Help the Gruber's and Baby Juniper

My brother & sister-in-law, Dale and Hannah Gruber are pregnant with their third child and she is due in July. At their ultrasound in March, they learned their baby has massive fluid buildup on her brain that is not draining properly. As a result, their baby girl, Juniper Faith, has been diagnosed with severe hydrocephalus and an atretic encephalocele. Hydrocephalus is when there is a buildup of fluid in the cavities within the brain. The atretic encephalocele is when a portion of the skull on the crown of her head isn't fully closed.

Their doctors want to deliver Juniper at 37 weeks via c-section in order to drain the excess fluid since the longer she is in utero the more pressure will increase on her brain. Hannah is scheduled for her c-section surgery for June 22nd. There will be immediate brain surgery on the baby to put in a shunt after the delivery, and they were told to plan on at least 2 weeks in the NICU. Additionally, there will be a second brain surgery when she is around 4 months old to close the small portion of her skull.

A severe case of hydrocephalus leaves a lot of unknowns as to what complications may arise for baby Juniper. As of mid-May, Juniper’s head was the size of an average two-month-old baby due to the large amount of fluid that continues to accumulate. We don't know the severity of brain impairment that Juniper will incur as a result, and whether it will be mentally, physically, or both. Dale and Hannah are preparing themselves for any disabilities that Juniper may have from the severe hydrocephalus.

Our families feel very helpless and I know this has been a difficult financial year for Dale & Hannah. So, in my attempt to help, I wanted to create this fundraiser to try to ease their medical financial burdens and take away as much stress as possible from them. Dale also plans to take extra unpaid time off of work to care for their other daughters & Hannah, who will be recovering from major surgery. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any help you can give! We all cannot wait to meet our sweet Juniper.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray for Juniper’s brain, that it would be protected from damage and healed; pray for the doctors who will be performing the surgeries - both for Juniper’s brain surgeries and for Hannah’s c-section surgery. Please pray for their whole family for rest, peace, strength, and comfort.

Thank you again for reading and for your prayers and support!

Hannah Johnson (sister/auntie)