In honor of Toby, please consider donating to a cause near and dear to our hearts, the Ladybug Run for CDH Awareness. On May 18th of this year Toby would have been turning 13! At our 20 week ultrasound, we were told they couldn't get good pictures of our little boys' heart. We went on to see speciality doctors that diagnosed Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. The right half of his diaphragm hadn't formed, which allowed his liver to move up into his chest cavity. With a dense organ like his liver in the chest cavity, he couldn't form lungs on the right side. His heart also had malformations because of this. Prayers, Grief Counseling, talking with friends and family, and seeing every specialist we could, helped us navigate our situation. We took a trip to UCSF to see about a special surgery, but Toby didn't qualify. At 35 weeks Toby was born. The room was silent, no baby cries, he hadn't developed lungs. They held him up briefly for me to see him (cute curly brown hair), and whisked him away. Despite every effort, we were unable to save Toby. He passed peacefully in my arms after 2 hours and 22 minutes of life.
The Ladybug Run was inspired by the Race Director’s daughter Finley. All money raised by Ladybug Run goes towards research and helping families with a child with CDH in the hospital. (Hospital expenses average from $500,000 - $1M+, so some families are bankrupted by CDH). Many families travel thousands of miles to deliver at a hospital equipped to care for a CDH baby. This means incurring additional expenses of housing, gas, and food daily. Then, imagine those expenses and also having to cover a funeral? Or many of these fortunate children, who do come home, come home needing at-home nursing, oxygen support, feeding tubes, and numerous medicines. This Race helps those families. Your donation helps these families.
