After what seemed like a normal pregnancy and a completely normal anatomy scan, at our 23 week appointment we were told our sweet baby boy was facing placenta complications leading to IUGR, but no one could give us an answer as to how or why this was happening. There was also no way to reverse it. Our world was crashing and we immediately made the decision to check into Duke Hospital to give our son the best chance of survival and for the next month underwent daily monitoring and scans to check his growth and watch-out for signs of distress. At a little over 26 weeks, our beautiful son Bennett was born at 1 lb 3 oz. He was incredibly small, but such a feisty boy better known as "Baby Zeus" by all of the Duke doctors and nurses -- a nickname given to him because of his nonstop kicking and punching, but also because we had hoped giving him such a strong nickname would lead to him becoming big and strong.
Bennett went straight to the NICU once he was delivered and Mark was able to go with him while they set everything up to give him all the support a micro-preemie would need while I laid in the OR for what felt like days waiting to see my boy. After countless tests and meetings with our medical team, we would learn that our sweet baby boy was fighting so much more than we ever could have imagined. Despite a fierce battle in the NICU, sweet Bennett ended up passing away in our arms due to prematurity complications that were too extensive for his little body to handle. To honor Bennett's legacy, we are hoping to create the Baby Zeus Foundation in the future to provide assistance for high-risk pregnant women dealing with IUGR or who deliver micro-preemie babies (born before 28 weeks or weighing less than 1 lb 12 oz).
In the meantime, we know our baby boy has already impacted so many lives and so many people have reached out to ask how they can help us. We hope you will join us to help raise funds to create support kits for parents of micro-preemies in the NICU, as well as more compassionate bereavement kits for families who will unfortunately have to experience the journey no parent ever wants to be on. In the future, we hope the foundation will be able to fund research for IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), as there is such limited research on why and how this happens.
We believe in full transparency. 100% of all donations we receive now will be used specifically for support kits for parents at Duke NICU. Cash donations raised on GoFundMe will be used for supplies and gift cards, as Bennett's social worker at Duke has said $25 gas gift cards are desperately needed for low-income families that have to travel long distances to get back and forth to the NICU (Duke is one of the best in the Southeast, so families come from all over and you are not allowed to sleep there). We'd also like to be able to provide $10 gift cards for the Starbucks below the NICU as a nice treat for tired parents.
Additional cash funds will be used to buy supplies for the support kits including baby blankets, journals, personal care items like hand lotion and chapstick, etc. These are all items we wish we had during the first few days in the NICU as many families unexpectedly find themselves there without the essentials and leaving during the first few days is nearly impossible. If you would prefer to buy these items directly and have them shipped to us, we have set up a wishlist on Amazon -- just reach out to Morgan directly for the link! If you would also like your donation to specifically go to something in particular, please leave a note in the comment and we promise to honor that wish. We also have needs for anyone who can knit - as we hope to make special NICU items that offer comfort to preemies, so please reach out to Morgan if you have an urge to help and have this special skill!
We thank you for your support and for the love you have shown us. Even if you are not in the position to financially donate, but have read the above -- we hope our story promotes awareness for IUGR and that everyone will not take the small things for granted.
We will keep everyone updated as well on when we receive approval for the foundation and any additional updates. To note, donations to this GoFundMe are not tax deductible as it’s currently a personal fundraiser. Once we receive approval in a few months to become a formal non-profit, we will be able to accept tax deductible donations. If you have questions, please contact Morgan or Mark directly.
For those who are local, we will be putting together these kits during his celebration of life on May 27, which was his original due date. We hope to continue creating kits indefinitely and hold a "Day of Bennett" on his birthday each year, so if you aren't able to be with us then, there are many opportunities in the future.
With love,
Morgan and Mark, Bennett's parents