Baby Lucas' NICU Fund

Dylan, Melissa, and Nicholas Markham welcomed sweet baby Lucas into the world on August 17.  He arrived 5 weeks early with Type A Esophageal Atresia, which means that his esophagus did not fully develop in utero.  While most babies born with EA receive corrective surgery almost immediately after birth, Lucas' particular type of EA is quite rare and requires a different, much lengthier, set of interventions. 


Since his arrival, Lucas has been in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UVA Medical Center.  He had a feeding tube surgically inserted soon after birth, and he will undergo more procedures and testing that will lead up to the eventual surgical repair of his esphagus.  The duration of his NICU stay is expected to be several months to allow ample time for the upper and lower portions of his esophagus to grow long enough for surgeons to connect them. 

The Markham family commutes from Staunton to Charlottesville to be with Lucas, and they recently incurred additional medical expenses when Melissa was diagnosed with a severe case of mastitis, requiring IV antibiotics and a lengthy ER visit.  All contributions to this GoFundMe account go directly to Dylan and Melisssa to help offset the financial burden of NICU costs, travel expenses, and anything else they need during this stressful time.