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Cloverdale family fundraise to bring mother, premature newborn home from Ontario

Mackenzie Friesen was on vacation, 25 weeks pregnant, when she went into labour
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Parents Ryan Kentel and Mackenzie Friesen, with newborn baby Parker. (Contributed)

Surrey grandmother Shelly Friesen just wants her daughter and her newborn grandbaby to come home.

The two are in Ontario, after her daughter Mackenzie went into premature labour and had to have an emergency c-section. It happened in early September, while Mackenzie was on a one week vacation to visit her fiance’s aunt and uncle. She was 25 weeks pregnant.

Shelly was at home in Cloverdale when she got the call and it was “pretty terrifying,” she said.

Mackenzie was rushed to a hospital in Waterloo, where they stabilized her before transferring her to McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. According to Shelly, doctors were able to keep Mackenzie on bed rest and delay an emergency c-section for nearly a week.

Baby Parker was born at 25 weeks and six days, and she was immediately put in the neonatal intensive care unit.

When Mackenzie was discharged, she moved to a nearby Ronald McDonald House. Her fiance Ryan stayed in Ontario for as long as possible, but was eventually forced to return to work in Pemberton, B.C., as bills were beginning to pile up.

Having her family spread across the country during “such a stressful and scary time is exhausting and heartbreaking,” Mackenzie said.

The family is struggling to find a way to get Parker transferred home to BC Children’s Hospital, as the move isn’t covered by medical insurance or travel insurance.

There is one solution, Shelly said. A fully equipped medevac would be able to care for the preemie during the flight to B.C., but it would require an out-of-pocket cost upwards of $30,000. Shelly said she has spoken with social workers at the Hamilton hospital, to try and find other solutions. So far, this is the only one that has been offered.

As well as being closer to home and family, Mackenzie wants Parker to return to B.C. so she can start getting to know her future caregivers at BC Children’s Hospital.

“B.C. doctors will be Parker’s medical team once coming home to follow her through early childhood watching her development, and we feel it very necessary for them to know her as a preemie in a NICU setting to help them better treat her in the future,” wrote Mackenzie on an online fundraising page.

Without the transport, Shelly said that the earliest Parker could come back to B.C. would be in late January.

“They’re basically saying they won’t let Parker go until January, when she is able to completely breathe on her own,” she said, explaining that the baby would be flown on a commercial flight, accompanied by doctors.

But the timeline is uncertain. “It’s one of those things you can’t really say for sure, because she changes day to day.”

Fundraising efforts

The Friesen family started raising funds for a medevac transport in early October, and a GoFundMe page has since raised $12,622.

Shelly is now organizing a pub night fundraiser in Cloverdale, where Mackenzie grew up and attended Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary.

The Sunday, Dec. 9 fundraiser will take place at Dublin Crossing Irish Pub (18789 Fraser Highway), from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $20, and include a burger and a drink. There will also be a 50/50 draw, a silent auction and a donation box.

For more information, or to reserve tickets, email Shelly Friesen at sweetparkersnana@yahoo.com.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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