Baby Charlie's Medical Expenses
Hello, I am helping a friend create this campaign for her son, Charlie.
This is her story:
"Hello to the person reading this. My name is Ashley and this year my family welcomed our beautiful, perfect son, Charlie, into this world at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center. He was 7 pounds and 12 ounces, and 21 inches long. When I first saw him, he was the most precious baby I'd ever seen. Little did we know what we were in for... From the moment he was born, he did not want to eat. I knew something was wrong, but every nurse, Doctor and pediatrician consistently told me he was okay and to keep trying to breast feed him. I thought, as i was a new mother, I was probably being paranoid, but my instincts aren't usually wrong. So the first night with him in the hospital, just 8 hours before we were discharged and sent home, I was sent to the nursery with all these nurses, and one asked if he did his first poop, "no", I answered. She grabbed a q tip to try dilating him to help, and so vividly I remember her just saying, "This baby doesn't have an anus..." My heart fell and I felt like I just died in that moment. I thought this was a nightmare. I cried and cried and ran to the room to tell his father and we just cried and prayed for our son to live. Being a first time mother, with a miscarriage just a year before, I thought it was life or death. Because where is his poop supposed to go!? Thankfully God gave us the amazing Doctors and surgeons at Memorial Hermann Hospital to operate on him as soon as possible. His surgeon, Dr. Tsao, explained to us that our baby would live half of his first year with an ostomy bag (poop bag). We lived in the hospital for 2 weeks out of clothes in our trunk, nasty expensive hospital food and battling to win a room in the hospital. We would of slept on the floor if that's what it took, we did not want to leave him alone. For those 2 weeks I battled and fought myself telling myself I couldn't do this, that I would never be able to handle what was in store for me. Changing ostomy bags every day to protect his skin and all the care that came with it. Carlos pushed me and kept me strong, told me I was the best mom in the world and he was so happy I was the mother of his child. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I'd be this strong today changing bags like nothing. I went from changing it in an hour, to now, 3 min. Carlos is working non stop to help pay for everything. I can't work because of my sons condition, and he has a surgery scheduled for may 6 to have his anal hole constructed and 6 weeks after he heals, we will be back to attach everything and he will do his first poop like a normal baby. I'm not asking for thousands of dollars, but anything will help. Just keeping us in your prayers would be more than enough for me. Thank you for reading this, and thank you SO much if you do decide to donate. Charlie's life will be beautiful and normal because of you..."
Any funds generated from this campaign will be given to the Jeffcote Family for Charlie's medical expenses.
The goal has been set at $1500, but these procedures can cost anywhere from $3000 - $6000. And that is the surgeries alone, not counting the missed work for Ashley as Charlie needs 24/7 care, and the extra medical care that Charlie needs in between procedures. Any help you can provide will be a burden off this family's shoulders and and a godsend for Charlie.
Thank you for hearing us out. 