A burst of support from the Kelowna community has taken some financial strain off a young family in an incredibly stressful time.
On Aug. 23, doctors told Marcus and Bethany Schmaling they needed to deliver their fourth child, Maisie, that night.
The only problem is that the baby girl wasn’t due for another three months, as Beth was only 27 weeks pregnant.
There was a possible blood clot in her umbilical court and doctors decided the only course of action to avoid life-threatening risks was an immediate delivery.
“We had not planned for this, really,” explains Marcus. “Her nursery at home was not ready, we weren’t ready. But she came to us that night, and this began quite the odyssey for the Schmaling family.”
Maisie’s premature birth was only the start for the family, as she needed surgery on her intestine and testing for brain abnormalities.
As a result, she’s been at the Vancouver Women’s Hospital NICU receiving special care, with Beth staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital.
Meanwhile, Marcus is back in Kelowna caring for the couple’s three older children, Elijah (8), Rafael (6) and Pascal (3).
While the family does get to spend weekends together in Vancouver, the financial strains have been significant.
Beth’s income has decreased while she’s on maternity leave, Marcus has taken an unpaid leave from work and the split life between Vancouver and Kelowna has increased the family’s expenses.
As a result, Marcus started a GoFundMe and the response from the Kelowna community was nothing short of astonishing.
Through just one day online, dozens of people have raised over $8,500 for the young family, well above their $6,000 goal.
You can visit the GoFundMe page and make your own donation, if you’d like, by clicking this link.
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