Support Bianca's Rehab

Bianca needs your help to reach her full potential! On June 29, 2019, about nine weeks before her due date, our little girl went into distress, triggering a quick labor and a mad rush to the hospital straight from Nicole's birthday dinner! She was born within minutes of her arrival at the hospital and the amazing delivery team was able to resuscitate and stabilize her. Born at 3lb 8oz, and having been deprived of oxygen for an unknown amount of time, the first week was pretty scary. When we finally got her diagnosis - moderate Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) - it began a long and frustrating game of wait and see which of the conditions Bianca was dealing with were due to premature birth and which were going to be long-term issues as a result of brain damage. During her 76 days in the NICU, Bianca made some amazing progress. She got herself off respiratory support and started putting on weight. Even just being able to cough, sneeze, and cry were major milestones. She was able to bond with her parents and nurses. Most importantly, she came home! However, it ultimately became obvious that Bianca's brain damage has cost her some basic functionality: - Without the ability to swallow and no gag reflex, she is entirely tube fed and at constant risk of having her airways blocked by her secretions. - Issues with extremely high muscle tone have already caused her to miss motor control milestones, even when adjusted for her prematurity. - While she only has mild hearing loss in one ear, once she visits the optical specialist we expect to find out that she has a significant vision impairment. That hasn't stopped her from taking the world by storm. Armed with an oxygen monitor and suction machine she's gone apple and pumpkin picking, dined at all the best local restaurants, and even taken a six day (!!!) road trip to Ohio to meet her great-grandmother and spend time with friends and family. She already has great support through Early Intervention and her specialists at Boston Children's Hospital, but luckily there are even more opportunities to for her to make significant advancements. Bianca is still little and has incredible potential to improve with the proper interventions. Please help us to send Bianca for potentially life changing treatments that insurance does not pay for!  With your help, we can: - Send her to specialized therapy that aims to retrain her brain to suck, gag and swallow. - Undertake treatment courses in a hyperbaric chamber, the only available intervention with the potential to actually heal her brain. - Provide additional physical therapy to help her work towards her motor skill milestones. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and for sharing our page with your friends and family. God bless!