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We are requesting donations on behalf of our Daughter who has just given birth to a critically ill child and has a 3 year old son as well. Any donation would relieve the stress of relocating and sustaining a temporary residence while the newborn is undergoing extensive surgery and recovery.
Baby JoshuahJon was born at 10:03 am on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14 at Feather River Hospital in Paradise Ca. He weighed in at 8 lbs and 20 inches long. He was born with a heart condition known as Transposition of the Great Arteries and was not getting oxygen. Basically this condition means the Great Arteries of his heart are on the wrong sides of his heart (transposed) and surgery is required to switch them and then move the two smaller coronary arteries as well. Within minutes of being born he was rushed into the nursery for testing and subsequently sent by helicopter to Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, all before his Mother could even hold him. Our family rushed home to find suitable care for Mom’s 3 year old son and packed up to make the 2 hour trip to Sacramento during which time baby JoshuahJon had his first surgery where a balloon was placed in his heart to help his heart deliver oxygen to his body. He was scheduled to have open heart surgery at Sutter Memorial the following Monday with a 90% chance of success, it was planned he would continue his recovery there for the next several weeks. We settled his Mother in at the Ronald McDonald house and supplied her with enough food and supplies to last the 10 day minimum recovery time. Our 3 year old Grandson will now be residing with us during this lengthy process.
However the next day, with further testing it was discovered the Baby also had missing coronary arteries and had just one to feed his heart. This situation intensified the critical nature of the surgery and the surgical team at Sutter Hospital decided to send JoshuahJon to Stanford in Palo Alto. This left his Mother in a logistical standstill as the hospital does not assist with transporting or relocating Mom and there was no room available in the Palo Alto Ronald McDonald house. The policy is to not put families on the waiting list until the patient is admitted to the hospital and the family is physically in Palo Alto. Arrangements had to be made so Mom could make the 3 hour trip to Palo Alto. As it was the weekend there was some difficulty in reaching the hospital social worker on call so once again the family was left to gather resources without assistance. The Baby JoshuahJon was now scheduled to have open heart surgery on Tuesday morning at Stanford. We finally arranged for Mom to get down to Palo Alto where all that was available to her, was to sleep in the hospital with no room for her belongings or food. With the recent flooding many people are dislocated and we struggled to find her a room. All 3 motel stays were short term and very expensive. The Ronald Mc Donald House is being remodeled and has very limited space with a lengthy waiting list basically they informed Mom that she would not be getting in. And the Surgical team at Stanford once again rescheduled the Surgery for Wed 2/22/17. The baby now 7 days old has still never been in his mother’s arms although she has been able to attend to his feedings and diapering, wanting to be as close to her baby as possible. Once the child survives surgery he will be placed on life support where his recovery will depend on how well he adjusts once he is taken off the life support and how quickly he re-learns to eat. Babies this young tend to forget how to suck and swallow once placed on life support.
During this recovery period, which could last anywhere from 10 days to several weeks, JoshuahJon’s Mother needs financial assistance to stay near her son during his recovery and the subsequent incidentals as well as provide care and necessities for her 3 year old son. Any financial donation would help lift some burden of care from the shoulders of a very distressed parent. The family would be very grateful for any assistance given.
Baby JoshuahJon was born at 10:03 am on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14 at Feather River Hospital in Paradise Ca. He weighed in at 8 lbs and 20 inches long. He was born with a heart condition known as Transposition of the Great Arteries and was not getting oxygen. Basically this condition means the Great Arteries of his heart are on the wrong sides of his heart (transposed) and surgery is required to switch them and then move the two smaller coronary arteries as well. Within minutes of being born he was rushed into the nursery for testing and subsequently sent by helicopter to Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, all before his Mother could even hold him. Our family rushed home to find suitable care for Mom’s 3 year old son and packed up to make the 2 hour trip to Sacramento during which time baby JoshuahJon had his first surgery where a balloon was placed in his heart to help his heart deliver oxygen to his body. He was scheduled to have open heart surgery at Sutter Memorial the following Monday with a 90% chance of success, it was planned he would continue his recovery there for the next several weeks. We settled his Mother in at the Ronald McDonald house and supplied her with enough food and supplies to last the 10 day minimum recovery time. Our 3 year old Grandson will now be residing with us during this lengthy process.
However the next day, with further testing it was discovered the Baby also had missing coronary arteries and had just one to feed his heart. This situation intensified the critical nature of the surgery and the surgical team at Sutter Hospital decided to send JoshuahJon to Stanford in Palo Alto. This left his Mother in a logistical standstill as the hospital does not assist with transporting or relocating Mom and there was no room available in the Palo Alto Ronald McDonald house. The policy is to not put families on the waiting list until the patient is admitted to the hospital and the family is physically in Palo Alto. Arrangements had to be made so Mom could make the 3 hour trip to Palo Alto. As it was the weekend there was some difficulty in reaching the hospital social worker on call so once again the family was left to gather resources without assistance. The Baby JoshuahJon was now scheduled to have open heart surgery on Tuesday morning at Stanford. We finally arranged for Mom to get down to Palo Alto where all that was available to her, was to sleep in the hospital with no room for her belongings or food. With the recent flooding many people are dislocated and we struggled to find her a room. All 3 motel stays were short term and very expensive. The Ronald Mc Donald House is being remodeled and has very limited space with a lengthy waiting list basically they informed Mom that she would not be getting in. And the Surgical team at Stanford once again rescheduled the Surgery for Wed 2/22/17. The baby now 7 days old has still never been in his mother’s arms although she has been able to attend to his feedings and diapering, wanting to be as close to her baby as possible. Once the child survives surgery he will be placed on life support where his recovery will depend on how well he adjusts once he is taken off the life support and how quickly he re-learns to eat. Babies this young tend to forget how to suck and swallow once placed on life support.
During this recovery period, which could last anywhere from 10 days to several weeks, JoshuahJon’s Mother needs financial assistance to stay near her son during his recovery and the subsequent incidentals as well as provide care and necessities for her 3 year old son. Any financial donation would help lift some burden of care from the shoulders of a very distressed parent. The family would be very grateful for any assistance given.