My name is Lacy O’Callaghan and I am creating this fundraiser for my best friend, Nicole Collins, and her family. Nicole and Brent are joyfully expecting baby #4, a beautiful baby girl named Belle. To all of our shock, Nicole and Brent received the diagnosis of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) a congenital heart defect causing complete underdevelopment of the entire left side of her heart. HLHS is considered the most severe heart defect a baby can have. Though this is a devastating diagnosis, we believe in a God that is bigger than this, who can heal all things and give us strength to overcome all things.
HLHS requires 3 open heart surgeries in Belle’s fist 2 years of life, with the first one being within minutes to hours of being born. We are blessed that Nicole will be delivering at Stanford with an excellent neonatal team, however, this will come with costs. Belle will be in the NICU for 4-8 weeks, and Nicole will need to live in housing near the hospital to be able to be with Belle in the NICU.
This fundraiser will help the Collins family pay for extra expenses while Nicole is there, help with regular life expenses if Brent needs more time off, and help cover the insurance deductibles of this year and next year, as her surgeries will most likely be over the next 18 months.
We are also asking for specific prayer:
1. That God will heal Belle’s heart completely, if that is His will.
2. That Belle will have the best surgeons and that their hands will be guided by the Lord during surgeries.
3. That Belle has no other issues at birth and that this diagnosis only affects the anatomy of her heart.
3. That Nicole and Brent will experience complete peace during the pregnancy and during the labor. That they will feel Gods unhindering strength.
We are grateful for any donation you can give, it all adds up! We are even more grateful for your prayers.
Thank you!
