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My friends Paul and Laura Gillum are military veterans and despite so much heartache in their lives they continue to give back to their community, but now they need your help in making their dreams come true.
Paul and Laura are married and have a son, Dean, who they love more than life itself. On July, 30, 2015 Dean, "Burrito", Gillum had an accident and drowned. Laura, who is certified in CPR, brought him back but unfortunately he was declared brain dead. He was taken to transplant surgery where his organs were donated and he passed away on August 8, 2015 at the tender age of 23 months old. Paul and Laura started a non profit organization, in honor of Dean "Burrito's" life, Breathing For Burrito, which provides FREE CPR, AED and Heimlich training to anyone wanting to learn.
In January 2016 they decided they wanted to grow their family and started fertility treatments. Unfortunately, six IUI's, 1 ectopic pregnancy and two IVF treatments later they ran out of money, options and luck. In October of 2017 they began the process to become foster parents and a little over a year later a little girl was born on December 29, 2018. Her birth mother hid the pregnancy until the little blessing arrived and Paul and Laura got a surprise call in the middle of the night that the birth mom wanted them to have this incredible gift and adopt her baby. Laura drove from Pennsylvania to Virginia on December 31, 2018 to pick her up and they named her Zoe, which means 'life' in Greek.
They feel incredibly blessed by this gift and little Zoe but unfortunately it does not come without a price. Adoption is not cheap and like most of us they do not have the funds to afford it. For all they have gone through and everything they do for the community I've decided to start this page to try and help collect the funds to pay for the adoption which they have been told will cost close to $10,000. Any little amount helps. Please help give them the gift of happiness again and thank you for reading their story!
"Sometimes you get what you NEED, not what you WANT." - Laura Gillum
Sincerely,
Leanne Patrick
Paul and Laura are married and have a son, Dean, who they love more than life itself. On July, 30, 2015 Dean, "Burrito", Gillum had an accident and drowned. Laura, who is certified in CPR, brought him back but unfortunately he was declared brain dead. He was taken to transplant surgery where his organs were donated and he passed away on August 8, 2015 at the tender age of 23 months old. Paul and Laura started a non profit organization, in honor of Dean "Burrito's" life, Breathing For Burrito, which provides FREE CPR, AED and Heimlich training to anyone wanting to learn.
In January 2016 they decided they wanted to grow their family and started fertility treatments. Unfortunately, six IUI's, 1 ectopic pregnancy and two IVF treatments later they ran out of money, options and luck. In October of 2017 they began the process to become foster parents and a little over a year later a little girl was born on December 29, 2018. Her birth mother hid the pregnancy until the little blessing arrived and Paul and Laura got a surprise call in the middle of the night that the birth mom wanted them to have this incredible gift and adopt her baby. Laura drove from Pennsylvania to Virginia on December 31, 2018 to pick her up and they named her Zoe, which means 'life' in Greek.
They feel incredibly blessed by this gift and little Zoe but unfortunately it does not come without a price. Adoption is not cheap and like most of us they do not have the funds to afford it. For all they have gone through and everything they do for the community I've decided to start this page to try and help collect the funds to pay for the adoption which they have been told will cost close to $10,000. Any little amount helps. Please help give them the gift of happiness again and thank you for reading their story!
"Sometimes you get what you NEED, not what you WANT." - Laura Gillum
Sincerely,
Leanne Patrick
Organizer and beneficiary
Laura Gillum
Beneficiary