On May 17, 2024, my grandson Alexander David, who is 3.5 years old went to the emergency room for a tummy ache, vomitting, and fever. The true diagnosis slipped through the doctor's fingers and he was thought to have a stomach bug and ear infection, but this was not the case. He actually had appendicitis and by the time this was realized a full 10 days later, his appendix had already ruptured and he was diagnosed with appendicitis with a ruptured appendix and an abscess. It was determined that due to the severity of his condition at the time, it would be too risky to perform an appendectomy. Instead, he was admitted for a week long stay in the hospital in order to get enough antibiotics in his system to help calm down the infection in his abdomen in the hopes of a safer surgery within a six - eight week time frame. Alex was sent home after the antibiotic treatment, and his surgery date was scheduled for July 19. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and Alex was not okay to await surgery for that long. The abscess did not close and he had to once again go to the emergency room on July 1st due to pain, vomitting, and fever. After a long day of bloodtests and scans, Alex was taken in for an emergency appendectomy. The surgeon said that the infection had been continuing to fester and the poor baby was probably in chronic pain for this entire time. He would spend another three days in the hospital and is still recovering from the surgery with family. While all this was going on with Alex, his mother - Juliet, who is currently 31 weeks pregnant with his sister, Shana, received some heartbreaking news. On June 27, we learned that Shana has been diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This is a rare condition in which the left side of the baby's heart did not develop correctly and is a life-long diagnosis which will require multiple heart surgeries and potentially a heart transplant later in life. Shana's first heart surgery will need to take place within the first three days of her little life and she will be expected to spend an extended amount of time in the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care Unit) floor of the hospital should she survive this surgery in preparation for her next surgery before being allowed to go home with her parents. There are so many uncertainties right now facing the family and we are all praying for successful outcomes of the heart surgery for Shana and preparing for the life-long care she will need as the next steps. The care for her throughout her life will be extensive and Juliet's delivery team has grown to multiple specialists and constant doctor's appointments. On July 4th, the same day that Alex was released from the hospital, Juliet began experiencing contractions and spotting. She was rushed to the hospital where they confirmed that her body was beginning labor and she was given magnesium, fluids, antibiotics, and steriods to try and stop her labor while also preparing for a pre-term delivery of Shana if the efforts were to fail. Thankfully, the efforts were successful, and Shana stayed in the womb for now. Juliet, meanwhile, has been placed on 100% bed rest through the rest of her pregnancy and is still recovering from the stress of the diagnosis for Shana and the traumatic experiences with Alex's medical scares. Both parents, Juliet & her husband, Aaron, have missed work and faced a tremendous amount of extra expenses from the multiple hospital stays over the past two months while anticipating additional longer stays for Shana in the very near future. This family is struggling emotionally and financially as Juliet is unable to work while on bed rest and Aaron lost his job for missing time. He has secured a new position that will allow work from home capabilities so he will better be able to help with Shana once she is born as she will need 24 hour care with a heart monitor and will not be able to attend public daycare. This does also mean, however, that he will have a gap in pay during the transition. The couple is also preparing for the upcoming delivery plans where Juliet will have to deliver via ceasarean section and spend time in one hospital for recovery while her brand new baby girl, Shana, is transferred to the adjoining children's hospital for her surgery prep. Because of the risks for the baby with her heart condition, they cannot guarantee whether Juliet or Aaron will get to hold the baby before her transfer to the other hospital. It is possible that Juliet may still be at one hospital when her brand new baby girl is going into heart surgery at another hospital. The couple is already falling behind on bills and not sure how to make ends meet while still doing whatever they can to keep mom and both children healthy and healing. Any help in relieving some of the financial strains they are currently and/or about to face is greatly appreciated and will be used in the best way possible to cover medical bills and monthly necessities.
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