Sweet baby Alora was born 16 weeks premature on November 10, 2021. She weighed just 1 pound 1 ounce at birth. So far she appears to be thriving and has already beaten many odds against her. She is breathing (with help), moving, and even opening her eyes briefly. However, she is expected to remain in the NICU until at least her original due date in early March.

 

Alora's mom, Juliana, first noticed something wasn't right with her pregnancy in September. She was originally diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma and a velamentous cord insertion. Essentially there was a hematoma growing near the placenta which put pressure on the amniotic sac and increased the risk of Juliana's water breaking prematurely. Unrelated to this issue was the velamentous cord insertion, which meant the umbilical cord was not centered within the placenta, but rather inserted along the side. Due to these diagnoses, Juliana's pregnancy was considered high risk.

 

Unfortunately Juliana experienced PPROM (Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes) on October 24th. She was admitted to the hospital where doctors confirmed that she had lost all of her amniotic fluid. At this point Juliana was only 21 weeks along and the prognosis was grim.

 

Miraculously Juliana managed to remain pregnant for another 2+ weeks and during that time the doctors were able to give her steroids to help mature the baby's lungs and magnesium to help with brain development. All of these interventions paid off and even though Alora came much earlier than we wanted, she is as healthy and developed as possible for being a micro-preemie.

 

Because of Juliana's initial high risk diagnosis, she was forced to leave her job in September in order to restrict her activity and protect her pregnancy. She has been living with her mom in Grass Valley, about 50 miles from the NICU in Sacramento where Alora will be until March. We are hoping to help Juliana relocate to Sacramento to be closer to the hospital. Until that time she will be making the 100 mile round-trip drive daily to see her baby.

 

We are asking friends, loved ones, and kind strangers for monetary assistance to help keep Juliana close to Alora during this challenging time.

 

Here's a breakdown of basic funds Juliana will need each day for the next approximately 120 days:

 

$15 to park at the hospital

$15 for food

$15-$20 for gas

 

Total ~$50 X 120 = $6000

 

Anything above the basic day-to-day hospital visiting expenses will go towards helping Juliana relocate to an apartment closer to Sacramento.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read about Juliana and Alora and considering donating to their cause.