Our precious little miracle, Serena Angela Gravelle, was very eager to join my sister and her family on their last vacation before becoming a family of five. Before they knew it, their vacation took a frightening turn, and Krystina & Anthony had no choice but to stay calm, be brave and hold onto every little bit of hope they had left in them, in a very surreal situation. Words cannot describe the fear that overcame all of their loved ones at home feeling so helpless in a different country. Baby Serena blessed us all with quite the entrance into this world, born at only 4lbs on June 18th, she has proven to be quite the fighter. She held on tight, fought for her life and is getting stronger every day. Mommy & daddy have done an incredible job staying calm and ensuring everyone was safe throughout this journey. They were very fortunate to have family members fly out there, bring the essential supplies needed and thankfully bring their two sons, Nathan & Nash back home safely to Canada (one less thing for them to worry about). Mom and Dad are working hard to cover their extensive medical costs, but their health insurance has declined every claim thus far. Although the doctors and nurses in Higuey are treating baby girl amazing and to the best of their ability, the conditions in a Dominican Hospital (rolling power outages and a shortage of medical supplies) are not to the standard care that she can receive here in Ontario. It breaks my heart to hear that Krystina and Anthony are only permitted to see Serena twice daily for one hour at a time. With that being said, the rate of travel to and from the hospital for their scheduled appointments is growing exponentially. They are at a significant disadvantage due to the language barrier and are feeling powerless against a privatized hospital who are not willing to cooperate. Anthony and Krystina are eager to get Serena home (and miss their boys desperately), but the reality is that Serena requires time and many costly medical supports before they can even consider transportation home to Canada. We know that they have a long road ahead of them, but our goal is to get them home safe and sound where they can be surrounded by the love, family and support they need and require throughout this journey. Any donations to help curb the extensive medical costs that accrue daily would be greatly appreciated from the bottom of our hearts. We kindly ask for all of the prayers and strength for this family to continue on a road to recovery and to receive positive news daily in order to get their baby home and growing little family together as one. Melissa de Jonge (sister of Krystina Gravelle) Krystina, Anthony, Nathan, Nash & Serena Gravelle