William's NICU costs

A couple of weeks ago - it seems like forever- Kiara and I left a doctor's appointment excited for the upcoming four day weekend ("Headmaster's Holiday" and from the good report we had just received on our baby. We were at 21 weeks gestation and everything checked out well. We decided to take it easy and rest, but at some point Kiara started to feel bad and began to experience severe cramping. When we saw traces of bleeding on Monday, we contacted the doctor, and that call marked the beginning of what has been a physical and emotional roller coaster ride for is all.

The doctor told us to go to the hospital where medical personnel accessed the situation, ran tests, and, while able to stabilize Kiara at the time, recommended her transfer to another network facility, one better able to handle not only our immediate but unforeseen future needs. The transfer was made, and testing and treatment continued. The doctors said that Kiara was going into "preterm labor." Over the next 48 hours, they administered a treatment regime designed to stop the early labor and strengthen the baby. Both mother's and baby's stats were good, and the contractions stopped. All of us were optimistic when they discharged Kiara on Thursday to bedrest at home. However, two hours later we found ourselves in the back of a rescue unit enroute back to the hospital after a severe bleed.

Back in the hospital - in the same room we had just left - doctors worked again to find the source of the bleed, stave off the labor as the contractions had restarted, and ensure the safety of Kiara and our son. There came a time where the doctors said we had reached our "endpoints;" depending on what happened either the doctors or nature would make the next move, and it turned out to be the latter as William Rolland Dwyer-Wessling made his appearance on this earth on Tuesday,

morning, May 7, 2024. He was immediately taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were specially trained doctors and nurses have monitored his condition and worked with him around the clock. We were not even able to see him until several hours after his birth. Frail and extremely vulnerable, our son is here, and we cannot be more in love with him. Kiara came through labor and delivery well and was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, but William remains there, and may be there for as long as three months.

Needless to say, my head is spinning. As I write this, I am experiencing so many different emotions at the same time, and all types of thoughts are concerns are shooting through my brain. I feel confusion, confusion in not knowing what caused this, why it is happening, what I did wrong, and what is going to happen. I feel relief, relief that William was ultimately easily delivered and relief that Kiara is OK, I feel hope, hope for the future, hope for William to fight and grow strong, hope to watch him bond with his sister and brothers, hope for our future as a family. I feel joy, joy in being able to sit with him, speak to him, watch a basketball game on TV with him, and joy in letting him know mom and dad are there with him and that he is so very much loved. I feel overwhelmed, overwhelmed at the beauty of birth and life, overwhelmed with pride in that he is my son and Kiara is my wife, and overwhelmed in that we are a family. It really is truly overwhelming.

That is because, at the same time, I feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. I am anxious that we both have missed nine days of wok to this point. I fear the impact this loss of work time will have on us financially. I am anxious about being 45 minutes away from the hospital and only having the one car; what happens if I am in one place, Kiara is in another, and we need to get to the hospital quickly? I fear the impact this is going to have on my scheduled summer visit with Kiera, Kyle, and Kenny and whether that will even take place at this point, and I am anxious about how they will handle all this. And, last but certainly not least, I fear the accumulating costs of William's treatment. We do have health insurance through our employer, but I am anxious about out of pocket expenses. We are blessed that the NICU at Wolfson's Children's Hospital is truly state-of-the-art, but that does not come cheaply. We have already been through countless lab tests, x-rays, MRI's and other diagnostic testings, and many, many more will be forthcoming. We have seen blood transfusions, insertion of a chest tube, and administration of IV fluids and so many medications, all is the span of less than a week. And our journey and William's fight has just begun.

As a father, every instinct in my being tells me I have to take care of my wife and child just as any animal in the wild would do. When it comes to how to do this, I am so completely overwhelmed I feel almost paralyzed. Those who know me know I am quick to offer and to give help when needed and that it is very hard (and extremely rare) for me to ask for help. I realize this is a pride thing, but I also realize I have to put that pride aside and do what I have to as a father. As I sit here with William writing this as he fights to cling to life, on behalf of Kiara, William, Kiera, Kenny, and Kyle, I most humbly ask for your financial help as me move through the coming days, weeks, and months. Any monies donated will go to William's care and our related expenses. Any monies not used will be donated in such a way to help other families with sick babies in the NICUs of Wolfson's Children's Hospital.

Thank you for your time, consideration, prayers, and support, monetary or otherwise.