Daniel

 Meet Daniel

Daniel’s mom went into labor at 27 weeks pregnant and was quickly rushed to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center by ambulance from Santa Maria where she had an emergency C-section. Daniel was just over a pound at birth and needed to be fed through a nasogastric (NG) tube, his lungs were underdeveloped and he needed oxygen, and his right foot was pointing off to the side. 

Once mom was released from the hospital, she began commuting from Santa Maria to Los Angeles a few times per week to see her premature baby and leave pumped breastmilk at the hospital. It was expensive paying for gas to make those trips and she would spend the whole day at the hospital before driving back that same night.  If the situation wasn’t difficult enough, she also had a 1-year old son at home who very much needed his mom.  

After 3 weeks at UCLA, Daniel was transferred to Cottage Hospital shortening the commute but still an hour travel time and gas prices had shot up tremendously.  While at Cottage, Daniel became anemic and had a blood transfusion.  However, while at Cottage he also learned how to suck on a bottle and started to grow and thrive. The doctors continued to work with his foot and avoid surgery. After 3 weeks at Cottage he was then transferred to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria. 

During this time Hearts Aligned provided much needed gas cards to make the trip to UCLA and provided rental assistance as Adriana was getting back on her feet.  After 8 weeks in 3 different hospitals, Daniel went home and was reunited with his family and was able to meet big brother for the first time!  

Adriana expressed how unprepared she was for this event. Going into labor so early in her pregnancy and worrying about him and her other son, took an emotional toll on her. She felt so much stress about life, money and her family.  She told us that when Hearts Aligned stepped in to help,“I felt blessed during this most difficult time.”

We appreciate all of the support our donors have provided to ensure that families like Daniel’s can be together in the most difficult times.

We hope you will consider making a donation today!

 

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