This account has been established to help my friend's, Frank and Amy Raab, with their daughter, Iris', hospital and medical expenses, and the day to day expenses incurred from staying at the NICU in SF.
Baby Iris will be 3 weeks old this Saturday, and I must say, she has already been through more than most of us will in a lifetime. You see, at 48 hours old, Iris starting throwing up....and I don't mean spitting up, I mean throwing up. The Dr.'s attributed it to "acid reflux". From the time Frank & Amy brought Iris home, it was nothing but a struggle to get her to keep her feedings down, and not choke on her own vomit. Every night was a sleepless one, as they had to resort to sleeping with Iris on their chest, so when she threw up, she wouldn't choke or aspirate. She was seen by Dr.'s at least 3 times during the first 13 days, but they still seemed to believe that is was reflux as she was gaining weight.
Last Friday, September 19th, Iris was brought back in for a check-up, and life for the Raab family has not been the same since. You see, Iris was put on the scale, only for her parent's to find out that she had lost 8% of her total body weight since birth! Mind you, she only weighed 5 and a half pounds. The Dr.'s at Sutter admitted her to the NICU for a "tune-up", but after some test's and an X-ray, Amy and Frank soon found out that Iris was a sick baby girl.
The X-ray showed that Iris' abdomen was dialated, and it looked as though there was a blockage somewhere between her stomach and bowel. This all made since now, as she had been throwing up and not able to go to the bathroom for much of her first 13 days of life. The Dr.'s decided it was best for Iris' stomach if she was put on an IV only diet until further test were ran.
The NICU at Sutter is not equipped to handle such a situation. Iris was taken via ambulance, to California Pacific Medical Center in SF, on Saturday morning. She was admitted to their NICU, where the Peidiatic Dr.'s would ran more tests, and  confirmed that Iris had an abnormality of her intestines. This diagnosis would require surgery to correct it.
This has been such a struggle for Iris, as she is so incredibly hungry! She can't eat anything, as it has no where to go, and comes right back up within hours. You can only imagine what it does to her parent's, constantly hearing her cries of hunger.
Yesterday, Iris underwent her surgery at approximately 11 a.m. By the grace of God, her Dr. was able to do the suregery laparoscopically, which was ideal for her, and her healing process. He said it will be a week before they can introduce breast milk, so until then, she remains on a nutrition IV diet. Iris remains in the NICU, and will be there for another 2 weeks if all goes as planned.
Frank and Amy have been lucky so far, as they have been able to sleep in an empty hospital room one floor below the NICU....but, that can all change in an instant, and then they will have to go to a hotel, which as all of you know can be very expensive.
Then there's the parking garage situation....again, upwards of $30.00 a day. The gas to and from SF to Rohnert Park, so they can see Mady. All of their meals, which have to be eaten out, as there isn't a refridgerator for them to keep food in. The list goes on and on. Probably the worst monitary factor in all of this, is Frank's Paid Family Leave has yet to go through, so they have zero money coming in right now. And, keep in mind, the hospital bills have yet to start arriving in their mail box.
I'm a firm believer in "Pay it Forward", and this is where I am asking all of my friends and family to contribute to this GoFundMe account. My friend's really can use the help right now, big or small, it doesn't matter. It's the thought that counts. Speaking of thoughts, please pray for Iris' speedy recovery, her big sister, Mady, who must be confused with this entire situation, and for Amy and Frank, who are walking the walk that no parent should ever have to. Thanks for all of your support, it truely will make all the difference for them!