Hello, I’m Katrina’s sister in law, Carrie Boche and along with her parents Al “Rocky” and Sue Boche, we are trying to help James and Katrina Ausmus to help raise money for Violet's NICU costs.

 

On 10/13/21 Violet Marie was born by emergency c-section. She came into this world at 31 weeks 3 days gestational age. Violet weighed 3 lbs 9 oz and was 16.5 inches long. Violet has been in the NICU since 10/13/21, and will remain there until she is physically able to go home.

 

It all started when Katrina was experiencing some tingling in her arms and hands and had developed severe swelling in her legs, arms and face. She had gotten a few high blood pressure readings when testing at home, which led her to go to the Labor & Delivery department for monitoring on 10/8/21. The hospital decided to keep her overnight for monitoring to ensure her blood pressure would go down and stay down. Over the next day or so, it was determined that she would stay an additional night for monitoring. On Sunday, 10/10/21, the doctors had determined that she would need to be transferred via ambulance to the High Risk Unit at the St. Vincent’s Women’s Hospital in Indianapolis for further observation and care for her unstable blood pressure.

 

On 10/11/21, the high risk doctors had determined that Katrina had developed preeclampsia with severe effects and would need to remain in the hospital for the next three weeks until she reached 34 weeks in her pregnancy to safely deliver the baby. Over the course of the next couple of days, the doctors could not keep Katrina’s blood pressure under control. After countless adjustments to her medications via pills and injections into her IV line, they ultimately decided the baby needed to be delivered as soon as possible to ensure the best outcome for the baby and for Katrina’s health. This resulted in an emergency c-section to deliver Violet at 31 weeks, 3 days, on 10/13/21.

 

Due to Violet needing to be delivered so early, she will remain in the NICU under constant care for the foreseeable future. The doctors are unable to give a definite plan on when she will be able to come home - they keep saying it will be up to Violet and her progress. They have told Katrina and James to be fully prepared that Violet could remain in the NICU until her original due date of 12/12/21.

 

On Tuesday October 26, 2021 Violet was officially taken off her cpap breathing support and is now breathing unassisted. :) They also moved her feeding tube from her mouth to her nose for comfort. Other than machines monitoring her vital signs, the feeding tube is the only thing she is connected to. She has officially surpassed her original birth weight and is up to 3 lbs 10 ounces. Her jaundice has cleared up and her skin is looking much better. Her doctors have been very impressed with her progress and are always praising her for being so strong.

 

The average cost of NICU care in the United States exceeds $3,000, per day. As you can imagine, James and Katrina are facing hefty medical costs to keep Violet in the NICU. On top of the mounting medical bills, they are also facing long commutes to and from the hospital - as the hospital is located an hour and a half from their home, meals on the road, and many missed work days resulting in loss of income since they are both self employed.

 

It is our goal to help ease the financial burden on James and Katrina so we can take a little stress off their shoulders. Thank you for your consideration in donating to help with Violet’s medical bills! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers!