Our Miracle Baby Luca!
Donation protected
Luca Marshall Realmuto is a miracle baby. He was born premature due to complications with the pregnancy. Luca was born on March 2, 2018 and weighed 2 pounds. At that moment, Luca’s destiny was not known.
Luca lived in the NICU for 5 months, away from his family under the care and watch of amazing and dedicated individuals. Ironically Luca’s mother is a Registered Nurse who worked for many years in the same NICU; and Luca’s father worked for many years as a teacher for children with special needs.
Luca’s journey in the NICU was standard for the course until Luca wasn’t able to eat well. Luca was not able to finish his bottles (which he should have given his age), some testing was done and we found out that Luca was aspirating. At that point it was recommended that a feeding tube/gastric tube be inserted into Luca’s stomach. Luca then had to have surgery for the g-tube placement. During the procedure, Luca also had a full scope done to see if they could see what was causing the aspiration. The surgeon also performed an unexpected hernia repair as well. Finally, after Luca recovered and his parents were taught how to feed him, he was discharged from the hospital. After 5 long months, Luca is now home with his family who love him very much.
Luca will need continued medical attention of various physicians as well as different types of therapies which include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. In time, the doctors are hopeful that Luca will be able to eat normally one day.
Luca’s mother has taken a family medical leave to take care of him and currently has no income. Luca’s father is now self-employed and works sporadically. As you can imagine, their emotional as well as financial situation is critical. The medical bills alone are astronomical. In addition to the medical bills, Luca requires services that are very costly. Although insurance pays for some, the rest has to be paid out of pocket. If you can find it in your hearts to contribute anything that you can to help this family, it will be more than greatly appreciated.
Luca lived in the NICU for 5 months, away from his family under the care and watch of amazing and dedicated individuals. Ironically Luca’s mother is a Registered Nurse who worked for many years in the same NICU; and Luca’s father worked for many years as a teacher for children with special needs.
Luca’s journey in the NICU was standard for the course until Luca wasn’t able to eat well. Luca was not able to finish his bottles (which he should have given his age), some testing was done and we found out that Luca was aspirating. At that point it was recommended that a feeding tube/gastric tube be inserted into Luca’s stomach. Luca then had to have surgery for the g-tube placement. During the procedure, Luca also had a full scope done to see if they could see what was causing the aspiration. The surgeon also performed an unexpected hernia repair as well. Finally, after Luca recovered and his parents were taught how to feed him, he was discharged from the hospital. After 5 long months, Luca is now home with his family who love him very much.
Luca will need continued medical attention of various physicians as well as different types of therapies which include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. In time, the doctors are hopeful that Luca will be able to eat normally one day.
Luca’s mother has taken a family medical leave to take care of him and currently has no income. Luca’s father is now self-employed and works sporadically. As you can imagine, their emotional as well as financial situation is critical. The medical bills alone are astronomical. In addition to the medical bills, Luca requires services that are very costly. Although insurance pays for some, the rest has to be paid out of pocket. If you can find it in your hearts to contribute anything that you can to help this family, it will be more than greatly appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cynthia Santos
Organizer
Mundelein, IL
Cristine Realmuto
Beneficiary
