There has been a flurry of activity over the last few days at the Nikolas Foundation. We have helped three families that fit directly into our mission statement.
The first, because of the families request for privacy we can’t talk about but rest assured, we took their largest expense for the month off their list and they will have one less thing to worry about.
The second, a beautiful little girl named Paisley, was born with multiple anomalies that were finally linked to a diagnosis of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CDLS) that is a genetic disorder usually due to a mutation in one of seven important genes at or shortly after conception.
Paisley has been in the hospital since the first week of April and has an emergency tracheotomy, a GI tube placed and has been diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a heart problem that is transposition of the great arteries and stenosis and Micrognathia ,an underdeveloped lower jaw.
As you can imagine, taking care of Paisley and the hospital visits along with long job absences have put tremendous pressure on this family and their finances. As we worked with the Social Workers at Primary Children’s we identified a number of immediate needs.
First, her car had broken down and she had been unable to pay her car insurance. She was able to get a friend, who is a mechanic, to agree to fix her car. We got a list of the parts needed and, working with her local auto parts store bought all the parts so she could get it running again.
Second, we contacted her insurance company and paid the re-instatement penalty and a months insurance so that once she got the car running again, she could use it.
Finally, we contacted her landlord and paid for her rent for a month. All expenses that she will not have to worry about and she can focus on getting Paisley home.
The third family had an unexpected pregnancy and Carolina was born mid-August. Carolina was born with multiple anomalies and
Downs Syndrome. As, unfortunately happens more than most know, Dad decided it was too much and left mom to deal with all this.
With the CORONA pandemic and having to take so much time off, Mom lost her job. With no family she was basically alone dealing with this.
After speaking with the Social Workers, she has gotten a new job that will start next month. She has been able to get food stamps, for the first time in her life as a bridge to starting work.
Unfortunately, she has been unable to pay her rent. We got all the information, spoke to her landlord who was very understanding, and sent a check to cover her past due rent.
As she starts her new job, she can now focus on repairing her financial situation and bringing Carolina home. We will continue to monitor this one to see if there is additional help needed.
As always, we are humbled by the struggles of these special families. We are honored to be able to step in and take away some of their financial stress and help them on the road back.
We once again thank those who believe in our mission and have contributed to our cause. As always, if you want to donate we are a 501(c)(3) organization that will allow you to deduct any donations.
You can donate at: https://nikolasfoundation.org/donate/
