Support the Strittmatter Family
Donation protected
As family members of Dennis and Sabrina, we wanted to share what they have been going through the last 1 and 1/2 years and ask for your help. Dennis and Sabrina have been married for 3 Years and lost their first two born children within the past year.
In August 2018 they got pregnant with their first child Paula and were so happy and excited to start a family. At the twenty week ultra sound they found out that their beautiful daughter had a serious problem with the kidneys and were told that she wouldn't survive. The entire pregnancy was difficult and stressful as they knew that without a miracle, Paula would die in the womb or right after birth.
In April 2019 Paula was born at home and died half an hour later in the arms of her parents. With the death of their dearly loved first born child they were overwhelmed and an even more painful and difficult time began. While they mourned the death of Paula and were working to stay connected as a couple, Dennis was still leading the church that he had started. The stress of mourning the death of their child and leading the church was alot for them to handle but they persevered through the difficult time. Although every day was a challenge they continued on to not lose hope. The doctors said the problem was not genetic and would have only a 1% chance of happening again.
In October 2019 they found out that Sabrina was pregnant with their second daughter Emma. At the thirteenth week they went to the doctor for an ultra sound to make sure everything was ok with this pregancy. Their greatest fear and nightmare that they could lose another child became reality. The ultra sound showed that Emma was too small and had multiple organ problems that are usually signs of chromosome problems. The doctors said that Emma had less than a 5% chance to live.
Sabrina and Dennis were devistated. For the next 6 months they had to once again deal with the reality that their daughter could die at any moment and most likey not make it the full 9 months. On May 11th 2020, Emma was born 6 weeks early at just over 2 pounds and lived for 9 days in the Intesive Care Unit. Sabrina and Dennis enjoyed every moment with their precious daughter Emma and are thankful for every day they had with her.
Going through two pregnancies with the stress and fear that each baby could die at any moment and having both children die in their arms was an unimaginable and unbearable trauma and led to both being diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). At the moment they are both in trauma therapy and are taking the steps needed to heal both physically and emotionally. Because of all they have gone through and the PTSD, after 20 years of faithfully serving the church, Dennis has had to step down from his position of leadership. This means he will no longer receive an income which adds another level of stress for them amidst all the other stress they have experienced the last year.
We, as their family, have created this Go Fund Me campaign so that Dennis and Sabrina can live for a year without the added financial worries and have time to mourn, heal, and find a new source of income. We know many would love to help in some way but feel helpless. As part of their family, we feel this is a chance to help them in a very practical way and would be so thankful for any small donations that you can contribute for Dennis and Sabrina. Your participation would mean so much to them. Thank you so much for any amount you might be able to contribute and/or for also sharing this with others.
This page was set up in Switzerland so if you are seeing the buttons in German the word TEILEN is the SHARE button and SPENDEN is the DONATE button.
In August 2018 they got pregnant with their first child Paula and were so happy and excited to start a family. At the twenty week ultra sound they found out that their beautiful daughter had a serious problem with the kidneys and were told that she wouldn't survive. The entire pregnancy was difficult and stressful as they knew that without a miracle, Paula would die in the womb or right after birth.
In April 2019 Paula was born at home and died half an hour later in the arms of her parents. With the death of their dearly loved first born child they were overwhelmed and an even more painful and difficult time began. While they mourned the death of Paula and were working to stay connected as a couple, Dennis was still leading the church that he had started. The stress of mourning the death of their child and leading the church was alot for them to handle but they persevered through the difficult time. Although every day was a challenge they continued on to not lose hope. The doctors said the problem was not genetic and would have only a 1% chance of happening again.
In October 2019 they found out that Sabrina was pregnant with their second daughter Emma. At the thirteenth week they went to the doctor for an ultra sound to make sure everything was ok with this pregancy. Their greatest fear and nightmare that they could lose another child became reality. The ultra sound showed that Emma was too small and had multiple organ problems that are usually signs of chromosome problems. The doctors said that Emma had less than a 5% chance to live.
Sabrina and Dennis were devistated. For the next 6 months they had to once again deal with the reality that their daughter could die at any moment and most likey not make it the full 9 months. On May 11th 2020, Emma was born 6 weeks early at just over 2 pounds and lived for 9 days in the Intesive Care Unit. Sabrina and Dennis enjoyed every moment with their precious daughter Emma and are thankful for every day they had with her.
Going through two pregnancies with the stress and fear that each baby could die at any moment and having both children die in their arms was an unimaginable and unbearable trauma and led to both being diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). At the moment they are both in trauma therapy and are taking the steps needed to heal both physically and emotionally. Because of all they have gone through and the PTSD, after 20 years of faithfully serving the church, Dennis has had to step down from his position of leadership. This means he will no longer receive an income which adds another level of stress for them amidst all the other stress they have experienced the last year.
We, as their family, have created this Go Fund Me campaign so that Dennis and Sabrina can live for a year without the added financial worries and have time to mourn, heal, and find a new source of income. We know many would love to help in some way but feel helpless. As part of their family, we feel this is a chance to help them in a very practical way and would be so thankful for any small donations that you can contribute for Dennis and Sabrina. Your participation would mean so much to them. Thank you so much for any amount you might be able to contribute and/or for also sharing this with others.
This page was set up in Switzerland so if you are seeing the buttons in German the word TEILEN is the SHARE button and SPENDEN is the DONATE button.
Fundraising team: Vanessa Gerber und Jeanne David (2)
Vanessa Gerber
Organizer
Konstanz
Sabrina Strittmatter
Beneficiary
Jeanne David
Team member
