Help Baron Get a Helmet!
Donation protected
Holland and I found out that I was pregnant on April 27,2014. I don't think I've ever felt so many emotions all at once. You see, for years I was told that it was a medical impossibility for me to have children. I had always said that because having my own children weren't going to be in my future, I would focus on my career, and adopt a child when I could afford it. Apparently, that wasn't the way the universe saw my life going. I was so excited, and knew how lucky I was to be able to have an experience that some women only dream about.
My pregnancy wasn't easy by any means. Two days after I found out that I was expecting, I found myself in the emergency room, cramping, bleeding, terrified. After blood tests, urine samples, and two different ultrasounds, the ER doctor told me that he was going to schedule me with my regular GYN so that we could "discuss this further" and plan my D&C. He told me I was having a miscarriage. I was an empty shell. When I went to my regular GYN two days later, she sat me down, told me that she felt in her gut that something wasn't right with their ultrasound findings (or lack thereof) and would like for me to do another one, just in case. My heart was pounding as I waited for the ultrasound tech to speak. She was silent for what felt like an eternity, until she smiled and said, "Now that little flicker you see there, that's your baby's heartbeat! Looks like you're about 6 weeks." Holland and I just looked at each other in disbelief. From that point on, I made it my personal mission to make sure that our precious baby would stay safe and sound inside my body. I continued cramping and bleeding until I was around 16 weeks gestation, which was when we found out that our sweet baby was a boy! We decided to name him Baron. :)
I went in to my 28 week appointment and had my blood pressure checked. It was a little high, 140/90. My doctors told me they were going to keep an eye on it, but because I didn't have any protein in my urine, it was nothing to me alarmed about, and they would see me back in 3 weeks. Over the next two weeks, I had started vomiting after everything I ate, my feet, legs, face, arms and hands were so swollen that they were painful, and I would have these episodes where I swore my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. When I reached 30 weeks, I called my doctors office, crying. I was so hungry, but I couldn't keep anything down, including water. They asked me to come to their office immediately. I called Holland and let him know, and he left and met me there. The nurse checked my blood pressure five times with two different cuffs, and switched arms twice because the reading she was getting was so high she didn't believe it. They put me in a dark room by myself so that I could try to calm myself down and try to lower my blood pressure. I waited for about an hour until the doctor finally came in and told me they were admitting me into the hospital right away to put me on Magnesium so that they can try to prevent me from having a stroke. The next couple of days are still a blur to me, even six months later. We had an ultrasound done to make sure that Baron was okay and to make sure that he was getting the proper nourishment that he needed from the placenta. He was registering in the 10th percentile for his weight, and was around 2lbs. They also found that he wasn't getting enough blood from his cord, and they were going to schedule a c-section for the next day. We were terrified.
Baron was born at 9:02pm on November 5, 2014 weighing 2 pounds, 4 ounces and was only 15 inches long. He was so beautiful!
I have never felt a love quite like the love I had for this tiny, tiny person.
He had to overcome many obstacles, from learning to breathe without the assistance of oxygen, to overcoming a stomach infection that prevented him from tolerating milk, to learning to suck, swallow, and breathe while taking a bottle, and many other things.
Because he was born so early, Baron developed a disease of the retinas called Retanopathy of Prematurity, or ROP for short. He has to see a specialist each week to check the development of the disease, to make sure his retinas are maturing as the should, instead of tapering and getting smaller and thinner, which could cause blindness.
A few weeks ago, we went for Baron's 6 month NICU follow up and we saw a physical therapist, speech therapist, and an occupational therapist so that they could check to see if he would need any treatment. We found out that he has torticollis and asymmetrical brachycephaly, which will require him to wear a helmet for 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. Medicaid will not cover the cost of orthotics, and therefore, we have to pay $1500 for the helmet out of pocket. It is absolutely necessary for Baron to have this helmet because without it, there is a risk that when he begins to grow, his brain will also be deformed and could cause a delay in motor skills or other important brain function.
As it stands, Holland and I would not be able to financially afford to buy Baron this helmet without your help. Any and all donations would be appreciated more than you will ever know!
Thank you all for your love and support to get our little guy the help he needs.
-Ashley, Holland, and Baron
My pregnancy wasn't easy by any means. Two days after I found out that I was expecting, I found myself in the emergency room, cramping, bleeding, terrified. After blood tests, urine samples, and two different ultrasounds, the ER doctor told me that he was going to schedule me with my regular GYN so that we could "discuss this further" and plan my D&C. He told me I was having a miscarriage. I was an empty shell. When I went to my regular GYN two days later, she sat me down, told me that she felt in her gut that something wasn't right with their ultrasound findings (or lack thereof) and would like for me to do another one, just in case. My heart was pounding as I waited for the ultrasound tech to speak. She was silent for what felt like an eternity, until she smiled and said, "Now that little flicker you see there, that's your baby's heartbeat! Looks like you're about 6 weeks." Holland and I just looked at each other in disbelief. From that point on, I made it my personal mission to make sure that our precious baby would stay safe and sound inside my body. I continued cramping and bleeding until I was around 16 weeks gestation, which was when we found out that our sweet baby was a boy! We decided to name him Baron. :)
I went in to my 28 week appointment and had my blood pressure checked. It was a little high, 140/90. My doctors told me they were going to keep an eye on it, but because I didn't have any protein in my urine, it was nothing to me alarmed about, and they would see me back in 3 weeks. Over the next two weeks, I had started vomiting after everything I ate, my feet, legs, face, arms and hands were so swollen that they were painful, and I would have these episodes where I swore my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. When I reached 30 weeks, I called my doctors office, crying. I was so hungry, but I couldn't keep anything down, including water. They asked me to come to their office immediately. I called Holland and let him know, and he left and met me there. The nurse checked my blood pressure five times with two different cuffs, and switched arms twice because the reading she was getting was so high she didn't believe it. They put me in a dark room by myself so that I could try to calm myself down and try to lower my blood pressure. I waited for about an hour until the doctor finally came in and told me they were admitting me into the hospital right away to put me on Magnesium so that they can try to prevent me from having a stroke. The next couple of days are still a blur to me, even six months later. We had an ultrasound done to make sure that Baron was okay and to make sure that he was getting the proper nourishment that he needed from the placenta. He was registering in the 10th percentile for his weight, and was around 2lbs. They also found that he wasn't getting enough blood from his cord, and they were going to schedule a c-section for the next day. We were terrified.
Baron was born at 9:02pm on November 5, 2014 weighing 2 pounds, 4 ounces and was only 15 inches long. He was so beautiful!
I have never felt a love quite like the love I had for this tiny, tiny person.
He had to overcome many obstacles, from learning to breathe without the assistance of oxygen, to overcoming a stomach infection that prevented him from tolerating milk, to learning to suck, swallow, and breathe while taking a bottle, and many other things.
Because he was born so early, Baron developed a disease of the retinas called Retanopathy of Prematurity, or ROP for short. He has to see a specialist each week to check the development of the disease, to make sure his retinas are maturing as the should, instead of tapering and getting smaller and thinner, which could cause blindness.
A few weeks ago, we went for Baron's 6 month NICU follow up and we saw a physical therapist, speech therapist, and an occupational therapist so that they could check to see if he would need any treatment. We found out that he has torticollis and asymmetrical brachycephaly, which will require him to wear a helmet for 23 hours a day, 7 days a week. Medicaid will not cover the cost of orthotics, and therefore, we have to pay $1500 for the helmet out of pocket. It is absolutely necessary for Baron to have this helmet because without it, there is a risk that when he begins to grow, his brain will also be deformed and could cause a delay in motor skills or other important brain function.
As it stands, Holland and I would not be able to financially afford to buy Baron this helmet without your help. Any and all donations would be appreciated more than you will ever know!
Thank you all for your love and support to get our little guy the help he needs.
-Ashley, Holland, and Baron
Organizer
Ashley Radford
Organizer
Inman, SC