Support for the Ewans & baby Raven
Donazione protetta
Let's help support our amazing friends Lisa, Mark (Rabbit), Enzo and baby Raven. Funds will be used to help support them for the time they will need to stay in Calgary while Raven is at the Children's hospital. She was just 2 pounds 9 oz when she was born and will need to grow quite a bit before they'll be able to bring her home. It would also be nice if there were funds so that Lisa could potentially have more time at home before having to return to work.
Here is more of their story from Lisa.
Raven Elizabeth Lynn Ewan surprised us with an early entry earth side at 32 weeks. She was born at 530am Saturday, May 12 with my amazing husband Rabbit and outstanding midwife Erin by my side. She was a whopping 1190g and feisty as could be, ready to be here. She was strong and breathing room air just 4 hours after she was born (premature babies often need ventilators to help them breath). Saturday we rested, shared the news quietly with a few loved ones, got some snuggles in and started dreaming about our future back in Golden all together with Enzo our 2 year old son. Sunday morning we went to visit Raven for some skin to skin time and quickly learned as we saw a portable isolette at her bed that she was being transferred to Alberta’s Children’s hospital immediately. They learned on Saturday night that her feedings were not making it past her stomach and after an X-ray they discovered that her stomach wasn’t even attached to her small intestines! Mark (Rabb) and I were quickly ushered into a private room to discuss the findings. An abdominal surgery was necessary. AND they wanted to do some genetic testing as she was showing some other signs of possibly having Down Syndrome. We went from knowing we’d be in the Nicu for a while so she could simply get bigger to fit in a car seat to not having a clue what this possible diagnosis even meant and that our tiny precious lil girl had to have surgery! We tried to focus on the most imminent thing - the surgery. Let’s not worry about the unknown until we know. The next few days were filled with meeting surgeons, anesthesiologists, geneticists, nurses, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, finally getting a date for surgery (Wednesday) and squeezing in as many cuddles as possible knowing that post-op we’d need to keep her still and in her bed so she could heal. Wednesday finally came and before we watched them prep her for surgery we got in a long snuggle. Surgery went as well as they had hoped and now we just needed to wait for the sedation to wear off before we could pick her up again. And that took forever (or so it felt), as we didn’t get to hold her again until Saturday!! We also received the result from Raven’s blood work and learned that we are indeed the lucky parents of a baby with Down Syndrome. I say lucky and although I didn’t believe that at first I say it proudly for good reason... from the research that I’ve done babies/children with Down Syndrome are light bringing, joyful individuals. She clearly was excited to be here that she felt 32 weeks was enough in utero! We don’t know what the future holds and honestly, nobody does... we do know that developmentally, Raven might be a bit slower... and that’s ok! Permission granted for us to slow down a bit more, be more accepting and patient, to laugh more and share with the world that Down Syndrome isn’t scary. The only thing that might seem scary is the unknown and again, this truthfully is the case for each of us. And still we do know that Raven will need more support and so will we. We will be in Calgary and/or back and forth until she is bigger and stronger, possibly for other tests, we don’t know how she will develop differently until she starts to grow and hit those milestones. Any financial support would be graciously appreciated and if we find we don’t need it, it is our promise to pay it forward to another family in need, the Alberta Children’s hospital and/or the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. With deep heart felt gratitude, we thank you for anything you can offer. Love Lisa, Rabb (Mark), Enzo and Raven
Here is more of their story from Lisa.
Raven Elizabeth Lynn Ewan surprised us with an early entry earth side at 32 weeks. She was born at 530am Saturday, May 12 with my amazing husband Rabbit and outstanding midwife Erin by my side. She was a whopping 1190g and feisty as could be, ready to be here. She was strong and breathing room air just 4 hours after she was born (premature babies often need ventilators to help them breath). Saturday we rested, shared the news quietly with a few loved ones, got some snuggles in and started dreaming about our future back in Golden all together with Enzo our 2 year old son. Sunday morning we went to visit Raven for some skin to skin time and quickly learned as we saw a portable isolette at her bed that she was being transferred to Alberta’s Children’s hospital immediately. They learned on Saturday night that her feedings were not making it past her stomach and after an X-ray they discovered that her stomach wasn’t even attached to her small intestines! Mark (Rabb) and I were quickly ushered into a private room to discuss the findings. An abdominal surgery was necessary. AND they wanted to do some genetic testing as she was showing some other signs of possibly having Down Syndrome. We went from knowing we’d be in the Nicu for a while so she could simply get bigger to fit in a car seat to not having a clue what this possible diagnosis even meant and that our tiny precious lil girl had to have surgery! We tried to focus on the most imminent thing - the surgery. Let’s not worry about the unknown until we know. The next few days were filled with meeting surgeons, anesthesiologists, geneticists, nurses, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, finally getting a date for surgery (Wednesday) and squeezing in as many cuddles as possible knowing that post-op we’d need to keep her still and in her bed so she could heal. Wednesday finally came and before we watched them prep her for surgery we got in a long snuggle. Surgery went as well as they had hoped and now we just needed to wait for the sedation to wear off before we could pick her up again. And that took forever (or so it felt), as we didn’t get to hold her again until Saturday!! We also received the result from Raven’s blood work and learned that we are indeed the lucky parents of a baby with Down Syndrome. I say lucky and although I didn’t believe that at first I say it proudly for good reason... from the research that I’ve done babies/children with Down Syndrome are light bringing, joyful individuals. She clearly was excited to be here that she felt 32 weeks was enough in utero! We don’t know what the future holds and honestly, nobody does... we do know that developmentally, Raven might be a bit slower... and that’s ok! Permission granted for us to slow down a bit more, be more accepting and patient, to laugh more and share with the world that Down Syndrome isn’t scary. The only thing that might seem scary is the unknown and again, this truthfully is the case for each of us. And still we do know that Raven will need more support and so will we. We will be in Calgary and/or back and forth until she is bigger and stronger, possibly for other tests, we don’t know how she will develop differently until she starts to grow and hit those milestones. Any financial support would be graciously appreciated and if we find we don’t need it, it is our promise to pay it forward to another family in need, the Alberta Children’s hospital and/or the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. With deep heart felt gratitude, we thank you for anything you can offer. Love Lisa, Rabb (Mark), Enzo and Raven
Co-organizzatori (2)
Kristen Loewenstein
Organizzatore
Golden, BC
Aradhana Lisa Ewan
Beneficiario
Nancy Morin
Co-organizzatore