Support Zoe's Fight!
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My name is Noelle and I'm fundraising for two of my closest friends, Rachel and John Meenan. Their beautiful baby girl, Zoe Ann Meenan, was born on November 12, 2021 at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she still remains in the NICU. Zoe has proven to be a little fighter, overcoming numerous severe complications since she was born. The road leading up to Zoe’s arrival was not an easy one for Rachel and John, and now that she’s finally here, they face an even longer road ahead.
Rachel and John always knew they wanted a sibling for their two year old daughter, Emma, and were ecstatic to find out they were having another little girl! As Rachel’s pregnancy progressed issues began to arise and they found themselves at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It was there Rachel and John discovered that baby Zoe had Pulmonary Hypoplasia (underdeveloped lungs), and Congenital Diaphragmatic Eventration, a birth defect that weakens the diaphragm muscle and causes it to balloon up and allow her organs to push into the heart and lungs, making her lungs almost unable to function on their own. Further testing uncovered an extremely rare genetic disorder, with only a few dozen known cases, which was found to cause Eventration and Pulmonary Hypoplasia.
Zoe was born with a lung capacity of only 17% and was unable to breath on her own. She was immediately taken from mommy and daddy, intubated, and placed on a ventilator. Unfortunately, she wasn’t responding well to the ventilator alone, and doctors made the decision to place her on the highest form of life support, ECMO. ECMO is performed using a heart-lung bypass machine similar to the one used during open heart surgery. It allows the lungs to rest while the machine takes over the function of the heart and the lungs. Zoe was taken off ECMO on November 29th, but continued on the ventilator for another 65 days until she was ready to begin weaning off. THANKFULLY, Zoe was extubated on February 2nd and is now breathing with the help of a Bipap machine. While her doctors are happy with the progress made, Zoe will remain in the NICU at CHOP for the unforeseeable future, and may need surgery to repair the eventration in her diaphragm.
As you can imagine, this has been emotionally and financially straining on Rachel and John. No one could have prepared them for what they’re facing and, unfortunately, there is no end in sight. Between gas and tolls on their daily commute to CHOP, medical expenses, standard living expenses and time taken off work, the bills are starting to add up. My hope is that this fund will help take a bit of the financial burden off them during Zoe’s extended stay in the NICU. Anything you can contribute, even if it’s positive thoughts and prayers for Zoe and the journey that lies ahead, will be greatly appreciated by Rachel and John. Thank you so much!!!
Rachel and John always knew they wanted a sibling for their two year old daughter, Emma, and were ecstatic to find out they were having another little girl! As Rachel’s pregnancy progressed issues began to arise and they found themselves at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It was there Rachel and John discovered that baby Zoe had Pulmonary Hypoplasia (underdeveloped lungs), and Congenital Diaphragmatic Eventration, a birth defect that weakens the diaphragm muscle and causes it to balloon up and allow her organs to push into the heart and lungs, making her lungs almost unable to function on their own. Further testing uncovered an extremely rare genetic disorder, with only a few dozen known cases, which was found to cause Eventration and Pulmonary Hypoplasia.
Zoe was born with a lung capacity of only 17% and was unable to breath on her own. She was immediately taken from mommy and daddy, intubated, and placed on a ventilator. Unfortunately, she wasn’t responding well to the ventilator alone, and doctors made the decision to place her on the highest form of life support, ECMO. ECMO is performed using a heart-lung bypass machine similar to the one used during open heart surgery. It allows the lungs to rest while the machine takes over the function of the heart and the lungs. Zoe was taken off ECMO on November 29th, but continued on the ventilator for another 65 days until she was ready to begin weaning off. THANKFULLY, Zoe was extubated on February 2nd and is now breathing with the help of a Bipap machine. While her doctors are happy with the progress made, Zoe will remain in the NICU at CHOP for the unforeseeable future, and may need surgery to repair the eventration in her diaphragm.
As you can imagine, this has been emotionally and financially straining on Rachel and John. No one could have prepared them for what they’re facing and, unfortunately, there is no end in sight. Between gas and tolls on their daily commute to CHOP, medical expenses, standard living expenses and time taken off work, the bills are starting to add up. My hope is that this fund will help take a bit of the financial burden off them during Zoe’s extended stay in the NICU. Anything you can contribute, even if it’s positive thoughts and prayers for Zoe and the journey that lies ahead, will be greatly appreciated by Rachel and John. Thank you so much!!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Noelle Pitts
Organizer
Mullica Hill, NJ
Rachel Meenan
Beneficiary