
Trying to keep me & my boys in our home
Donation protected
I'd like to start off by introducing myself and my little family. My name is Jennifer, and I am a single mom of 2 handsome boys, Aiden & Bentley.
In 2022 I found out after 14 years of hoping & praying for another child that I was pregnant & I couldn't have been more happy. Working 2 jobs during my entire pregnancy made me feel like I was doing everything I could to prepare myself for the upcoming year that I would be off with my new bundle of joy.
Fast forward to December 2022 my little guy decided he didn't want to wait any longer to make his appearance and at 35 weeks, I went into labor. What should have been a joyous occasion unfortunately was far from the truth and my happy moment was taken away.
The moment they placed him on me they realized there was something wrong and rushed him off to the NICU for further inspection and lots of tests. Over an hour after my baby was born, my midwife came to my room and said we needed to talk. My heart sank. A mother's worst fear that something was wrong with her baby was now the truth I had to deal with. Bentley was born with some physical deformities. Specifically, his skull, hands and feet were all fused together.
Unfortunately none of my ultrasounds picked it up. On top of his fingers, toes & parts of skull being fused together, his eyes & nose were sunken in a bit & his eyes are a bit further apart then usual. He also had some breathing problems which caused some concerns so he was immediately put on a respirator & into an incubator.
24 hours later he was being transferred to McMaster NICU where he spent 20 long days with a team of doctors working together trying to figure everything out and what the best course of action would be going forward.
After several weeks of tests we finally had an answer. Bentley was born with a genetic disorder called Apert Syndrome. Very rare, 1 in 180,000, and definitely unexpected we now faced the fact that we would have a very long road of specialist appointments, surgeries and lots of therapies ahead of us.
On Christmas Eve 2022 I got my Christmas wish & my baby boy got to come home for Christmas.
At 11 weeks old he had his first skull surgery to remove pieces of his skull that were fused together, and at 7 months he had his second skull surgery to remove even more of his skull to make room for his brain to grow and develop.
Bentley has undergone more surgery since and will continue to need surgeries along with therapy and specialist appointments.
Due to all of these appointments and the time needed to recover from each surgery, I have not been able to return to work. I have fallen behind on my rent and other bills, and we are now at risk of losing our apartment. I am reaching out to all of you asking if you could please help my boys and I keep our home.
We would greatly appreciate any help we could get.
Thank you, Jenn
Organizer
Jenn Horvath
Organizer
Niagara Falls, ON