The Apollo Fund
Donation protected
The Geissingers
Thank you for reading our story. I am Melissa Geissinger, and my husband Cole and I along with our son Apollo have had one hell of a year. We are computer geeks. We are nerds. We love to play games, go see live music, travel, and we're huge fans of everything Disney. Basically any chance we have to have a unique experience, we're all about it. As our son grows, we can't wait to expose him to all the awesomeness that this world has to offer.
But we've been through, and continue to go through a lot of hard times. Things that are fighting to keep us down and kill our spirit. Here's our story.
The Diagnosis
In August of 2017, the trajectory of our lives changed when we found out we were having a boy, and that he had a problem with his heart. We would later find out that he had a chromosomal microdeletion (2p16.3) which resulted in a series of heart defects; pulmonary stenosis, double outlet right ventricle, and a large VSD (hole in his heart). Basically, we were in for a long ride.
The Fire
Then the night of October 8th, 2017 we became victims of the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and lost our home in Coffey Park. I was 7 months pregnant at the time, and we were lucky to get out with our lives, our pets, and a few valuable possessions. It was an undeniably traumatic experience. PTSD is no joke.
View a Video Documentary Short featuring me: Strong Coffey
Apollo
When our beautiful boy Apollo was born in December, we began a long road of surgeries and their accompanying complications. He quickly earned a reputation for always taking his own path, earning him the nickname "Curveball Ollie".
We had him home for months after his third surgery (second open heart surgery) where I had to dedicate my days to caring for him with his feeding tube and ostomy bag which needed to be changed at least once per day, sometimes as many as four times.
As a result, I couldn't work and had to essentially shutter my web design business. We're a single income family now, and worried about having to dip too much into our insurance savings which should really be reserved for our home rebuild.
Where We Are Now (8/28/18)
Last week we were just finally able to move out of my parents' house and into a rental home in Bodega Bay while we wait for our Coffey Park home to be rebuilt. They estimate that it will be August of next year, and we're hoping it doesn't take much longer than that because insurance will only cover our rent through October 9th. After that we have to pay rent AND mortgage until we can move in. We hope it doesn't come to that.
We're currently in the hospital waiting for him to recover after his fourth major surgery, a take-down of his ileostomy and G tube placement. He caught a cold right after surgery, which is actually a really big deal for a heart baby. He's currently in the Cardiac ICU at UCSF with a breathing tube, waiting for this illness to run its course before seeing if there are any long term effects.
Thank you for reading our story. I am Melissa Geissinger, and my husband Cole and I along with our son Apollo have had one hell of a year. We are computer geeks. We are nerds. We love to play games, go see live music, travel, and we're huge fans of everything Disney. Basically any chance we have to have a unique experience, we're all about it. As our son grows, we can't wait to expose him to all the awesomeness that this world has to offer.
But we've been through, and continue to go through a lot of hard times. Things that are fighting to keep us down and kill our spirit. Here's our story.
The Diagnosis
In August of 2017, the trajectory of our lives changed when we found out we were having a boy, and that he had a problem with his heart. We would later find out that he had a chromosomal microdeletion (2p16.3) which resulted in a series of heart defects; pulmonary stenosis, double outlet right ventricle, and a large VSD (hole in his heart). Basically, we were in for a long ride.
The Fire
Then the night of October 8th, 2017 we became victims of the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and lost our home in Coffey Park. I was 7 months pregnant at the time, and we were lucky to get out with our lives, our pets, and a few valuable possessions. It was an undeniably traumatic experience. PTSD is no joke.
View a Video Documentary Short featuring me: Strong Coffey
Apollo
When our beautiful boy Apollo was born in December, we began a long road of surgeries and their accompanying complications. He quickly earned a reputation for always taking his own path, earning him the nickname "Curveball Ollie".
We had him home for months after his third surgery (second open heart surgery) where I had to dedicate my days to caring for him with his feeding tube and ostomy bag which needed to be changed at least once per day, sometimes as many as four times.
As a result, I couldn't work and had to essentially shutter my web design business. We're a single income family now, and worried about having to dip too much into our insurance savings which should really be reserved for our home rebuild.
Where We Are Now (8/28/18)
Last week we were just finally able to move out of my parents' house and into a rental home in Bodega Bay while we wait for our Coffey Park home to be rebuilt. They estimate that it will be August of next year, and we're hoping it doesn't take much longer than that because insurance will only cover our rent through October 9th. After that we have to pay rent AND mortgage until we can move in. We hope it doesn't come to that.
We're currently in the hospital waiting for him to recover after his fourth major surgery, a take-down of his ileostomy and G tube placement. He caught a cold right after surgery, which is actually a really big deal for a heart baby. He's currently in the Cardiac ICU at UCSF with a breathing tube, waiting for this illness to run its course before seeing if there are any long term effects.
It's awful to see our strong, bright, incredibly bouncy little boy in a position where he's so helpless and in pain. Our entire life has become a hunt for silver linings, as it's the only way we've been able to make it through and not completely give up on having a life.
With Your Help
It's hard to stay positive, but you guys - our friends, family, and community have kept us strong. After the fires, you helped us get back on our feet financially. We're asking for your help again, which is a really hard thing for us to do, but we are still waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel to finally reach us.
With your help, we can buy dinner, groceries, and not have to worry about overspending on our limited income. We can put some money away for expenses in case our house isn't done in time. We also have no idea yet how much of Apollo's medical expenses we're going to have to pay out of pocket. We might even be able to continue to have little adventures here and there, which is really the only thing that keeps us sane. It's so important to be able to have something to look forward to.
Thank you for your love and support. We couldn't do it without you guys!
Melissa, Cole & Apollo
With Your Help
It's hard to stay positive, but you guys - our friends, family, and community have kept us strong. After the fires, you helped us get back on our feet financially. We're asking for your help again, which is a really hard thing for us to do, but we are still waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel to finally reach us.
With your help, we can buy dinner, groceries, and not have to worry about overspending on our limited income. We can put some money away for expenses in case our house isn't done in time. We also have no idea yet how much of Apollo's medical expenses we're going to have to pay out of pocket. We might even be able to continue to have little adventures here and there, which is really the only thing that keeps us sane. It's so important to be able to have something to look forward to.
Thank you for your love and support. We couldn't do it without you guys!
Melissa, Cole & Apollo
Co-organisers (2)
Melissa Geissinger
Organiser
Sebastopol, CA
Cole Geissinger
Co-organiser