Zyair's Family Desperately Needs Our Help!

August 20th, 2024:

Those of you who have followed Zyair's journey, know the struggles this family has been through and continues to face. Life is a daily challenge. Due to the nature of Zyair's care needs, Zyair's mother, Jaime, had to quit her full-time job, putting a halt to her career in order to provide 24/7 cares for her child. Although, thankfully, Zyair has been growing and improving with each new day, there are still many challenges ahead.

All previously raised funds have been depleted, due to the family having to go down to only one income, cares expenses for Zyair, along with their basic daily/monthly needs / living expenses.

This family's current challenge is keeping the electricity on and being able to make their house payment. This family's power in their home has been turned off by the power company as of this morning, 8/20/24.

Zyair's father, Herb, is working a full-time job, often carrying double shifts as well as working side jobs to provide food, medicine, pay the bare necessity bills, etc..

With the lack of social programs and or financial assistance, it is a daily struggle for them to try keep afloat, and subsequently, the bills have been stacking up, hence their power being shut off..

Zyair is still tube fed, requiring a rechargable pump in order for him to be fed. With no electricity in the home, Zyairs life support feed pump cannot be charged and he cannot be fed. The little food they had in the refrigerator for themselves, has now gone bad. No stove to cook on, microwave, etc... the list goes on as you can imagine. On top of that,, they had a severe plumbing leak in the house from a prior repair gone bad, and their kitchen and bathroom are torn apart and repairs, although covered by liability from the company, are at least a month out..

This family is in desperate need of financial assistance.

Please help this Loving family financially a.s.a.p., if God has provided you the financial ability. Every dollar is crucial at this point!

For those who have previously contributed, thank you from the depths of our souls. If you are willing and able to contribute additionally, God Bless you!

Original back story:

On July 26th, 2021, Our Daughter & Son-In-Law, Jaime & Herb’s first child Zyair (Zy-air) was born with a rare birth defect called LUTO (Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction).

A lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) is a rare fetal condition that occurs when there is a blockage in the urinary tract of a developing fetus. LUTO occurs in 1 out of 5,000 to 7,000 births, most commonly in male fetuses. As a fetus grows in the womb, urine made by the kidneys flows through the ureters into the bladder. Urine is stored in the bladder until it gets full. When the bladder is full, it pushes the urine out of the body through a tube called the urethra. The kidneys and ureters are called the upper urinary tract and the bladder and urethra are called the lower urinary tract.

Zyair was diagnosed with this condition at their 18-week anatomy ultrasound that left Jaime and Herb with some tough decisions. One mentioned by the doctor was abortion, in which they did not believe in that option. Immediately following the initial diagnosis, they began their journey with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. at 20 weeks gestation, twice a week, every week until Zyair was born.

During that time Jaime & baby underwent 5 in utero procedures:

Amniocentesis (1x): involves using a needle to remove amniotic fluid from the uterus for testing or treatment. Amniotic fluid is the fluid that surrounds and protects a baby during pregnancy. This fluid contains fetal cells and various proteins which aid in development of the fetus.

Vesicocentesis (2x): involves using a needle to withdraw excess fluid from the fetal bladder. This is done under ultrasonic guidance. Fetal urinary tract obstruction is a condition that is caused by the blockage of fetal urination. Because the baby cannot empty its bladder in utero, their bladder may become very large and distended resulting in the need for drainage. This procedure may also be used to assess the character of fluid in the bladder.

Fetal Shunt Placement (2x): When a shunt (hollow tube) is inserted through the mother’s abdomen and uterus and into the fetus, to drain fluid from the fluid-filled anomaly.

Without the proper amount of amniotic fluid, Zyair would have difficulties growing in the womb. Most crucially, his lung development in the second trimester which requires amniotic fluid (which is made up of the baby’s urine) to properly grow. Due to his condition, Zyair was not urinating enough to maintain a good level of amniotic fluid.

In July, Zyair became breech, with little to no amniotic fluid to be able to flip to the proper delivery position. On July 26th he was born via scheduled C-Section at 37 weeks and 1 day. He was immediately placed on a ventilator, and while sedated had a line inserted into his right lung to assist the lungs ability to expand & contract sufficiently. He would stay in this state for 5 weeks with an NG feeding tube, ventilator assistance to breathe and medications to aid in his body’s development as well as multiple procedures including 2 surgeries; one being the clearing of the blockage in his urethra, two being his Peritoneal Dialysis catheter placement. Due to the urethra blockage, Zyair's kidneys sustained severe damage which ultimately resulted in kidney failure.

He remained in the NICU @ Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis until 10-4-21, at that time, Zyair was 10 weeks old.

He is now home with his parents, but they all have a long road ahead. Zyair is on and will remain on Peritoneal Dialysis, 12 hours a day, every day until he is able to receive a kidney transplant. The earliest time for a transplant will be after he is 1 year old, provided a kidney is available and his condition allows the transplant at that time. He has also been put back on an NG feeding tube as he slowed down on his eating, became dehydrated and lost weight. Dialysis treatments take a lot of energy out of patients. With being on a ventilator and an NG feeding tube for several weeks he was unable to learn to suckle/feed as most infants do. He is learning, but it is a slow process.

Herb is staying home with Zyair, caring for and tending to all his medical needs, as they need to keep him safe & free from infection, not to mention, the pandemic. Zyair’s dialysis must be a sterile process, as any infection could prove to complicate things even further, as well as having the potential to be fatal. Due to this necessary commitment by Herb, it is a challenge for him to be able to generate income for their family. Jaime works full time outside of the home, this position carries the family health insurance. Jaime’s vacation, maternity leave, PTO and FMLA were depleted during the pregnancy, due to the procedures she and baby underwent prior to delivery, along with her own recovery after having the C-Section.

Medical bills continue to mount, and their income has been reduced due to their circumstances.

This new little family deeply needs your Prayers and Financial assistance.

The medical bills will continue to grow for this little boy and parents’ lifetime. His care needs will continue, even after he is able to receive a kidney transplant.

We can’t think of anyone more qualified, compassionate & loving to care for this child’s special needs. God has picked the right two souls to charge with Zyair’s care, but they need our help as well.

Please find the love and generosity in your heart to provide the spiritual and financial assistance this family is so in need of, and are so deserving of.

We will keep you updated as any new blessings and issues arise. God Bless.