by family and friends who love and support him. Know that any amount will help and will be so greatly appreciated.

Please share this with your contacts that would surround this family in prayer and provide financial support. I’ll update this platform periodically as they head into surgery, recovery and eventually, delivery. You can also access the Caring Bridge account that Erin updates more regularly here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyjosephmichael

Thank you.

God bless you.