Infant twins need daily medical injections $5k/mth
Donación protegida
Urgent need:
Kandis and Morgan need our financial support to help them bring their babies home. While in the hospital the babies' medical treatment is fully covered but once released (expected to be soon) these much needed medical treatments are no longer covered. As outlined below, the estimated monthly costs of these treatments will be $5,000 per month. Start Aug 1st their health insurance coverage will take effect greatly reducing this monthly bill - so in the meantime they have an immediate need to help cover their daunting $15,000 short term medical bill that will be coming due.
Their story:
Even the best ‘penny’ saver would be challenged to navigate Kandis and Morgan’s new reality of being parents to two 2.6 lb preemie babies.
From the moment Kandis and Morgan first heard the news “you are expecting identical twins” they knew their lives and their 3-year-old daughter’s life would be forever changed. Naturally conceiving identical twins is quite rare so as you can imagine the news came as a huge shock. After the initial wave of excitement subsided, the reality of planning for twins set in.
The obvious: need 2 of everything
The less obvious:
1) Having boys after a girl really limited what baby items could be reused – baby shower was great but not enough
2) Family sedan (good on gas) had to be upgraded to a more costly three row SUV (not so good on gas) to accommodate three car seats – another hit to the savings
3) Kandis (Hairdresser) and Morgan (Home Renovation Tradesman) are both small business owners – they don’t qualify for EI (unemployment insurance), OR company sponsored maternity/paternity leave coverage, OR sick days, OR vacation days, OR short-term or long-term disability. They only get money when they are working.
a. Morgan has been the primary income earner while Kandis provided full time child care for their daughter.
b. Kandis had severe morning sickness with the twin’s pregnancy so had to turn away most of her hairdressing clients as she was unable to work. Given her profession once you turn away a client you usually lose them forever.
4) They are not home owners so can not borrow temporarily from a secured line of credit – racking up debt on credit cards at 19.5% interest or a bank loan at 12-14% is a one-way path towards personal bankruptcy
THE REALITY OF DELIVERING TWINS:
Twins typically require hospital care after birth and can continue to have complications requiring medical intervention depending on how early they arrive. Best case is delivering at 37 weeks – their sons, Bankston and Beckham, were born by emergency c-section at 32 weeks weighing in at just 2.6 lbs each.
The twins are doing remarkedly well given their very early arrival at 32 weeks but were impacted by a virus in utero comprising their immune system.
As expected with the early delivery the boys have required extensive NICU care, blood & platelet transfusions and will possibly continue to need this care for many weeks and months to come. Over the past 8 weeks they have been upgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 – but to achieve Level 1 they need to stabilize to a non-critical state. Every week the doctors start talking about Level 1 and possible release from hospital but then the babies have a bad day requiring more blood transfusions. Every day has its ups and downs so to ask when they will reach Level 1 (which also means a welcomed move to a closer hospital to home) or be finally released home – no one can predict this. The daunting flip side of being released soon is that their medical treatments are no longer covered so become Kandis and Morgan's debt.
THE MEDICAL EXPENSE:
Once home the twins will need to continue their medical treatments to fight a virus that has affected them in utero and from birth greatly impacting their immune systems. The monthly injections are NOT covered by our health care system and with other medications they will need have been quoted at costing $3,152(+)/mth. These treatments will need to be ongoing for many many months (hopefully not years) until they recover. The cost of some of these meds will only be more expensive as they grow, as they are based on weight. These treatments will also require constant commuting trips for follow-up medical appointments. On top of treatments, they are required a few other daily interventions with added prescription fortifier, minerals and vitamins. Also, going by weight, was quoted at costing $167(+)/mth.
OTHER EXPENSES - additional short-term expenses impacting them:
1) Kandis needs to be at the hospital most of the day (8-10 hrs) to breastfeed and provide skin to skin care – this means she can’t provide the previous full-time child care for their daughter.
a. Family and friends have been wonderful backfilling, but the lack of routine and predictability is taking its toll on Scarlett, their 3-year-old daughter. Ideal situation would be full-time in-house support for Scarlett and her family (~$3,000/mth). This will greatly reduce exposure to germs and illness typically caught at dayhomes or daycare which is detrimental to the twins given their lack of immunity right now. If the family is exposed to anything viral or bacterial they have been told they have to wait 5 days until they can see the boys again. This support person would also be able to do all the regular house chores so Kandis and Morgan don't have to do after a long day at the hospital and work.
2) Given the initial critical state of their boys’ condition, Kandis recovering from the c-section and Scarlett requiring his support, Morgan had to take a temporary 6 week leave of absence from his job to provide full-time support to his family.
a. As stated above, being small business owners, he doesn't get any benefits or paid time off, so with Morgan not working, the expenses were being paid from savings which are pretty much up.
b. Your reaction might be ‘he should have been working to pay the bills’ - but put yourself in his shoes. You are mentally and physically exhausted – would you trust yourself to climb ladders and work with power tools? I know I wouldn’t. Last thing the family needs is him cutting off fingers or falling off ladders paralyzing himself.
3) Daily and sometimes twice daily commuting to the hospital is financially killing them – hospital parking isn’t cheap, gas to commute 35 mins each way across town adds up quickly. Being at the hospital 8-10 hrs a day makes it difficult to grocery shop and make meals at home so additional eating out costs are inevitably incurred. Plus, all the extra driving and costs incurred to juggle their daughter’s daily care – which wasn’t previously there.
New expenses
Hospital Parking- $70/ month
Gas- $90-$100/ week
Nutramigen- $75/month (goes by weight as they gain)
Filgrastim- $420/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Valganciclovir- $345/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Ursodiol- $23/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Vitamin K- $22/week
Vitamin E- $33/month
Vitamin D- $32/month
Vitamin A,C,D- $32/month
Sodium Phosphate- $14/month
Circumcision- $400
First month that they are home is estimated at $5,000 and looking at a minimum of $4,682/month afterwards. Again, as they grow- this number will increase with their weight.
PLEASE GIVE
Kandis and Morgan are wonderful people and need a village behind them to support them through this (hopefully short-term) difficult time. Once the boys are at home, life can start to normalize but they will need help to pay the monthly medical bills. I hope you agree and are willing to help.
This page is just a starting point – all support and donations are greatly appreciated.
Maybe you have extra diapers left over, newborn clothing (sorry can't accept second hand due to compromised immune system right now), or would be able to provide temporary in-home support at a significant discounted rate.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this fund-raising request. If you have any questions or would like to offer support, please reach out. I'm a friend of Kandis who has created this page on her behalf.
Kandis and Morgan need our financial support to help them bring their babies home. While in the hospital the babies' medical treatment is fully covered but once released (expected to be soon) these much needed medical treatments are no longer covered. As outlined below, the estimated monthly costs of these treatments will be $5,000 per month. Start Aug 1st their health insurance coverage will take effect greatly reducing this monthly bill - so in the meantime they have an immediate need to help cover their daunting $15,000 short term medical bill that will be coming due.
Their story:
Even the best ‘penny’ saver would be challenged to navigate Kandis and Morgan’s new reality of being parents to two 2.6 lb preemie babies.
From the moment Kandis and Morgan first heard the news “you are expecting identical twins” they knew their lives and their 3-year-old daughter’s life would be forever changed. Naturally conceiving identical twins is quite rare so as you can imagine the news came as a huge shock. After the initial wave of excitement subsided, the reality of planning for twins set in.
The obvious: need 2 of everything
The less obvious:
1) Having boys after a girl really limited what baby items could be reused – baby shower was great but not enough
2) Family sedan (good on gas) had to be upgraded to a more costly three row SUV (not so good on gas) to accommodate three car seats – another hit to the savings
3) Kandis (Hairdresser) and Morgan (Home Renovation Tradesman) are both small business owners – they don’t qualify for EI (unemployment insurance), OR company sponsored maternity/paternity leave coverage, OR sick days, OR vacation days, OR short-term or long-term disability. They only get money when they are working.
a. Morgan has been the primary income earner while Kandis provided full time child care for their daughter.
b. Kandis had severe morning sickness with the twin’s pregnancy so had to turn away most of her hairdressing clients as she was unable to work. Given her profession once you turn away a client you usually lose them forever.
4) They are not home owners so can not borrow temporarily from a secured line of credit – racking up debt on credit cards at 19.5% interest or a bank loan at 12-14% is a one-way path towards personal bankruptcy
THE REALITY OF DELIVERING TWINS:
Twins typically require hospital care after birth and can continue to have complications requiring medical intervention depending on how early they arrive. Best case is delivering at 37 weeks – their sons, Bankston and Beckham, were born by emergency c-section at 32 weeks weighing in at just 2.6 lbs each.
The twins are doing remarkedly well given their very early arrival at 32 weeks but were impacted by a virus in utero comprising their immune system.
As expected with the early delivery the boys have required extensive NICU care, blood & platelet transfusions and will possibly continue to need this care for many weeks and months to come. Over the past 8 weeks they have been upgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 – but to achieve Level 1 they need to stabilize to a non-critical state. Every week the doctors start talking about Level 1 and possible release from hospital but then the babies have a bad day requiring more blood transfusions. Every day has its ups and downs so to ask when they will reach Level 1 (which also means a welcomed move to a closer hospital to home) or be finally released home – no one can predict this. The daunting flip side of being released soon is that their medical treatments are no longer covered so become Kandis and Morgan's debt.
THE MEDICAL EXPENSE:
Once home the twins will need to continue their medical treatments to fight a virus that has affected them in utero and from birth greatly impacting their immune systems. The monthly injections are NOT covered by our health care system and with other medications they will need have been quoted at costing $3,152(+)/mth. These treatments will need to be ongoing for many many months (hopefully not years) until they recover. The cost of some of these meds will only be more expensive as they grow, as they are based on weight. These treatments will also require constant commuting trips for follow-up medical appointments. On top of treatments, they are required a few other daily interventions with added prescription fortifier, minerals and vitamins. Also, going by weight, was quoted at costing $167(+)/mth.
OTHER EXPENSES - additional short-term expenses impacting them:
1) Kandis needs to be at the hospital most of the day (8-10 hrs) to breastfeed and provide skin to skin care – this means she can’t provide the previous full-time child care for their daughter.
a. Family and friends have been wonderful backfilling, but the lack of routine and predictability is taking its toll on Scarlett, their 3-year-old daughter. Ideal situation would be full-time in-house support for Scarlett and her family (~$3,000/mth). This will greatly reduce exposure to germs and illness typically caught at dayhomes or daycare which is detrimental to the twins given their lack of immunity right now. If the family is exposed to anything viral or bacterial they have been told they have to wait 5 days until they can see the boys again. This support person would also be able to do all the regular house chores so Kandis and Morgan don't have to do after a long day at the hospital and work.
2) Given the initial critical state of their boys’ condition, Kandis recovering from the c-section and Scarlett requiring his support, Morgan had to take a temporary 6 week leave of absence from his job to provide full-time support to his family.
a. As stated above, being small business owners, he doesn't get any benefits or paid time off, so with Morgan not working, the expenses were being paid from savings which are pretty much up.
b. Your reaction might be ‘he should have been working to pay the bills’ - but put yourself in his shoes. You are mentally and physically exhausted – would you trust yourself to climb ladders and work with power tools? I know I wouldn’t. Last thing the family needs is him cutting off fingers or falling off ladders paralyzing himself.
3) Daily and sometimes twice daily commuting to the hospital is financially killing them – hospital parking isn’t cheap, gas to commute 35 mins each way across town adds up quickly. Being at the hospital 8-10 hrs a day makes it difficult to grocery shop and make meals at home so additional eating out costs are inevitably incurred. Plus, all the extra driving and costs incurred to juggle their daughter’s daily care – which wasn’t previously there.
New expenses
Hospital Parking- $70/ month
Gas- $90-$100/ week
Nutramigen- $75/month (goes by weight as they gain)
Filgrastim- $420/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Valganciclovir- $345/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Ursodiol- $23/week (goes by weight as they gain)
Vitamin K- $22/week
Vitamin E- $33/month
Vitamin D- $32/month
Vitamin A,C,D- $32/month
Sodium Phosphate- $14/month
Circumcision- $400
First month that they are home is estimated at $5,000 and looking at a minimum of $4,682/month afterwards. Again, as they grow- this number will increase with their weight.
PLEASE GIVE
Kandis and Morgan are wonderful people and need a village behind them to support them through this (hopefully short-term) difficult time. Once the boys are at home, life can start to normalize but they will need help to pay the monthly medical bills. I hope you agree and are willing to help.
This page is just a starting point – all support and donations are greatly appreciated.
Maybe you have extra diapers left over, newborn clothing (sorry can't accept second hand due to compromised immune system right now), or would be able to provide temporary in-home support at a significant discounted rate.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this fund-raising request. If you have any questions or would like to offer support, please reach out. I'm a friend of Kandis who has created this page on her behalf.
Organizador
Kandis Thiemann
Organizador
Calgary, AB