Strength for Baby Gianna

On the morning of November 2nd my brother John and his wife Lisa were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child, a precious baby girl. The events that followed are a parents worst nightmare and certainly not anything a first time parent with a normal pregnancy would have anticipated.  Gianna Marie Chakeres was born November 2, 2017 at 12:10p.m. weighing 6lbs 7oz.  When Gianna was born she was not breathing, a team of doctors and nurses immediately began to care for her and subsequently placed her on a ventilator to assist her breathing.  Within the following hour Gianna was transferred to one of this states top Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Saint Peter's University Hospital.  At this time it is unclear how long she will have to remain hospitalized. Gianna's long term prognosis is also unclear at this time as well.  In her first 3 days of life Gianna has shown us all that she IS a fighter, making noticeable improvements since her transfer to St Peters.  At this time she remains on a ventilator and wrapped in a cooling blanket which slows down the bodies organs giving them the opportunity to heal while minimizing the possibilty of any further complications.  We hope that in the next couple days she will be able come off the ventilator and her body temperature returned to normal so that she can be further evaluated.

John and Lisa have remained at the hospital with Gianna. However, John has little vacation time that he saved to spend with his new family while Lisa is on maternity leave.  As it stands now Gianna's hospitalization will likely extend beyond the paid time off they have available and any lost wages would place a financial hardship on this new family.

Those of you who know my brother and family personally know that John, rarely if ever asks for any assistance as he is usually the first to offer a helping hand when needed.  John and Lisa have both worked very hard to provide a home for their family with John taking a second job in anticipation of Gianna's arrival. Now my brother and his family are in urgent need of our help.......On behalf of John, Lisa and Gianna our family is asking for any help you can offer.  Your donations will not only help with the growing medical expenses, more importantly it will enable John and Lisa to remain by their daughters side throughout the long road ahead. We will keep you all informed of any updates as they become available. Once again on behalf of our entire family we thank you all and we are forever grateful for all the love support and prayers.   Please continue to pray for this precious baby girl and her family. #StrengthforGianna