Bringing Joy Home
Donation protected
Dear friends and family,
On behalf of the Nunis-- Joe, Melanie, Elijah, and Joy-- we invite you to join us in support of their family during this time. The Nuni family is a rock in our community here in Oakland, and we hope that sharing their story and testimony will serve as an encouragement and source of hope to many. Our aim is to help gather resources and support to provide the things necessary as they prepare to bring their baby girl Joy home for the first time, after 7 months in the NICU, and most recently, a few weeks in the PICU.
Joy's story
Joy Marylyn Nuni was born on October 15, 2019 at 1 lb 3 oz, 26 weeks 3 days gestational age. Due to growing complications with placental blood vessel development, Melanie underwent a C-section after several days of continuous monitoring at Kaiser Oakland.
The Nunis have been down this road before, 6.5 years ago. Their firstborn, Elijah, was delivered at 28 weeks gestational age via emergency C-section at the same hospital. They spent 90 days in the NICU before bringing Elijah home. Elijah is a delight and a joy-- his infectious smile, hopeful spirit, and love for football is a light to all who know him. Over the past 6 years, Mel and Joe have navigated the realities and ups and downs of having a child with special needs. Our church and community is better because of the Nunis-- we have experienced deep grief, deep joy, and witnessed miracles happen through their family and their unwavering faith.
To spend yet another long journey in the NICU has been incredibly painful and trying for the Nunis. There have certainly been moments of hope and joy: many members of the hospital staff were the same support that the Nunis had with Elijah, providing familiar faces that bring comfort. Joe was able to be with Mel this time for her C-section, and they got to hear Joy cry shortly after delivery. Joy is a strong baby who has hit several key benchmarks and grown steadily over the past 7.5 months.
This has also been the hardest season to date for the family. There have been many ups and downs so far, and Melanie and Joe almost lost Joy more than once. Baby Joy is currently requiring a tracheostomy and ventilator to provide adequate respiratory support. The tracheostomy was placed due to narrowing of her upper airway, which was found after she failed a few extubation attempts. Additionally, she needs a ventilator due to her chronic lung disease, which is often caused due to prematurity and being on the ventilator for months. Being on the ventilator requires Joy to have a suction machine, oxygen and access to a power source at all times, which can make travel a challenge, but not impossible. Due to her need for these devices, she will need to have trained staff at all times who know how to operate the equipment and who are comfortable in emergency scenarios.
Joy's main source of nutrition is via a g-tube (gastric tube). This tube allows feeding to directly take place into the stomach, bypassing her upper GI tract. This requires a feeding pump, tubing, formula and a set schedule.
In order to bring Joy home, the Nunis must establish 24-hour nursing care for monitoring Joy’s trach tube, provide for regular professional cleaning to ensure safety and sanitary conditions, and purchase or rent hospital-grade equipment like a crib and oxygen supply. We anticipate other expenses will likely arise over time. It would also be helpful for them to have a housing situation that better suits their family’s needs. They currently live on the second floor and Elijah is not able to walk independently. Being on the second floor also makes it incredibly challenging to get Joy in and out of the house with all of the equipment.
The Nunis are preparing for a long and difficult road ahead, planning for the next 18 months after Joy transitions home. They need extra support and help to continue on in the journey.
The Nunis are an incredible family. We are so blessed with Joe serving as our Associate Pastor, Melanie a spiritual mentor to many of us, Elijah a source of joy and a sign of God’s goodness, and baby Joy a delight and a testimony to God’s provision. We simply would not be the same without them.
We invite you to consider contributing to support these dear friends of ours. Thank you in advance for your generosity, prayers, and solidarity with our community!
Our goal -- 18 months of financial support
Care and supplies for Joy
16 hours of in-home nursing care - $4800/month (currently, MediCal coverage provides some funds to cover this, so this amount reflects the out of pocket expenses)
Supplies not covered by insurance: trach supplies, hospital crib, oxygen refill station, gloves, gauze, sterile water, etc. - $100/month
Housing needs
One-time relocation expense - $10000
Rental costs (single-story, 3 bedroom/2 bathroom, 5 min drive from a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for any appointments or emergencies) - $3000
Professional cleaning & supplies - $400/month
Total: $159,400
Read more
JOY- https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joynuni/journal
ELIJAH- https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elijahjoenuni
On behalf of the Nunis-- Joe, Melanie, Elijah, and Joy-- we invite you to join us in support of their family during this time. The Nuni family is a rock in our community here in Oakland, and we hope that sharing their story and testimony will serve as an encouragement and source of hope to many. Our aim is to help gather resources and support to provide the things necessary as they prepare to bring their baby girl Joy home for the first time, after 7 months in the NICU, and most recently, a few weeks in the PICU.
Joy's story
Joy Marylyn Nuni was born on October 15, 2019 at 1 lb 3 oz, 26 weeks 3 days gestational age. Due to growing complications with placental blood vessel development, Melanie underwent a C-section after several days of continuous monitoring at Kaiser Oakland.
The Nunis have been down this road before, 6.5 years ago. Their firstborn, Elijah, was delivered at 28 weeks gestational age via emergency C-section at the same hospital. They spent 90 days in the NICU before bringing Elijah home. Elijah is a delight and a joy-- his infectious smile, hopeful spirit, and love for football is a light to all who know him. Over the past 6 years, Mel and Joe have navigated the realities and ups and downs of having a child with special needs. Our church and community is better because of the Nunis-- we have experienced deep grief, deep joy, and witnessed miracles happen through their family and their unwavering faith.
To spend yet another long journey in the NICU has been incredibly painful and trying for the Nunis. There have certainly been moments of hope and joy: many members of the hospital staff were the same support that the Nunis had with Elijah, providing familiar faces that bring comfort. Joe was able to be with Mel this time for her C-section, and they got to hear Joy cry shortly after delivery. Joy is a strong baby who has hit several key benchmarks and grown steadily over the past 7.5 months.
This has also been the hardest season to date for the family. There have been many ups and downs so far, and Melanie and Joe almost lost Joy more than once. Baby Joy is currently requiring a tracheostomy and ventilator to provide adequate respiratory support. The tracheostomy was placed due to narrowing of her upper airway, which was found after she failed a few extubation attempts. Additionally, she needs a ventilator due to her chronic lung disease, which is often caused due to prematurity and being on the ventilator for months. Being on the ventilator requires Joy to have a suction machine, oxygen and access to a power source at all times, which can make travel a challenge, but not impossible. Due to her need for these devices, she will need to have trained staff at all times who know how to operate the equipment and who are comfortable in emergency scenarios.
Joy's main source of nutrition is via a g-tube (gastric tube). This tube allows feeding to directly take place into the stomach, bypassing her upper GI tract. This requires a feeding pump, tubing, formula and a set schedule.
In order to bring Joy home, the Nunis must establish 24-hour nursing care for monitoring Joy’s trach tube, provide for regular professional cleaning to ensure safety and sanitary conditions, and purchase or rent hospital-grade equipment like a crib and oxygen supply. We anticipate other expenses will likely arise over time. It would also be helpful for them to have a housing situation that better suits their family’s needs. They currently live on the second floor and Elijah is not able to walk independently. Being on the second floor also makes it incredibly challenging to get Joy in and out of the house with all of the equipment.
The Nunis are preparing for a long and difficult road ahead, planning for the next 18 months after Joy transitions home. They need extra support and help to continue on in the journey.
The Nunis are an incredible family. We are so blessed with Joe serving as our Associate Pastor, Melanie a spiritual mentor to many of us, Elijah a source of joy and a sign of God’s goodness, and baby Joy a delight and a testimony to God’s provision. We simply would not be the same without them.
We invite you to consider contributing to support these dear friends of ours. Thank you in advance for your generosity, prayers, and solidarity with our community!
Our goal -- 18 months of financial support
Care and supplies for Joy
16 hours of in-home nursing care - $4800/month (currently, MediCal coverage provides some funds to cover this, so this amount reflects the out of pocket expenses)
Supplies not covered by insurance: trach supplies, hospital crib, oxygen refill station, gloves, gauze, sterile water, etc. - $100/month
Housing needs
One-time relocation expense - $10000
Rental costs (single-story, 3 bedroom/2 bathroom, 5 min drive from a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for any appointments or emergencies) - $3000
Professional cleaning & supplies - $400/month
Total: $159,400
Read more
JOY- https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joynuni/journal
ELIJAH- https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elijahjoenuni
Co-organizers (2)
Becky Luoh
Organizer
Oakland, CA
Joe Nuni
Beneficiary
Kevin Hu
Co-organizer