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London was born 11 weeks early because I had severe preeclampsia.  She was only 2 pounds 6 ounces with not an sliver of fat on her poor little body.  While in the hospital, she was on oxygen, had a feeding tube, went under the jaundice lights, and had many tests done to ensure everything had developed correctly.  She would stop breathing very frequently and her heart rate would drop extremely low.  Towards the end of her stay, she struggled tremendously with feeding.  She just couldn't get that she had to breathe while eating.  I saw her start turning blue several times and about had a heart attack myself! It would take a good hour just to feed her 2 ounces. 

She is now home and has come a long way.  She is 7 pounds and remembers to breathe while eating most of the time.  It doesn't take as long to feed her either.  She is very strong and is growing at an adequate pace.  She still has a hole between the two upper chambers of her heart, but the doctor is hopeful that she will not have to have sugery to fix it.  The doctors also said that if she ever gets sick, she will 9 times out of 10 end up in the ICU.  I know we still have a journey ahead of us, but we have overcome the worst part and are so thankful that she has done so well throughout the process.

Now for the financial part.  I (mom) actually had to take unpaid leave from work because of her early arrival.  We spent a total of $1200 in gas going back and forth to the hospital every day because it was a little over an hour away.  We couldn't stay at the hospital because we have a 2 year old that was not allowed to stay there and dad worked.  We bought a $300 owlet to monitor her heart rate and breathing since she had so many issues in the hospital.  And the bills are absolutely outrageous!  Even after my insurance, I already feel as though we are going to be in debt forever and we have only received a few bills... Sorry London, we will be handing down the remaining balance to you when we die! Congratulations on your big win in our will! lol 

But in all seriousness, every little bit helps and we can never thank you enough for you contribution!  We never wanted to resort to this, but things are getting really difficult already and then there is the price of formula and diapers and the future co-pays and doctor bills and food for our family... it's just all getting overwhelming.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping our family in our time of need.