Hello!

At 20 weeks pregnant, my husband, Josh, and I got the unexpected news that our daughter had a 99.1% chance of having Down Syndrome. The diagnosis was confirmed with a blood test after she was born.

Born at 35.1 weeks, due to my preeclampsia, Dorothy had a 6 week NICU stay, with some of the best doctors and nurses around. Those 6 weeks, were the hardest weeks of our lives. The only thing that got us through was seeing our beautiful daughter every day.

She is now home, with weekly appointments to the cardiologist, pediatrician and the endocrinologist.

Dorothy was diagnosed with a large VSD… a Ventricular Septal Defect, which is a hole in the wall of the bottom two chambers of her heart.

Our next big hurdle is her open heart surgery. We are headed to the Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee to work with the best surgeons around. We are expected to stay for about 5 days, but are planning for two weeks. If we’ve learned anything during this experience, it’s to not have expectations!

I have worked for two weeks since she was born on September 28th. Right now, my primary concern is Dorothy and keeping her safe, as her heart is causing her immune system to be weak.

If anyone knows me or Josh, we are not ones to ask for help… but with copays, expensive medical procedures, open heart surgery, unknown future medical expenses and a kitchen table full of medical bills, I was convinced by a couple people that maybe it’s time to reach out.

All donations will go to supporting Dorothy and her family. Everything helps!