Baby Madeleine's Medical Transfer and Care

The Debter family was about to move from Florida to Dallas when their second daughter, baby Madeleine, surprised them by arriving three months early, on August 29, 2022. She weighed just 1 pound, 14 ounces, and was immediately taken to the Level III NICU at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, FL, where she was given a breathing tube and placed on a ventilator. After more than four months in the NICU, she is battling chronic lung disease and still needs the use of a ventilator to breathe.

Her doctors have determined that she must now be transferred to another hospital with a higher level of care, where she will be evaluated for a tracheostomy. This process will take several months. A tracheostomy would allow her parents to bring her home but still require her to be on a home ventilator and have around-the-clock medical care.

They are asking for help to cover the cost of transferring Madeleine via air ambulance to Children's Medical Center in Dallas by January 16, 2023, which insurance has declined to cover despite several attempts by Madeleine’s parents and doctors. After receiving several bids that were over six figures, the prospect of a medical transfer felt out of reach. Then, a member of the Debter family was able to find a company that offered an appropriate medical transfer for $32,000. Doctors recommended a higher level of care which raised the goal to $37,000. And the goal must be reached by mid-January for Madeleine to keep the spot that Children's Medical Center in Dallas is holding for her as an out-of-state transfer! As the date of transfer nears, Baby Madeleine has been diagnosed with pneumonia and needs to improve for her ambulatory flight. We are raising the goal to $50,000 as medical bills continue to mount for this sweet baby and her parents. 

If the new goal of $50,000 is reached, it would allow the Debter family to stay together and complete their move to Dallas, where Madeleine's father's job is located and where they will have crucial help from family to lovingly care for Madeleine and their older daughter, Charlotte, who is now almost two years old. It will also ensure that Madeleine can be seen by the same team of doctors for years to come. Anything raised above goal will be used for Madeleine's ongoing medical care needs and her family's complex move and transition to Dallas.

The Debter family is grateful for any financial support toward this goal, as well as prayers for Madeleine’s lungs to heal and develop.

Thank you for your consideration and for any support you can provide!

Organized by Friends of the Debter Family

(With special appreciation to the students of Mrs. Debter's 4th Grade Class)