I've set up this fund for my little baby niece, Piper Bailey, and her family. Piper is in the ICU with a G.I. tract infection and RSV, which is a respiratory infection. We almost lost her last night. I choke up thinking about how close we came to losing her.



Piper was born premature a little over two months ago on August 16 this year. She is too young to be going through this and her family has been through so much already.



My sister and her husband have reached a point where they are in need of help. Many have offered to send flowers and food but this is what they really need right now. I wouldn't be asking if they weren't desperately in need at this point. I'm sure you are familiar with how bad the American medical/insurance system is and they need assistance with medical bills because they haven't reached their deductible for the year yet and they were already hurting after my sister's hospital stay.



As some of you already know, my sister was already in the hospital for a month due to her own health problems while giving birth to Piper. Donnie (Piper's dad) can't work when he's at the hospital and my sister Nancy (Piper's mom) cannot work. My parents are taking shifts taking care of Jameson, my 3 year old nephew. The money will also help cover the expenses of feeding the family while they are stuck in the hospital with Piper and help pay their regular bills since Donnie's paychecks will be lighter if he isn't able to work his normal hours.



Piper developed a G.I. tract infection over a week ago and has been projectile vomiting since. She's been in and out of the hospital for that. We thought she was getting better.



This is what happened to Piper yesterday in her mother's words: "Yesterday Piper woke up happy and alert. She was doing better after Friday's shots and the dairy free diet seemed to be helping. Then at 10 am she went down for a nap. She didn't really wake all the way up after that.



She fussed so I changed her diaper and she nursed for only a few minutes. She never opened her eyes. I figured she had shots Friday. She was tired. She slept. Again later diaper, tiny feeding. She sleeps. Her eyes don't open. We go to the grocery store. We ran into friends and chat. I have been more worried. She sleeps. We get home she screams we change her diaper. I feed her only a few minutes. She is lethargic. After sternum rub a few times she screams and then goes dead quiet. She sleeps. I realize she is not okay. I call the nurse line and they say call an ambulance or go to the ER NOW!



My mom and I go with Piper. Donnie needs to work. It's probably just a bad reaction to shots. We go in. Sign in. Triage. Room. A nurse comes in. Piper goes into decels. Her oxygen saturation plummets. The nurse ran out and seconds later returns with another nurse and a crash cart. In the next 5 minutes we see 3 doctors and many nurses. They attempt to put in an IV and Piper is minimally responsive. They tell us we have to move to a trauma room. They scooped Piper up and ran. They ran with my baby in their arms to machines to keep her alive. The doctor kept us away to explain what they saw. Piper is very sick and getting worse quickly. He rattles off some possibilities. All of them horrifying. I ask three times if I can be with her. Then they let me go to her trauma room. Mom and I get there and Piper is screaming bloody murder. They got an IV in her and she needs a second. They have started antibiotics because they think she is septic. They try and draw blood. There are monitors. Piper stops screaming and goes dead silent. She stopped breathing. She is completely unresponsive. I hold her head and beg, she breathes. She is screaming again, now unresponsive. She is still breathing. Not again. In and out. They summon a chaplain without request. Mom and I lock eyes. Our friend Ryan has Donnie in a car heading to the hospital. Xray, CT, spinal tap, more antibiotics. She breathes. She stops. She breathes. She stops. Donnie arrives. We hold each other and her. She breathes...



They got her to stay responsive. We will be transferred to ICU. That was close. She is a lucky one. She has RSV. We will be in isolation. She was so strong. She stops breathing. Breathe! She does. ICU is great. She only stops for a few seconds every couple minutes. The doctor warns it could get worse. So we sit and wait and love her."



Today Piper has stopped breathing three times as of the last time I spoke to Nancy. They have also discovered she has a PFO (small hole in her heart) just like her mother. They will need to keep an eye on that. The doctors say she will be in the ICU for at least another 24 hours.



So we sit and wait and love her.



Please give anything you can. Every little bit helps.



Thank you so very much.



Love,

Aunt Dana

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