Silvia's Story Has Only Just Begun.....

This story begins where most do, two lovely people crossing paths in life, and realizing they shared a wicked sense of humor, love of friends and family, and a desire to settle down and create a family of their own. Fast forward almost 10 years and the Matyga's had everything they'd dreamed of, including a home of their own and two precious boys named Vincent and Lucas. 


In 2018. the family was thrilled to discover Erica was pregnant with baby number three, this time adding a girl to the family!  Big dreams turned into big reality with baby number three.  It was time to renovate a two bedroom home into a three bedroom home and upgrade the family vehicle to hold multiple carseats at the same time. All the thoughts and plans that plague every expecting parent. These well prepared plans came to a screeching halt when, on Easter Sunday, Erica heard a quiet voice inside tell her something wasn't quite right with baby Silvia. At 36 weeks pregnant Erica hadn't felt the baby move in far too long. Over the next few hours worry turned into alarm which gave way to full blown fear that something was going terribly wrong with Erica's pregnancy. At the emergency room that fear turned into panic which is, unfortunately, the emotion best suited to share the rest of Silva's story. 

At 36 weeks gestation Erica was diagnosed with a prolapsed embilical cord. Esentially, as Erica's body was following natures lead and parts were loosening in preparation of delivery the embilical cord slipped out of position inside the uterus and became constricted. Medical staff was unable to give an accurate timeline regarding when Silvia's cord prolapsed, how long it had been damaged, etc. The life saving solution was to perform an emergency c-section. This successful surgery left Dawid and Erica with a very small and very beautiful daughter. The next few days went by in a blur of intensive care staff running what felt like hundreds of tests. Various different results came pouring in to show that Silvia's liver, lungs and kidneys were struggling to function properly. The scariest test of all was performed (brain function) and the worst of all possible results were given: the prolapsed embilical cord resulted in a life threatening and permanent birth injury. 


We don't know much at this point. So many questions will require time to provide answers as to what Silvia's life will look like moving forward. The possibilities run from her life being horrendously brief, its possible she may never leave the hospital due to the damage sustained during the prolapsed cord event.  She could eventually require a feeding tube if time shows she's unable to swallow or a breathing tube if she cannot regulate her breathing independently of machines. The reality of the situation is Silvia sustained permanent and irreversible brain damage to the left and right hemispheres of her brain as well as damage to the brain stem itself. Its impossible to determine the extent of her brain damage until she is able to meet developmental milestones like speaking, reading, thought processing and emotional expression. 

We hope for the best. Silvia is a wanted child who has a loving family standing by to share  her life. The realities are we don't know what her life will look like or what type of impact her birth trauma will have on her family. Its impossible to project the size of strain her injury will put on the Matyga family financially,  emotionally, physically or spiritually. We ask for support in any way possible. Please send prayers, love and good energy. We also hope for monetary donations to help alleviate the stress Dawid and Erica will feel as they travel back and forth to the ICU for an undetermined length of time. This fundraisers goal is set at $50,000 for two reasons: A) we are required to pick a number or this campaign will not be published and b) there are so many terribly expensive things to take into consideration (like wrapping up home renovations for the baby and finding an larger family vehicle that will carry all the equipment for a disabled infant post-hospital). Its frightening to think about all the needs Silvia will have coming home and the most frightening thought of all is not knowing what these needs will cost. Or how long it will take to meet those needs. Not to mention how many needs will arise in total.  Your donations will help distinguish success from failure along with enabling the Matgya's to provide for Silvia as she heals from her birth injury and they learn  how to construct an environment which ensures her comfort and growth. We hope for the best and thank you in advance for any and all contributions.

With much love, 
Dawid, Erica, Vincent, Lucas and Silvia