In February, EKF helped a single mom from Des Moines, IA, as she cared for her 12 year-old daughter who underwent a heart transplant at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Mom needed help getter her car repaired so she could travel regularly between Iowa City to be with her daughter, and Des Moines to look after her young son. EKF also helped the family by covering parking expenses at the Ronald McDonald house during the months they spent at the hospital.
In June, EKF helped the Merseal family (See Charli Anna’s Story) during their daughter’s five month hospitalization. The family had incurred several thousand dollars in dislocation expenses related to the hospitalization. EKF helped cover much of their expense during that time.
In July, EKF helped a single mother of two keep up with her utility payments at home as she took extended time off from work to tend to her teenage daughter recovering from a heart transplant at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian.
In September, EKF helped the McDonald family from Washington state. (See Mia’s story). Little Mia McDonald waited four months in the PICU at Seattle Children’s Hospital before a donor heart became available. The wait was agonizing. EKF helped the family by sending gas cards to help offset their transportation expenses of getting back and forth between home and the hospital. While Mia’s Mom spent most of her time at the hospital with Mia, Mia’s Dad lost his job a few weeks after Mia was born. Their income dropped significantly and the family found themselves in a jam financially around the first of September. EKF made a single mortgage payment on the family’s behalf. A few weeks later, Mia’s Dad found another job and their financial situation stabilized. EKF helped them keep their heads above water, financially, while they dealt with the more pressing matter of Mia’s health.
In October, EKF helped a young family from Kansas as they relocated to Iowa City to await a heart transplant for their four year-old son. The family had asked for help coming up with a security deposit for an apartment near the hospital so they could wait for a new heart in the comforts of home as opposed to waiting in the hospital.
In October, EKF helped a single mom from Iowa as she transitioned home after her infant son’s hospital discharge. Her son had been born with a host of serious medical problems including a complex congenital heart defect. During her son’s three month hospitalization, mom had lost her job, her home, and many of her belongings. Her life seemed to be unraveling due largely to the stress brought by her son’s condition. EKF lent a hand and helped her get back on her feet after her son’s medical condition had stabilized and he was released from the hospital for the first time.
Throughout 2008, EKF helped a single mother in New York as she cared for her twin boys who had each had heart transplants at Children’s Hospital of New York. (See Johan and Tariq’s Story). EKF helped buy food and some pharmacy expenses not covered by the boys public assistance program. EKF also helped with transportation expenses to and from the hospital for post-operative follow-up visits.
In March, the EKF helped a family from central Iowa. They were forced to travel to a larger children’s hospital in Milwaukee to seek more definitive care for their 2-year-old son who suffers with a life threatening congenital heart defect. Outpatient lodging options at the children’s hospital in Milwaukee were limited. The EKF helped negotiate a lower nightly rate at a nearby hotel and paid the expense for a four night stay. Their little boy was able to get the care he needed. This effort was coordinated by social workers at the Children’s Hospital of Iowa and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The family had no resources available to pay this expense and no program was in place to otherwise meet their need.
In April, the father of a one and a half year old boy, hospitalized more than four months with a complex cardiac condition, approached his son’s cardiac social worker about a utility bill he could not pay and feared would be disconnected. This overwhelmed father had taken much time off from work to be with his son who was unstable for most of the hospitalization. The EKF paid the bill, and the father was very relieved and thankful for the assistance.
In June, a young family was finally able to bring their 6 month old son home from the hospital. He had been born with a severe heart defect and required multiple surgeries to repair his ailing heart. After a very stressful start, this baby boy was able to go home on several prescription medications not covered or only marginally covered by the family’s insurance plan. The family was overwhelmed by the financial challenges brought by the baby’s heart condition, and the EKF has been able to help cover some of the pharmacy costs in the early going, as the family transitioned back home.
In July, we began helping another Iowa family with lodging and meal expenses as they spent the summer in Iowa City getting necessary care for their young son with a complex congenital heart defect. The child’s hospitalization is ongoing some 4 months now after admission. The family finances have been severely strained by the lengthy hospital stay, and EKF has been instrumental in helping the family make ends meet during this trying and difficult time.
Also in July, we were asked to provide financial assistance for a family in New York. Their 8 year old son had been hospitalized for 6 weeks at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York- Presbyterian, waiting for a heart transplant. The family didn’t have the financial resources they required to keep up with dislocation expenses at the hospital and the bills at home. EKF was able to help this family financially as they were in the thick of it all. The young boy received his transplant and was discharged from the hospital within a couple of weeks. He continues to do well today. His is a remarkable story, and we hope to tell the story in greater detail in the near future.
In August, a young Iowa family welcomed their new son into the world. They had no idea their little one would be born with a severe congenital heart defect. The baby was listed for a heart transplant before he was one week old, and miraculously received the transplant at just 16 days of age. The family was understandably overwhelmed by the circumstances of the situation. EKF was asked to help the family cope with the demands of their unforeseen circumstances which required both parents to be away from work for the duration of the hospitalization, some 6 weeks. The Foundation responded by making a single mortgage payment to their mortgage lender, on behalf of the family. The baby did extremely well post-transplant and was discharged in relatively short order. We’re told the baby continues to do well, today. The family was very grateful and credits this gesture by EKF as having enabled them to keep their heads above water, financially, during their crisis.
In October, the Foundation was asked to help a family from New York. Their 12 year old son has suffered from severe pulmonary hypertension for the last 7 years. The boy is on IV prostacyclin, a potent intravenous medication delivered into his bloodstream 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Since his diagnosis, he’s been hospitalized numerous times with infections and complications, and has now developed severe right-sided heart failure secondary to his pulmonary hypertension. He’s currently awaiting a lung transplant. EKF was approached to help with some dislocation expenses related to his recent hospitalization. This young man and his widowed mother have been through so much. EKF was happy to give them a break, and help them out financially during this past month.
In October, EKF helped another family who had traveled a great distance to seek treatment for both of their twin 3 year old sons. Both boys had been diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy. One of the boys had heart transplant a couple of months ago. The family remains in NY for follow up care, and won’t be returning home for several months yet. A few years back, the family had lost their first child suddenly, at age 2, to a previously undiagnosed heart condition. EKF provided assistance with some of their current housing and living expenses as they continue to wait for medical clearance to return home.
In November, EKF helped a single mom in Arizona whose 5 year old daughter required open heart surgery to repair a complex congenital heart defect. The child was hospitalized for only one week, but required constant observation and care for the first 4 weeks post-discharge. During this time, the child’s mother was not able to work to support the family and had no reserves to tap to get them through the post-operative period. EKF helped out by making a single rent payment which enabled this single mother of two to keep up with demands at home while her child recuperated after surgery.
