As many of you have seen, MrsScallop and her son Charlie have been going through the ringer.

Charlie was born in December with a multitude of health concerns, and has not yet been discharged for home. In the near future he'll be getting a tracheotomy, broviac IV line, and a feeding tube surgically placed so he can make his way home to keep healing and growing. Meanwhile, MrsScallop is splitting her time between the hospital with Charlie and home with her young daughter, 2 hours away. Whenever Charlie gets home, he'll be on ventilator and dialysis support.

MrsScallop initially reached out to me before Charlie was born since they knew about his heart issue early, and she had seen my blog posts on D's NICU journey - we've emailed back and forth since. Charlie's journey is quite a bit different from D's, but there are some unfortunate similarities and unique hurdles for him to overcome. MamaG, Winniebee and the other December 2014 moms have been there every step of the way with her as well! As you can imagine we all feel kind of helpless.

A few people reached out to me asking how to contribute... I thought we'd open it up as a fundraiser to the HB boards. I've started a GoFundMe page ( http://www.gofundme.com/n0510o ) which we'll keep open for two weeks. We plan to use the funds raised for a care package - focusing mostly on entertainment options and snacks for MrsScallop's older daughter, and then use the rest for a gift card for MrsScallop for food, gas, and other necessities.

I'll manage the GoFundMe funds, pick out & ship the care package and gift card(s). I'd love your suggestions for what specifically to get! I'll be sure to post a picture of what we send out so you can see how much your contribution is appreciated!

I'll also send out a group card so please let me know if you donate anonymously (or not under your HB name) so I can sign for you. If you would like her snail mail address to mail a card, please wall me or MamaG. MrsScallop is in Iowa, if there are any local bees who would like to drop by we can see about coordinating that as well.

Thanks for all of the support, we know that MrsScallop really appreciates all the thoughts and prayers you guys have been sending their way for months!

ETA: MrsScallop's initial thread is here: http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/prayers-and-good-thoughts-for-my-baby