NICU Medical Expenses

Dear Friends and Family,

We are raising money to help Leah and Chris cover the unexpected expenses from medical bills and loss of income that come with the pre-term birth of their daughter Lake at 28 weeks (about 3 months early - see full birth story below). Lake is doing well, but they have incurred some heavy costs by staying longer at the hospital to be near her in the NICU (the private rooms necessary for both of them to stay there are over $1000/night and are not covered in insurance), and for the next few months they are not going to be able to work as much as they sit by her side and learn to care for her at the hospital and travel the hour back and forth from the hospital every day. So, we are asking if you would like to help them through this challenging time with a small donation that will help them to be present for Lake and to cover the expenses of her birth. We would be so grateful for your support to help Leah and Chris to be with their child in this time.


Birth Story:
Lake was born on Sunday April 21, 2019 at 11:56am in an emergency c-section at 28 weeks. She is in the NICU and will be for some months, but she is strong and looking good. We are so blessed to have her. Leah is doing well after surgery too. We initially went to the hospital because Leah noticed a slight decline in fetal movements during the day on Saturday. We really thought we were being overly cautious and would be sent home shortly thereafter. While Lake was indeed moving, the doctors kept us over night for monitoring because her heart rates were not reassuring to them. While being monitored over the night, it became clear to the doctors that there were irregular dips in her heart rate that were increasing over time. Eventually, they believed there was an impending emergency and that baby would be better off outside then inside. While we were in shock at the rapid turn of events, we agreed with the doctors and Leah bravely went into surgery. We are so happy that both Leah and Lake came through well, and our little girl is here with us. After leaving the operating room the doctor told Leah: "you saved your baby's life by coming in when you did."