Sweet Bella Rose
Bella was born March 3, 2018 induced at 38 weeks. Since birth Bella has had stridor or "noisy breathing." She's also had difficulty breathing or increased work of breathing (abdominal/chest retractions, tracheal retractions, intermittent nasal flaring, and periods of apnea.) She was diagnosed with laryngomalacia & tracheomalacia and we were told she should grow out of it within a year or so without need for intervention. Bella's symptoms have worsened since & on Thursday, April 5 she was taken to Fraser ER, transferred to Wolfson's, and admitted to the PICU for acute respiratory failure. She started out on a CPAP for respiratory support which then had to be progressed to non-invasive ventilation until she was intubated Tuesday, April 10. She had a supraglottoplasty to repair the laryngomalacia and also had a bronchoscopy at the same time where it was determined she had a severe constriction on her airway. A CT angio of her blood vessels showed she had a vascular ring in the form of a double aortic arch that was grown around her trachea & esophagus (her airway & feeding tube) which would require cardiovascularthoracic surgery. She required up to 4 sedation medications at high doses to keep her relaxed and comfortable until she was able to go for surgery. On Monday April 16 she had surgery to remove the area that was causing the constriction and admitted to the pediatric CVICU. After surgery she had 2 central lines (really long IVs that can stay in longer), a chest tube, a foley catheter, and still with the breathing tube. On Tuesday, April 17 the chest tube, foley catheter, and breathing tube were removed along with her sedation to see how she did breathing on her own. She did well for a few hours before her blood gases dramatically increased and she had to be placed on CPAP at high levels again. We're touch and go on what the next steps are to getting her breathing on her own successfully.
The story from above is to lay a background for why this GoFundMe account was created. Bella got sick the 2nd to last week of her mother's maternity leave. Jessica, her mother, won't be returning to work until Bella is discharged home and stable to be able to stay with a sitter. Jessica is the primary financial provider and she will go without pay until returning to work. On top of the normal bills she will also have to pay $500 per month to continue the family's insurance benefits. She only has 6 more weeks of FMLA coverage to protect her job (2 of which has already been used) before she will have to take a leave of absence which will not protect her job. Steven, Bella's father, had taken some time off during the maternity leave period but is dwindling on the amount of PTO he has available and will have to return back to work to ensure some income comes in.
Under normal conditions we wouldn't ask for help but given the lack of income from Jessica having to take off to be with their daughter, not to mention the medical bills from being in the ICU for 3 or more weeks, we can't allow pride to put us in a deeper, darker situation. Above anything we ask for prayers for our sweet girl Bella and for the medical staff charged with taking care of her. We greatly appreciate the prayers and any donations that come our way. We send thanks, love, and blessings to all.
Sincerely,
Steven, Jessica, Paisley, and Bella Goff
As many may already know sweet Bella has been in the ICU for almost a week now. She has already had 1 surgery and will undergo another this coming up Monday. Her mama is still on maternity leave from work so is spending every second with her, her daddy is dwendeling his PTO from work to be there as well. He will soon have to return to work to keep up with the everyday necessities. They do have ins on her but they are responsible for 10% of the total bill. If you have it in your heart to help please do so, any and everything will be greatly appreciated. If anyone has any questions your welcome to contact me via messanger, I’ll answer as much as i can.
