Jesse's Lion Heart
Donativo protegido
We are the Coetzee-Turner’s. A family who values the precious gift of life. We were beyond blessed with the birth of our first daughter Scoddy Mae in 2016. Once she turned two and the cuteness became unbearable we started the conversation about extending our family by just one more. How cool it would be for Scoddy to have a sibling.
Fertility can be a very intricate business. It can be a long torturous road loaded with emotions of ups and downs, failures and hope. I feel we can write a book about that experience alone. We had all our hopes set on another soul joining our family.
While fully invested in this fertility journey life presented a little twist with job offers we both could not resist in the United States. We decided to commit to following our careers further in the USA. After relocating from South Africa to Western Massachusetts in July 2019, we were over the moon with excitement to learn that we would be expecting not one but two souls joining our family. Twins (a boy and girl) was more than we had hoped for, and we were over the moon.
In November 2019, at a routine 20-week maternity scan we learned that our boy had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (Transposition of the great vessels with a ventricular septal defect) and will require corrective open-heart surgery within one week of birth. A diagnosis that was tough to come to terms with for us as parents. While we were concerned to hear this news, we realized how fortunate we are to have some of the top medical professionals in the world just two hours away in Boston. As soon as we started doing research we realized that we could not be in a better place in the world to receive the best treatment for our boy. Perhaps a crazy coincidence of fate that we ended up in Amherst, Massachusetts for work just a few hours away from the best Children’s Hospital in the World.
All our treatments have been transferred to a very large and extremely competent team of doctors. We are working closely with the high-risk pregnancy team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as cardiologist and nurses at Boston’s children hospital and will remain there through the corrective surgery and recovery. The stay after surgery is estimated to be around 3 months. We are optimistic about the process that lies ahead, but know that challenges are in store.
The challenge that concerns us most is how we will get ourselves in the best possible position to care for a potentially critically ill child and his twin sister and not allow the enormous burden of finance to detract from the care they will need. We are only in the beginning stages of this journey and it is already overwhelming us.
Your generous contributions will help us cover:
1. The vast medical expenses already incurred and the majority still to come
2. Childcare for Scoddy while we are in hospital
3. Costs from travel to Boston
4. Accommodation in Boston for minimum of 3 months
Part of our journey was to realize our shortcomings, put all our pride aside and reach out for help from our network of friends, family and beyond in any way it comes to us.
Your support is incredibly meaningful to our growing family. We cannot give our bold warrior boy a new lion heart without your help.
Fertility can be a very intricate business. It can be a long torturous road loaded with emotions of ups and downs, failures and hope. I feel we can write a book about that experience alone. We had all our hopes set on another soul joining our family.
While fully invested in this fertility journey life presented a little twist with job offers we both could not resist in the United States. We decided to commit to following our careers further in the USA. After relocating from South Africa to Western Massachusetts in July 2019, we were over the moon with excitement to learn that we would be expecting not one but two souls joining our family. Twins (a boy and girl) was more than we had hoped for, and we were over the moon.
In November 2019, at a routine 20-week maternity scan we learned that our boy had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (Transposition of the great vessels with a ventricular septal defect) and will require corrective open-heart surgery within one week of birth. A diagnosis that was tough to come to terms with for us as parents. While we were concerned to hear this news, we realized how fortunate we are to have some of the top medical professionals in the world just two hours away in Boston. As soon as we started doing research we realized that we could not be in a better place in the world to receive the best treatment for our boy. Perhaps a crazy coincidence of fate that we ended up in Amherst, Massachusetts for work just a few hours away from the best Children’s Hospital in the World.
All our treatments have been transferred to a very large and extremely competent team of doctors. We are working closely with the high-risk pregnancy team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as cardiologist and nurses at Boston’s children hospital and will remain there through the corrective surgery and recovery. The stay after surgery is estimated to be around 3 months. We are optimistic about the process that lies ahead, but know that challenges are in store.
The challenge that concerns us most is how we will get ourselves in the best possible position to care for a potentially critically ill child and his twin sister and not allow the enormous burden of finance to detract from the care they will need. We are only in the beginning stages of this journey and it is already overwhelming us.
Your generous contributions will help us cover:
1. The vast medical expenses already incurred and the majority still to come
2. Childcare for Scoddy while we are in hospital
3. Costs from travel to Boston
4. Accommodation in Boston for minimum of 3 months
Part of our journey was to realize our shortcomings, put all our pride aside and reach out for help from our network of friends, family and beyond in any way it comes to us.
Your support is incredibly meaningful to our growing family. We cannot give our bold warrior boy a new lion heart without your help.
Coorganizadores (2)
Pietie Coetzee-Turner
Organizador
Amherst, MA
Roxy Coetzee-Turner
Coorganizador