Help the Schmalings Care for Maisie
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-Unexpected Delivery-
"We need to deliver your baby in 2 hours." These were the words that changed our lives forever on August 23rd and precipitated the delivery of our fourth child--a girl!--Maisie June Schmaling. With a possible blood clot in her umbilical cord, the doctors decided we needed to deliver Maisie at 27 weeks (3 months early) and avoid any life-threatening risks. We had not planned for this, really. Her nursery at home was not ready--we weren't ready. But she came to us that night, and this began quite the odyssey for the Schmaling family.
-Tale of Two Cities-
Because Maisie was born so premature, and due to her having surgery on her intestine (and resulting stoma), and testing for brain abnormalities (she had seizure-like symptoms), we have not been able to live together as a family, and will not for the foreseeable future. Maisie needs to stay at the Vancouver Women's Hospital NICU, receiving specialized care, while our three boys (Elijah-8, Rafael-6, and Pascal-3.8) need to be in Kelowna going to school and having some semblance of "normal" life. This means Bethany has been living at the Ronald McDonald House across from the hospital, staying with and holding Maisie as much as possible, and debriefing with doctors, etc...
...Marcus, meanwhile, has been holding down the fort in Kelowna and, along with help from Grandma and Oma, taking the boys to school, basketball, lessons, etc. It's only on the weekend that we all come together as a family in Vancouver and enjoy special times with Maisie.
-Financial Strain-
And now we come to the purpose of this GoFundMe. There are several fiscal realities converging that are causing quite a financial strain on our family as we seek to care for Maisie. One: Beth's income stream has decreased because she is on maternity leave. Two: Marcus went on an unpaid leave of absence from work in order to care for himself and the family, and consequently his income has diminished quite significantly. And Three: our food and transportation expenses have gone up considerably with life lived between Kelowna and Vancouver. As we survey the next while we believe our financial shortfall will be around $6,000.
-The Ask-
After much thinking and talking and praying and more talking about this matter, Beth and Marcus feel a peace about bringing this need to your attention. We have been overwhelmed by how many people have connected with Maisie's story, reaching out with words and gifts and so many other creative expressions of love. It is to you, this big and beautiful community of caring people, that we humbly ask that you consider supporting us in our financial need, so that we can have this "hurdle" taken care of. We really want to be freed up to solely focus on loving our baby, Maisie, and the three boys, and one another.
-Thank You-
Whether you help us financially, or conceive another way of supporting us, please know that your care for us has given us a buoyancy and hope to believe we will get through this, that it is possible for Maisie to one day be completely healthy, and that one day we can all live together in a house in Kelowna.
God bless you all!
Marcus & Bethany Schmaling
"We need to deliver your baby in 2 hours." These were the words that changed our lives forever on August 23rd and precipitated the delivery of our fourth child--a girl!--Maisie June Schmaling. With a possible blood clot in her umbilical cord, the doctors decided we needed to deliver Maisie at 27 weeks (3 months early) and avoid any life-threatening risks. We had not planned for this, really. Her nursery at home was not ready--we weren't ready. But she came to us that night, and this began quite the odyssey for the Schmaling family.
-Tale of Two Cities-
Because Maisie was born so premature, and due to her having surgery on her intestine (and resulting stoma), and testing for brain abnormalities (she had seizure-like symptoms), we have not been able to live together as a family, and will not for the foreseeable future. Maisie needs to stay at the Vancouver Women's Hospital NICU, receiving specialized care, while our three boys (Elijah-8, Rafael-6, and Pascal-3.8) need to be in Kelowna going to school and having some semblance of "normal" life. This means Bethany has been living at the Ronald McDonald House across from the hospital, staying with and holding Maisie as much as possible, and debriefing with doctors, etc...
...Marcus, meanwhile, has been holding down the fort in Kelowna and, along with help from Grandma and Oma, taking the boys to school, basketball, lessons, etc. It's only on the weekend that we all come together as a family in Vancouver and enjoy special times with Maisie.
-Financial Strain-
And now we come to the purpose of this GoFundMe. There are several fiscal realities converging that are causing quite a financial strain on our family as we seek to care for Maisie. One: Beth's income stream has decreased because she is on maternity leave. Two: Marcus went on an unpaid leave of absence from work in order to care for himself and the family, and consequently his income has diminished quite significantly. And Three: our food and transportation expenses have gone up considerably with life lived between Kelowna and Vancouver. As we survey the next while we believe our financial shortfall will be around $6,000.
-The Ask-
After much thinking and talking and praying and more talking about this matter, Beth and Marcus feel a peace about bringing this need to your attention. We have been overwhelmed by how many people have connected with Maisie's story, reaching out with words and gifts and so many other creative expressions of love. It is to you, this big and beautiful community of caring people, that we humbly ask that you consider supporting us in our financial need, so that we can have this "hurdle" taken care of. We really want to be freed up to solely focus on loving our baby, Maisie, and the three boys, and one another.
-Thank You-
Whether you help us financially, or conceive another way of supporting us, please know that your care for us has given us a buoyancy and hope to believe we will get through this, that it is possible for Maisie to one day be completely healthy, and that one day we can all live together in a house in Kelowna.
God bless you all!
Marcus & Bethany Schmaling
Organizer
Marcus Schmaling
Organizer
Kelowna, BC
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