My name is Danielle and I'm creating this Go Fund Me for my dear friends Hannah and Matt, their daughter Aurora their son Jasper. This is their story..

Hannah was having a very normal pregnancy, no real issues other than being exhausted, which is to be expected! She was with a home birth midwife and had high hopes for a beautiful and calm birth at home. All of this changed when her water broke unexpectedly in the middle of a birthday dinner with friends in February. She was rushed to Greenwich hospital, where she received a diagnosis of PPROM, which stands for Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes. This is a phenomenon that only happens in about 3% of pregnancies and most of the time when it happens, there is no good explanation for it. Some women go on to deliver almost at term, despite having little to no fluid left but most deliver shortly after they rupture. Hannah was put on strict bed rest and the family prayed that baby would stay put for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, baby Jasper had other plans; on the morning of March 2nd, Hannah went into labor and early in the morning on March 3, 2022, Jasper entered the world at 23 weeks and 6 days, weighing just 1 pound, 5 ounces and 12 inches long. His due date was June 24th 2022. For babies born so premature, micro-preemies is what they call them, the journey to full term is a long one, often times these babies take months to be able to breathe on their own. They face issues like infections, brain bleeds, blindness, deafness and neurodevelopmental delays just to name a few. Many of them overcome all of it and flourish tremendously. This is obviously emotionally and logistically difficult for any family with a micro-preemie and a long hospital stay.

Currently, Jasper is in the NICU at Yale New Haven Hospital where he has been since he was born on March 3rd. He was intubated until just 2 days ago as his lungs are still far too immature to breathe on their own. Matt and Hannah are back and forth daily from Stamford to be with him and he will likely have to stay in the NICU till at least the end of June, if not longer. This was most definitely not the start to life that Hannah and Matt anticipated for their baby boy or for their family. Additionally, because COVID restrictions are still in effect, their 6 year old daughter Aurora is unable to visit her brother and she won’t get to see him till he eventually comes home in a couple of months. Grandparents can FaceTime but are also not allowed to visit.

The NICU journey is filled with so many unforeseen burdens both financially and emotionally and in order to be able to continue both visiting their son and taking care of Aurora who is homeschooled, Matt and Hannah have had to take a leave from work, this has put a huge strain on them financially. With mounting medical bills for both mom and baby, travel expenses and the daily expense of living, I felt the need to reach out and ask for support on their behalf. Help me help them get through this and get Jasper home safe, healthy, and thriving. We will have updates on his progress as the weeks unfold and Hannah is working on an Instagram page with pictures and updates as well.--