In Willie's memory, we dedicate ourselves to the advocacy of families with babies in the NICU. Willie's story:
In March, 2019, our OB team found a large malformation in our baby's brain, while performing our 20 week ultrasound. We were immediately referred to the MFM team at Lurie Children’s. After months of close monitoring and sit downs with Lurie Children's, Willie was born by way of cesarean a
t Prentice in Chicago, on July 10th, 2019. Wilhelmina was just shy of 32 weeks gestation. The NICU team from Lurie Children’s was present. When Willie stopped breathing, they were there to stabilize her. The following day, Willie went down for the first of 7 surgeries, in an attempt to save her fragile life. To date, no one had performed an embolization on a patient so small. Miraculously, she survived. The surgery was enough to stabilize her. In the following months, she'd have two craniotomies, a leg amputated, and two more embolizations. Every single team member was compassionate, yet straight forward. We knew how serious our condition was. We knew that we might lose our baby, possibly even before delivery, due to heart failure. After three long months of fighting, Willie's journey came to an end. Her body was shutting down, one system at a time. We let our daughter go gracefully. It was and will forever be the hardest decision a parent should never have to make. Willie spent exactly 98 precious days on this earth, thanks to MULTIPLE teams at Lurie Children’s. They weren't just our nurses and doctors. They were confidantes on rough days, our child's caretakers, our friends -- our family. Please join us in making a difference for the patients cared for at Ann and Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, as a way to honor Willie, our warrior.
