Help support Emery and her family!

Hey friends and fam. My name is Michelle Hofeldt, and I'm writing on behalf of the Leggett family: my wonderful nieces, Emery (8 days old) and Skylar (2 yrs old), my sister Nicole, and my brother-in-law Nick.

My niece Emery Grace was born July 23rd at 4:37pm, and she's absolutely gorgeous. She was 7lb3oz and 18.5 inches long. Right when she was born, she needed a little respiratory support, and then within the next few days she also struggled with jaundice and low blood sugars.

She has had a bit of a journey during her first week in the world: first, she needed phototherapy with different lights and being wrapped in a light-up Bili Blanket, and now finding herself in the Masonic NICU due to significant feeding difficulties. She has trouble drinking milk without aspirating (meaning the milk goes into her lungs rather than her stomach). This puts her at risk for infection and means that she can't get the nutrition she needs by drinking, so right now she gets fed via a feeding tube in her nose. (Nicole normally works in the Masonic NICU as an RN, so we know she's getting fantastic care and we are thankful for her care team!)

Nick and Nicole have both been in the hospital with Emery for the past 9 days, and today is the first day that Nick had to go back to work. Nick doesn't receive any paid family leave from his work, and he has used up his PTO to be at the hospital with Nicole and Emery. Also, they didn't expect to be in the hospital for this long, and big sis Skye can't be together with them in the NICU except for one visit when she got to meet Emery. While Nicole can't be at home with both Skye and Emery as they'd planned, Skye's daycare costs are higher than expected. We hope that Emery will be coming home within the next week or two, but we also know that she will still need more ongoing therapy for feeding and extra time and care dedicated by her family as she navigates this ongoing health journey.

I'm asking for your support to help ease the financial strain on Nick and Nicole. Our starting goal is $2,000, which is approximately what Nick would get from one paycheck, and which would go a long way towards helping them with basic expenses (such as parking and food while they continue to stay at the hospital, daycare for Skylar, and some unpaid days off that Nick plans to take when Emery is discharged, returns home, and has further appointments.) Even if you can only chip in the cost of a cup of coffee, every little bit will go a long way! Together, all of our cups of coffee can easily reach that goal.

Thank you! I appreciate you all so much!

My sister Nicole wrote this message:

"We are so in love, and so grateful that she is here, safe, and receiving the care she needs...

Emery Grace, we're not exactly sure what your journey will look like, but we are yearning for the day we can bring you home and have our entire family together again. We love you."

If your like to follow along with Emery's continuing journey, check out the Caring Bridge site by clicking here!