Jon and I have decided to start a go fund me for our amazing friends who are in need of help at this time. June of this year Ricky and Maddie welcomed a beautiful baby boy Cooper! Cooper was born with respiratory issues, needing to be on a feeding tube, along with other medical special needs. He spent almost a month in the NICU and as of recently Coop has been in the ICU again due to respiratory illness. Maddie and Ricky have two wonderful daughters at home, and they have been splitting time to make sure their family is taken care of. As working parents, they have run out of financial options at this point. Bills will continue to pile up and sick leave from work has been used up. They absolutely need help making it through this right now. They are extremely hard-working people and have a very difficult time asking for help and we can relate. So, we are asking for them! Please, if you are able any amount helps. Christmas is almost here, and we would love to relieve some financial pressure for them.

 

 

 

 

Crowe Family Statement:

 

“As many of you may have seen, Cooper has been in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for over a week now. When he was first admitted, he was taking shallow breaths and his oxygen levels were a bit low for comfort. Since then, he got a little better, but fell dramatically worse. Cooper has had respiratory issues since birth (along with several other medical complexities), and we knew every illness could be extremely dangerous. Two common illnesses we warned could be especially bad for him are RSV and the common cold.

 

Unfortunately, Cooper is positive for both. He is on a constant oxygen flow and IV drip. Because of the oxygen flow, he cannot be fed through his G-Tube and when they tried, they discovered that his intestines had slowed to a point that they could not process food and he would regurgitate everything in his system. This is more than likely from the sedative they've had to keep him on during this stay to ease his pain, allow him to rest, and stop him from pulling out the tubes and needles.

 

As of now, he is on 10 different medications to lower is increased blood pressure, keep him comfortable, promote healing, and to make sure he stays stable through the process.

 

We were told on day 2 to expect to be in the hospital for 5-7 days. After the toll Cooper's birth, month long NICU stay, and near daily appointments have taken mentally and financially, we were concerned about how we would make it through, while also having our two girls Adelaide and Everly at home.

 

Madelaine is there at the hospital with Cooper 24 hours a day ensuring he is safe, while Ricky is home sick with both older daughters sick as well.

 

We now know that Cooper will be in the hospital much longer and expected. This will come with some medical expenses (insurance will cover most) but a growing amount of debt related to the stay. Though Maddi has been at Cooper's bedside for over a week, the hospital will provide her nothing in terms of food or anything else. Driving back and forth from the hospital every day for the girls to see their mom and to bring her clothes, etc. has been a huge expense and we are at a point now where we will have to sacrifice wages as Ricky has run through all sick and vacation time. Ricky has been working some through this, but with doctor visits, sickness, and the girls being home, all available time off has been exhausted.

 

Unfortunately, we will now have to have several unpaid days off as needed.

 

We would be able to manage all of these new expenses if they were isolated but coming on the heels of Cooper's birth and the hole we have found ourselves in from his doctor since then, it is beginning to create a deficit that we will have a hard time recovering from. Unfortunately, the girls’ lives have already been impacted from this. To support Cooper, they have been pulled out of daycare and due to the time and financial limitations, they've had to stop gymnastics (their only extracurricular activity).

 

Many friends and family members have asked how they can help. We are both so unwilling to ask for help in any situation, but for our family, we must swallow our pride and allow assistance from all those that love us.”