Support for Triana & Jules’ Micropreemie Charlotte

I am organizing this fundraiser for my best friend, Triana Rego Ferreira, her husband, Jules, and their baby, Charlotte Belle.

Charlotte had been healthy during all of Triana’s pregnancy, as verified by Triana’s high risk doctor every 3 weeks and OBGYN. She saw a high risk doctor due to her mitral valve prolapse, asthma, and T1D, which are all very well managed. Her due date was September 26, 2024. When she was 25 weeks pregnant, Triana started experiencing bloating that would appear in the afternoon and leave in the morning. Her OB’s office told her to take Pepcid AC and Gas x. A few days later, Triana’s began to experience severe rib pain and her eye lids were swollen. Her OB’s office told her the same over the phone, to take over-the-counter medication. Intuitively feeling like something was wrong, she went to the ER. They asked if she’d like to check on her rib pain or her baby first, and Triana immediately said her baby. Triana’s blood pressure, which had always been good, was severely high, which was causing her liver enzymes to increase. She was given a high magnesium drip to lower her blood pressure, but it would not budge. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia with severe features and HELLP syndrome. An ultrasound confirmed that the placenta was giving Charlotte an optimal amount of blood and then nothing on and off, and it was decided that Triana needed an emergency c-section. Triana asked the doctors to please give her the steroid that is typically given to mothers to help their baby’s lungs develop sooner, but the doctors stated that there was no time. They said, if Triana had not chosen to go to the hospital at that time, she would have had a seizure and stroke, and she and Charlotte both would have died.

Triana was told there was nothing she could have done to avoid her preeclampsia. She was already being closely monitored and this medical condition just happens randomly at times. Preeclampsia is a serious condition that affects 3-8% of pregnancies in the United States. It's characterized by high blood pressure and organ system damage, usually in the liver or kidneys, that can occur in pregnant people or those who have recently given birth. Preeclampsia often begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women who previously had normal blood pressure. 90% of cases occur after 34 weeks of gestation, and most often at term (after 37 weeks). HELLP syndrome occurs in about 1-2 out of 1,000 pregnancies, and typically occurs after 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Charlotte Belle was born 26 weeks and 1 day on June 21st at 5:47pm, weighing in at only 1 lb and 2.5 oz., and 10.4 inches long. Charlotte is a micropreemie and has been in the NICU since her birth.

It has been devastating to hear about Charlotte's first 2 months of life and I cannot imagine what it would be like to be the parents of this tiny, sweet, soul. Not being able to hold your baby is unfathomable. When Charlotte was born, she was placed on c-pap and, a few hours later, switched to a conventional ventilator, which she is still on due to her premature lungs. She has bronchial pulmonary dysplasia (BPD). She was on a jet ventilator for 3 weeks along with the conventional ventilator, and then taken off of the jet, as it was causing her left and right lung to collapse and then hyperinflate on and off every day. She developed PIE (pulmonary interstitial emphysema), which are tiny holes in her lungs, due to the vent and oxygen, as well as pulmonary hypertension, which is severely dangerous. She has had 10 blood infusions and will likely need more, as the doctors at times must take more blood than her small body can make. She was started on DART, a low-dose steroid for 10 days when she was just 3 weeks old to help reduce inflammation and help her lungs grow. Unfortunately, steroids can also cause people to gain weight slower, so Charlotte grew very slowly. She had a PFO, which is a little hole in the top 2 chambers of the heart, which will be an ASD (atrial septal defect), which they expect to close on its own.. Her eyes were underdeveloped and she was recently diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity in both eyes. They believe it was caused by the very high amounts of oxygen she’s been given or the extended steroid round. Charlotte is now 38 gestational weeks and is almost 2 1/2 months old. She has been growing a bit faster than before and has finally reached 5 pounds, but will need a lot of time and medical care to become healthy enough to come home. While she only needed 25%-35% oxygen her first three weeks, the ventilator has caused scarring on her lungs that are now requiring very, very high oxygen requirements 85-100%. On 08/16/24, she was put on another round of steroids to see if that will help her current oxygen needs. It has been extended to a week per dose, rather than the regular 10 day course. Unfortunately, when her second to last dose was weened, Charlotte’s oxygen requirements rose from 50% to 80%.

When her last dose was weened a week later, Charlotte’s oxygen needs rose to 100%. The oxygen Charlotte’s body makes desaturates when she is highly stressed due to being woken up, touched or repositioned every 3 hours by staff, when she is annoyed with her vent tube, or even if she needs to have a bowel movement. During these times, her oxygen requirements are increased by the nurses to help her breathe better. Unfortunately, when she is at 100% oxygen requirements, there is not much left for the staff to do if she desaturates to a severely low number. In the past week, Charlotte needed to be bagged with a neopuff twice due to dangerously low oxygen desaturations… Once for 5 minutes, and the second time occurred right as Triana was leaving to work. Triana stayed and held her hands the whole 45 minutes that the staff needed to bag her. Once they left, Triana requested to stay with the x-ray technician, so she could calm Charlotte and Charlotte quickly relaxed and her oxygen rose back to healthy limits.

Triana had a different c-section (classical type) than normal due to Charlotte’s tiny size, which does not heal as well and will not heal for at least a year and a half. After this and the traumatic birth, Triana had to go back to work immediately, the day after she came home from the hospital. Triana does not qualify for fmla or temporary disability insurance because she is a 1099 employee, which also means she would not qualify for unemployment. She still manages to work full time, pump breast milk every 3 hours (as Charlotte is too small for formula and spit up the two times nurses gave her donor milk), and make it to the hospital every single day to see Charlotte, while also managing her own health.

While we cannot lessen the stress and emotional journey Triana and Jules will have to navigate on-going, it is my hope you will join us in raising funds to help ease a little piece of the financial burden. The money raised will go towards any medical bills that arise for Charlotte, as well as occupational, physical, speech, feeding, and oxygen therapy that she will need once she goes home. Charlotte has an extremely lively personality and the staff is amazed by her, as they say babies as ill as her do not typically have as much energy as she does. She started smiling at the sound of her parents’ voices when she was just two weeks old, and has been lifting and flipping her head and body since she was less than a month old. When Triana is there, Charlotte is calmer, which helps with her oxygen requirements. However, since Triana is working full time, it limits the amount of time she can spend with her while Charlotte's health status is critical. It is also very likely that Charlie will need to be moved to another hospital 2.5 hours away for a much more specialized level of care. If Triana cannot take a leave from work, it will be impossible for her to spend time with Charlotte, which will be detrimental to her ongoing medical journey. While we would all like to see Charlie home by her due date, the doctors and nurses have shared that is no longer a possibility.

It is my hope that donations will help offset major medical expenses and give Triana the ability to take a leave from work, so she can be with Charlotte around the clock at the NICU, as well as during the holidays. Please consider donating. Any size will be greatly appreciated. And please keep this sweet family in your thoughts and prayers.

If you’re more comfortable, you can also donate on Venmo at @trianarego

Thank you,

Nicole Egerer