Pepper actually lives in Wyoming and has 3 other children at home. The drive to the hospital is over 8 hours one way. Pepper has asked the Ella Bullis Foundation to help her with travel and meal expenses when she is traveling to the hospital to visit her babies. The financial strain of traveling often to see her babies and care for those at home is extensive. In Aurora, Pepper can stay at the Ronald McDonald House when they have openings for $20/night. We have committed to helping her with the costs of the Ronald McDonald House stays and for meals at the hospital when she visits.

Will you help us provide help for Pepper and her baby boys? Any donation you provide will go directly to helping Pepper with her travel or meal expenses. A donation in ANY amount would be beneficial to us and to this family. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your help!!

Make a One Time Donation

If you would like to donate to help families like Isaac’s go here: https://ellabullis.donortools.com/my/funds/44436-Expanding-Our-Reach

as we bring the community together in celebration of premature lives lived and lost. We celebrate our daughters and sons, their sisters, brothers, and family, remembering the mark they left on our hearts and impact they’ve made on the lives of others. Together, we seek to raise awareness for families experiencing premature birth and infant loss in our community.

Together we will celebrate and honor the lives of our children and share their memories with other families and friends.

Event Details

Where: John Ball Park Zoo

When: June 2nd, 10:30-12:30

What is included: Games, face painting & balloons for the kids (and parents who are kids at heart), lunch (hot dogs, hamburgers, snacks), and all day admission to the zoo.

Cost: The cost for a family of 4 is $20. Additional or individual tickets are $6 dollars for adults (16yrs and up), $4 dollars for children (2yrs-16yrs), and children under 2 are free.

Registration: Registration for the event is required and you must register online here: June 2 Registration

Registration is limited to 200 guests. Registration deadline is May 29th.

Click here to register: June 2nd Registration

Sponsors

Interested in sponsoring this event? Contact Erin Magers at Erin@ellabullis.org

http://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/baby-health/special-needs/10-coping-tips-for-parents-with-nicu-baby.htm

Do you have a coping tip that you would like to share with other NICU parents? Leave your tips in the comment section of this post.

This article is helpful to learn more about the levels of NICU care and the staff members you may come into contact with during your baby’s time in the NICU.

http://preemies.about.com/od/allaboutthenicu/a/NICUPart1.htm

This article gives basic NICU information and history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonatal_intensive_care_unit

This article outlines some common conditions that are diagnosed and treated in the NICU.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/inthenicu_conditions.html

This site has several pages and articles to help NICU parents; from questions to ask your neonatologist to bonding with your preemie.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/ill/nicu_caring.html

This article provides insight into the average cost of a NICU stay.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8633874_average-cost-stay-nicu.html

Read the full article here.

Click for full size image

This is going to be a great event! If you or someone you know has experienced the loss of an infant this event will be a wonderful time of remembering and celebrating the memories of our babies.

For more details click on the image to download the flyer.

Event:

Zander’s Journey Benefit Concert

When:

October 17th, 7pm

Where:

Rush Creek Bible Church

Family’s Story

Baby Garcia passed away suddenly after a lengthy, complicated hospital stay.  He was on peritoneal dialysis and respiratory support due to his complex medical condition. His mother is single with three other young children at home.  She has been working through a temp service, but is struggling financially.  Her own mother died several years ago and her family support is quite limited.  She is connected with a funeral home and needs to raise funds to have Baby Garcia’s service as planned. Family members have tried to help but were unable to come up with enough money to cover the burial service fees. $1000 is the amount that is needed to cover the remainder that is owed to the funeral home.

How We Helped

We were able to raise the funds this family needed for their son’s memorial service. We worked with the funeral home and coordinated all of the financial details for this family.

Please take a minute to sign up to receive email notifications when we have a family that is in need of financial support.

Family’s Story

Parker was transferred to Helen DeVos Childrens Neonatal unit from way up north, because he had a suspected bowel problem. He was diagnosed with Hirschprungs disease and required bowel surgery. Parker will have ongoing medical needs, and follow up appointments. A few days ago, the parent’s car broke. Dad was stranded at Ronald McDonald House. Mom is back home as she does some home daycare. Dad is currently laid off. The estimate for the vehicle repairs is $730, but they are requesting $500 to supplement what they have. The family is unable to afford the total repairs on this vehicle they really need.

How We Helped

We were able to raise the $500 dollars that this family needed in order to get their only means of transportation fixed.

Please consider signing up to receive email notifications when we have families in need who are requesting financial support.

Family’s Story

Joel and I found out we were having twins due April 30 right before Thanksgiving.  It was a surprise, but a wonderful surprise like winning the lottery. We went for my 20 week ultrasound to a high risk OB to make sure everything was okay.  The technician pointed out right away the twins, girls, had Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). This meant some blood vessels on the placenta were going from one baby to another and not from mother to baby.  Faith was the donor, giving more blood and nutrients to the recipient, Chloe. The doctor put me on immediate bed rest and protein shakes. He was also going to consult with a doctor in Milwaukee that pioneet a laser ablation surgery.  The doctor in Milwaukee, Dr. De Lia called two days later and told me I needed to be in the car and in Milwaukee by that night as the babies qualified for surgery. Friday Dec 17, 2010 I had the surgery that lasered the vessels connecting baby to baby.  Everything went well. Dr. De Lia’s only concern was how long the babies could stay in the placenta as Faith didn’t have much room in the placenta and he was afraid she wouldn’t grow very big.  I made it six weeks on complete bed rest and Chloe Grace and Faith Jolene were born C-section on Jan 22, 2011.  Chloe weight 1 lb 11 oz and Faith just 14 oz.  We were fearful that they wouldn’t make it, but being born at 26 weeks was better than 24 or 25 weeks. Faith was more a concern because she was so small.  She did have a couple of set backs but things had started to improve.  They were in the St Mary’s NICU until Feb 28 when they moved to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital as they needed to have their eyes examed and St Mary’s didn’t have an eye doctor yet. Both girls were pretty stable, Faith needing more care because she was on a ventillator. She did have about a week in Feb. where she was on a CPAP machine and I got to hold her 3 times, I’m very thankful for that.  On March 4 at 1:28 AM Faith passed away.  It was sudden because we all thought she was stable. We will miss her as our daughter and as a twin (because twins do share a special bond that we were looking forward to seeing).

How We Helped

We were able to provide the $500 dollars that this family needed for their daughter’s headstone.

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