Baby James Dody Smith
Donation protected
This fund is for an amazingly strong Micro Preemie named James, our little man.
**Updated because he is home*** He was born on October 15, 2014, at 23 weeks and weighed 14 ounces at birth and has been a fighter since day one. James spent 142 days in the absolute best care possible at the NICU at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, TX. On 10/15/2014 I went in for a check up with my OBGYN to get an ultrasound to check on James. They were already a tiny bit worried that I would have to be put on bed rest because he seemed a bit small for 23 weeks. They discovered in the ultrasound that the blood flow from his heart to me and visa-versa was not happening properly. So, Dr. Wasson sent me to the hospital to get checked in stating that either I would remain on complete bed rest or be delivering very, very soon. My blood pressure kept spiking to stroke level repeatedly, nothing was keeping it under control. Several scary moments and an emergency c-section later, James was born at 11:30pm that night. When I woke up from the sedation I was informed that my baby weighed 14 ounces, was 10" long and had a 25% chance of survival. That was the worst moment of my entire life. But little man was a fighter from the get go. We live in Flint, TX which is a little over an hour from the NICU he was staying in. I traveled daily/every other day to be with him and called multiple times a day to get updates as well. It was 42 days until I was able to hold him. The day before Thanksgiving 2014. One of the best days of my life. James was so so tiny in my arms that day, but it was amazing. 142 long days and nights later our little miracle came home. He is a happy, healthy 1 year old now and his only real health issues is low thyroid, reflux and ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). He also has to take vitamins to help stave off anemia. James had his first eye surgery (laser) to correct his ROP the day before he came home from the hospital and had a second a couple months ago. He went from seeing double to being able to see clearly and his motor skills have improved immensely since then. His daddy and I are so very proud of how far our little fighter has come. He truly is my hero. Any and all donations made prior to James coming home were used towards getting myself and his daddy back and forth to the NICU and anything that was needed during that time for James or us. Since James has come home, donations have been and will be used for anything that James needs and to go towards the $8,000 in medical bills that his Medicaid/BCBS will not cover. Considering the fact that his NICU stay cost upwards of $1 million, I figure $8,000 isn't too bad for us to have to cover :-) Any donations are so greatly appreciated and we are so thankful for. The love and support we have received since James was born is amazing. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. It truly means so much to us. James also has a Facebook page for prayers and updates for anyone who would like to follow him. It is
www.facebook.com/babyjamesdodysmith
Thank y'all for taking the time to visit his page, read this, for your prayers and support. God bless!
~Larissa (James' mommy)
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***Original description of GoFundMe page*** This fund is for an amazingly strong Micro Preemie named James, our little man. He was born on October 15, 2014, at 23 weeks and weighed 14 ounces at birth and has been a fighter since day one. James is in the absolute best care possible at the NICU at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, TX. He's got a rough road ahead of him and it's going to be a long one, but he has already beaten the odds and will continue to do so. He had a 25% chance of survival at birth and still does...This fund is for him and anything he needs or that our family needs during this tough time. He is going to have a mountain of medical bills, that much we know already. He does have BCBS and Medicaid, but neither are guaranteed to cover everything. The doctors have also said he will be on oxygen for the first year or so of his life. Please donate anything if you can for our little warrior. Every penny counts. It will go towards his medical expenses, anything he needs once he is home or that our family needs during this tough time. Even gas money just for his us to go see him. Living an hour from the NICU he is in is incredibly expensive and hard, and staying in Longview on a daily basis isn't an option for us.... He truly has no idea how many people already love and care about him. Please share this with friends and family. And we, as his parents, appreciate everything and anything from everyone. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. God bless.
~Larissa (James' mommy)
**Updated because he is home*** He was born on October 15, 2014, at 23 weeks and weighed 14 ounces at birth and has been a fighter since day one. James spent 142 days in the absolute best care possible at the NICU at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, TX. On 10/15/2014 I went in for a check up with my OBGYN to get an ultrasound to check on James. They were already a tiny bit worried that I would have to be put on bed rest because he seemed a bit small for 23 weeks. They discovered in the ultrasound that the blood flow from his heart to me and visa-versa was not happening properly. So, Dr. Wasson sent me to the hospital to get checked in stating that either I would remain on complete bed rest or be delivering very, very soon. My blood pressure kept spiking to stroke level repeatedly, nothing was keeping it under control. Several scary moments and an emergency c-section later, James was born at 11:30pm that night. When I woke up from the sedation I was informed that my baby weighed 14 ounces, was 10" long and had a 25% chance of survival. That was the worst moment of my entire life. But little man was a fighter from the get go. We live in Flint, TX which is a little over an hour from the NICU he was staying in. I traveled daily/every other day to be with him and called multiple times a day to get updates as well. It was 42 days until I was able to hold him. The day before Thanksgiving 2014. One of the best days of my life. James was so so tiny in my arms that day, but it was amazing. 142 long days and nights later our little miracle came home. He is a happy, healthy 1 year old now and his only real health issues is low thyroid, reflux and ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). He also has to take vitamins to help stave off anemia. James had his first eye surgery (laser) to correct his ROP the day before he came home from the hospital and had a second a couple months ago. He went from seeing double to being able to see clearly and his motor skills have improved immensely since then. His daddy and I are so very proud of how far our little fighter has come. He truly is my hero. Any and all donations made prior to James coming home were used towards getting myself and his daddy back and forth to the NICU and anything that was needed during that time for James or us. Since James has come home, donations have been and will be used for anything that James needs and to go towards the $8,000 in medical bills that his Medicaid/BCBS will not cover. Considering the fact that his NICU stay cost upwards of $1 million, I figure $8,000 isn't too bad for us to have to cover :-) Any donations are so greatly appreciated and we are so thankful for. The love and support we have received since James was born is amazing. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. It truly means so much to us. James also has a Facebook page for prayers and updates for anyone who would like to follow him. It is
www.facebook.com/babyjamesdodysmith
Thank y'all for taking the time to visit his page, read this, for your prayers and support. God bless!
~Larissa (James' mommy)
****************************************
***Original description of GoFundMe page*** This fund is for an amazingly strong Micro Preemie named James, our little man. He was born on October 15, 2014, at 23 weeks and weighed 14 ounces at birth and has been a fighter since day one. James is in the absolute best care possible at the NICU at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, TX. He's got a rough road ahead of him and it's going to be a long one, but he has already beaten the odds and will continue to do so. He had a 25% chance of survival at birth and still does...This fund is for him and anything he needs or that our family needs during this tough time. He is going to have a mountain of medical bills, that much we know already. He does have BCBS and Medicaid, but neither are guaranteed to cover everything. The doctors have also said he will be on oxygen for the first year or so of his life. Please donate anything if you can for our little warrior. Every penny counts. It will go towards his medical expenses, anything he needs once he is home or that our family needs during this tough time. Even gas money just for his us to go see him. Living an hour from the NICU he is in is incredibly expensive and hard, and staying in Longview on a daily basis isn't an option for us.... He truly has no idea how many people already love and care about him. Please share this with friends and family. And we, as his parents, appreciate everything and anything from everyone. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. God bless.
~Larissa (James' mommy)
Organizer
Larissa Rose Smith
Organizer
Lee Spring, TX