Liam was born on July 17th, he was 6 weeks early after an emergency C-section and rushed to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). While we hoped he would come home immediately, that was not the case, and he spent the following 26 days in the NICU.   As his mommy, I insist he is absolutely perfect in every way, but it was clear something was wrong at birth. He couldn’t suck, swallow, and breathe, had jaundice, and would sometimes have dangerous spells of apnea. By the time I was discharged from the hospital, it was evident he would stay there for a while. His feedings grew worse and they eventually put a tube down his throat to feed him. After a week, the 'forced feedings' surpassed his bottle feedings since he barely kept anything down and showed signs of distress.

Towards the end of his first week’s stay in the NICU, they found blood in his diaper, did an x-ray, and discovered he had NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis). NEC is an infection that causes inflammation and death of intestinal tissue. It is very severe and progresses exceptionally fast. He was transferred to the leading hospital in the area for it and we were terrified. In the new NICU, his feedings and doses of antibiotics were administered via an IV catheter as nothing was allowed by mouth for 10 days. He had x-rays twice a day to monitor the infection, but his prognosis was good, because they caught it early. Eventually the infection cleared, the IV was removed, his jaundice went away, and he rarely had instances of apnea. After passing his second try at the Car Seat Challenge he was allowed to come home.

        This fund is meant to cover the unexpected costs of a 26 day stay in the NICU. If he had stayed for 30 days or more, the state would have helped cover the costs. Luckily we have insurance to cover the bulk of the costs, but we still have to cover a percentage of what is turning out to be a series of large bills. 

We thank you for your support.