Help baby Julian's family pay his NICU bills!

Dear friends & family,

On January 22, we welcomed our beautiful boy Julian into the world.

He’s our first kiddo & we are so beyond thrilled to be his parents!

Unfortunately, lil’ Julian’s first week of life has been rough.

Less than two hours after being born,

he was whisked away to the NICU due to difficulties breathing & nursing.

X-rays showed mysterious cloudiness in his lungs, so the nurses promptly administered surfactant and stuck a half-dozen tubes into him to continuously deliver oxygen/nutrients/medication, monitor his vitals, draw blood, etc…

The doctor mentioned “RDS” [Respiratory Distress Syndrome] which sounded vaguely terrifying, although he couldn’t say with any certainty what had caused it.

The medical team simply did everything in their power to keep Julian alive & stable.

As you might imagine, having Julian in the NICU has been extremely traumatic and stressful for us as a family. We spent the first several (sleepless) nights at the hospital watching our little guy struggle, feeling powerless to alleviate his pain & discomfort while we awaited updates on his condition.

Special shoutout to our loved ones who brought us hot meals during this time—at least we didn’t have to survive on hospital cafeteria food!!!

-

The *GOOD* news:

Thanks to the outstanding medical team at St. Joseph Providence Hospital,

baby Julian is getting better every day.

As of today (Jan 29) his lung X-rays are looking good and he is no longer relying on breathing support, arterial lines, IV, etc…

At this point he just has a small feeding tube in his nose (which he ought to be free of soon, as he has recently developed a hearty appetite for his Mama’s milk).

He’s starting to look like a regular ol’ happy baby now!

As long as Julian continues to eat well & gain weight at his current pace, the nurses say he should be discharged from the NICU within a couple of days.

We are so incredibly grateful for the lifesaving care he has received there,

and can’t wait to bring him home soon.

-

The *Not-So-Great* news:

You already know how expensive hospital bills can be, and NICU costs are rumored to be particularly exorbitant ($3000-$20,000 per day).

Although we have yet to receive our first bill, we expect this to be to be one of the most expensive months of our lives thus far—even if insurance covers 80% (which would be best-case scenario)!

And our income is rather limited right now,

with Mama currently out of work & Papa on unpaid family-bonding leave from his full-time job (relying on sporadic freelance gigs).

We were financially prepared for a healthy baby,

but this stay in the NICU was never part of our plan.

-

And so, dear ones,

We humbly ask for your support during this unexpectedly difficult time.

We will be relying on your donations to help us pay for Julian’s (and Delia’s) medical bills, as well as our typical expenses like groceries, gas, rent, student loans, etc.

We are hoping to be able to spend this crucial bonding time with our baby without taking on massive amounts of debt.

Any amount you can donate would be deeply appreciated.

THANK YOU!

With love,

Connor & Delia