Expenses for Benjamin Christian Domikaitis
Spende geschützt
Hello everyone,
My name is Tyler, and my dear friends Doug and Jes are in need of some help.
First, I want to give a bit of a backstory to their journey so far: Doug and Jes first started dating in 2012. They truly had a love for each other from the start! Enough so that Doug popped the question just one year later, and on May 2, 2014 they got married! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…struggles. The couple have wanted a child together and have tried since their wedding to become pregnant. As many may know of this situation, it can be trying on your mental health, as well as your marriage as a whole when troubles like this arise, but Doug and Jes never stopped loving each other, and THEY NEVER GAVE UP.
After SIX YEARS of trying, they finally saw that beautiful line show up on the pregnancy test in February of 2020. Their prayers had been answered. So far it has been a normal pregnancy, with mom and dad enjoying hearing their little boy’s heartbeat and seeing him through sonograms. This is where the story gets hard to type as it comes from the perspective of the parents…
On July 16, 2020, Jes began feeling some discomfort/pain under her ribs accompanied by a pretty painful headache. They assumed that because she was just under six months pregnant that this pain came from the baby growing and pushing her organs up. She had a history of migraines as well, so it was assumed that these things were unrelated. This pain and discomfort subsided for the most part over the next couple days, until July 20th. Jes was at work, and her best friend and now guardian angel, Brit, urged her to call her doctor and report her symptoms in fear that this was Preeclampsia (raised blood pressure while pregnant). Jes called the doctor and they urged her to go to the emergency room right away because they had concerns. Jes then called Doug to tell him what was happening. She told him that it wouldn’t be necessary for him to leave work, as they were probably just going to run some tests and she would see him at home that night.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital, their son’s heart rate started to drop at a rapid rate. Two nurses came into the room and started to flip Jes on her side to combat this. They continued to do this flip several times over until the bloodwork they had taken came back. The tests came back showing that Jes did in-fact test positive for a rare disease called HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) which causes liver enzymes to increase and platelets to decrease. She quickly called her husband and let him know that he had to get to the hospital as fast as he could, as there was a chance that things could take a drastic turn for the worse. Doug arrived at the hospital around 8:45 pm and sat down with the doctors while they laid out the plan. They gave Jes a steroid shot to help progress their son’s lungs to a strength in which he could be born. This was in hope that they would have at least 48 hours until it was necessary to deliver. Very quickly, those 48 hours turned into 24 hours, which even more quickly turned into 6 hours, until ultimately turning into the need for an emergency C-Section immediately. Doug was pulled aside and told that if this didn’t happen right now, he could very well lose not only his son, but his wife as well.
They wheeled Jes back in her bed as Doug gave her a kiss and they told each other I Love You. At 10:16pm on Monday July 20th, 2020 Benjamin Christian Domikaitis was born at 1lb 9oz and considered a Micro-Preemie. Doug was frantic in the hallway asking any and everyone he saw if they knew how his wife and son were, as he was not allowed back with her during the delivery. He was able to see his son finally, and instantly became a ball of emotion, until he turned to ask how his wife was doing. The doctor came out and told him that his wife was doing well thus far but they would find out more in the coming days. She was wheeled back to her room and started to wake up from the anesthesia. Her first question was if Doug got to see their son, to which he replied “yes, and he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Over the next 2 days, Jes was recovering and their son Benji was being taken care of in the NICU. Everything seemed to be progressing well, until on July 23rd. The next time that Doug went to the NICU to bring Benji some food, there were more doctors and nurses surrounding his son. They explained to him that there was a small tear in Benji’s intestines and they didn’t have the surgical staff on hand at this particular hospital, so he will have to be transferred to a much larger pediatric hospital an hour away, in the event that a surgery would be needed for him. Needless to say, Doug and Jes were absolutely devastated and scared beyond words. They transferred Benji to the new hospital, and since Jes was still recovering from her surgery on top of the HELLP syndrome, only Doug was allowed to accompany him. Thankfully, the hospital broke their COVID protocol and allowed Jes’s mother to be there with her while she recovered and allowed Doug to be with their son. On July 27th, Jes spoke with her doctors and discovered that part of her placenta had stopped working and that if she hadn’t come to the hospital when she did, their baby would have had no chance at all!
What should be seen as the most beautiful and loving time in a new family’s life, has been one of the more difficult times of uncertainty that any parent could face. They went from expecting their little boy in the end of October, to him deciding that he wanted to feel their love in person quite a bit earlier. His eagerness to feel that love, though, had him immediately considered in critical condition. They, along with all friends and family, have been doing a lot of praying and talking to God over the last week, asking that He please watch over their son.
Now for some good news! - So far, he has shown very good signs of improvement. However, this will be a VERY long process with many ups and downs to come along the journey. Benji will be at the hospital for roughly 3 months and the parents will be traveling back and forth until he can ultimately come home. This will not be without GREAT financial hardship on both travel expenses as well as hospital bills.
Doug and Jes are two of the nicest, most loving and caring people I have known in my life. It would mean the world to not only them, but everyone that loves them to see them be able to make it through this adversity and not have to struggle financially on top of it all!
My name is Tyler, and my dear friends Doug and Jes are in need of some help.
First, I want to give a bit of a backstory to their journey so far: Doug and Jes first started dating in 2012. They truly had a love for each other from the start! Enough so that Doug popped the question just one year later, and on May 2, 2014 they got married! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…struggles. The couple have wanted a child together and have tried since their wedding to become pregnant. As many may know of this situation, it can be trying on your mental health, as well as your marriage as a whole when troubles like this arise, but Doug and Jes never stopped loving each other, and THEY NEVER GAVE UP.
After SIX YEARS of trying, they finally saw that beautiful line show up on the pregnancy test in February of 2020. Their prayers had been answered. So far it has been a normal pregnancy, with mom and dad enjoying hearing their little boy’s heartbeat and seeing him through sonograms. This is where the story gets hard to type as it comes from the perspective of the parents…
On July 16, 2020, Jes began feeling some discomfort/pain under her ribs accompanied by a pretty painful headache. They assumed that because she was just under six months pregnant that this pain came from the baby growing and pushing her organs up. She had a history of migraines as well, so it was assumed that these things were unrelated. This pain and discomfort subsided for the most part over the next couple days, until July 20th. Jes was at work, and her best friend and now guardian angel, Brit, urged her to call her doctor and report her symptoms in fear that this was Preeclampsia (raised blood pressure while pregnant). Jes called the doctor and they urged her to go to the emergency room right away because they had concerns. Jes then called Doug to tell him what was happening. She told him that it wouldn’t be necessary for him to leave work, as they were probably just going to run some tests and she would see him at home that night.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital, their son’s heart rate started to drop at a rapid rate. Two nurses came into the room and started to flip Jes on her side to combat this. They continued to do this flip several times over until the bloodwork they had taken came back. The tests came back showing that Jes did in-fact test positive for a rare disease called HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) which causes liver enzymes to increase and platelets to decrease. She quickly called her husband and let him know that he had to get to the hospital as fast as he could, as there was a chance that things could take a drastic turn for the worse. Doug arrived at the hospital around 8:45 pm and sat down with the doctors while they laid out the plan. They gave Jes a steroid shot to help progress their son’s lungs to a strength in which he could be born. This was in hope that they would have at least 48 hours until it was necessary to deliver. Very quickly, those 48 hours turned into 24 hours, which even more quickly turned into 6 hours, until ultimately turning into the need for an emergency C-Section immediately. Doug was pulled aside and told that if this didn’t happen right now, he could very well lose not only his son, but his wife as well.
They wheeled Jes back in her bed as Doug gave her a kiss and they told each other I Love You. At 10:16pm on Monday July 20th, 2020 Benjamin Christian Domikaitis was born at 1lb 9oz and considered a Micro-Preemie. Doug was frantic in the hallway asking any and everyone he saw if they knew how his wife and son were, as he was not allowed back with her during the delivery. He was able to see his son finally, and instantly became a ball of emotion, until he turned to ask how his wife was doing. The doctor came out and told him that his wife was doing well thus far but they would find out more in the coming days. She was wheeled back to her room and started to wake up from the anesthesia. Her first question was if Doug got to see their son, to which he replied “yes, and he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Over the next 2 days, Jes was recovering and their son Benji was being taken care of in the NICU. Everything seemed to be progressing well, until on July 23rd. The next time that Doug went to the NICU to bring Benji some food, there were more doctors and nurses surrounding his son. They explained to him that there was a small tear in Benji’s intestines and they didn’t have the surgical staff on hand at this particular hospital, so he will have to be transferred to a much larger pediatric hospital an hour away, in the event that a surgery would be needed for him. Needless to say, Doug and Jes were absolutely devastated and scared beyond words. They transferred Benji to the new hospital, and since Jes was still recovering from her surgery on top of the HELLP syndrome, only Doug was allowed to accompany him. Thankfully, the hospital broke their COVID protocol and allowed Jes’s mother to be there with her while she recovered and allowed Doug to be with their son. On July 27th, Jes spoke with her doctors and discovered that part of her placenta had stopped working and that if she hadn’t come to the hospital when she did, their baby would have had no chance at all!
What should be seen as the most beautiful and loving time in a new family’s life, has been one of the more difficult times of uncertainty that any parent could face. They went from expecting their little boy in the end of October, to him deciding that he wanted to feel their love in person quite a bit earlier. His eagerness to feel that love, though, had him immediately considered in critical condition. They, along with all friends and family, have been doing a lot of praying and talking to God over the last week, asking that He please watch over their son.
Now for some good news! - So far, he has shown very good signs of improvement. However, this will be a VERY long process with many ups and downs to come along the journey. Benji will be at the hospital for roughly 3 months and the parents will be traveling back and forth until he can ultimately come home. This will not be without GREAT financial hardship on both travel expenses as well as hospital bills.
Doug and Jes are two of the nicest, most loving and caring people I have known in my life. It would mean the world to not only them, but everyone that loves them to see them be able to make it through this adversity and not have to struggle financially on top of it all!
Organisator und Spendenbegünstigter
Tyler Howell
Organisator
Portage, IN
Doug Domikaitis
Spendenbegünstigte