Frank Padilla & Edeline Solis

My name is Beatrice Cruz,

I’m writing this on behalf of my son Frank Padilla & his fiancé Edeline Solis.

On December 15,2023, the unexpected happened. My son Frank & his fiancé Edeline Solis, who was expecting twins, had a spontaneous delivery Orion Ismael was delivered not breathing. I can’t even begin to imagine them watching a team carrying him away performing CPR, & he was rushed to NICU at Kern Med based in Bakersfield, California. Edeline was then rushed to deliver Aurora Beatrice via C-Section. They came at 25 weeks of gestation. The expected due date was March 22, 2024. They both weighted in at 1# each, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks later we found out the true nature of Orion’s damage at time of delivery, he suffered a grade IV level of intraventicular brain hemorrhage of his brain, my apologies I’m a retired RN, so what that means in layman’s terms he had the worst brain bleed that can occur. As a result of this damage, he developed severe swelling of his brain. Because of his delicate condition the physician at Kern Med NICU made a decision to transfer Orion out on January 7, 2024, he was airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California where he remains. As difficult as this was for my son & Edeline they knew this was this the best option as Orion required a higher level of care. On January 16, Orion had a delicate procedure by a Neurosurgeon, he had excess fluid drained from his brain, via needle aspiration. Unfortunately this was followed by surgery performed by neurosurgeon on January 18th. The surgeon inserted what is known as intracranial reservoir into his left side of his brain so they can drain excess fluid from that site when needed. Although these micro preemies are resilient, Orion’s labs remain abnormal. Both of these babies have been through so much, they are both experiencing hypoglycemia (low Blood sugar levels), when these episodes occur their oxygen levels drop causing their vital signs to become unstable. Our families are praying that they both defy all odds & that they both don’t suffer residual long term complications.

This has placed a hardship & caused duress & undeniable stress. Edeline is currently going to school to pursue her passion of becoming a surgical technician, while my son Frank remains at Madera at Orion’s bedside, he’s in the process of becoming a truck driver, but of course he can’t compete his necessary hours of trucking because of the current circumstances. Edeline goes to school & visits Aurora every day prior to going to school & again in the evenings. She & her mom Maria Vela & I along with my sister Eva Cerda take our turns going to visit my son & Orion at Madera.

We pray you find it in your hearts to donate whatever you can. We appreciate you all who are praying. God Bless you.

Thank you,

Beatrice Cruz (paternal grandmother)