Tiny baby with big needs
When Jodi and Nathan VanWoudenberg found out Jodi was expecting triplets, they knew they would need to move out of their one-bedroom apartment in Mount Hope and find a new home. What they didn’t realize was that their home would be the Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton for close to a year.
Their babies — two boys and a girl — were born 15 weeks early on Nov. 9, 2016. All three babies were under two pounds. Because they were born so prematurely (common for multiple births), they were whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at McMaster Children’s Hospital to be stabilized. Many of their organs were not fully developed. All three were hooked up to ventilators to help them breathe because of their underdeveloped lungs.
Eventually, two of the triplets, Liam and Taylor, were well enough to leave the hospital and join their parents at Ronald McDonald house. But baby Malachi continued to struggle. Among other things, his lungs were still severely compromised. On Oct. 3, 2017, he was discharged from the hospital — after 328 days. The entire family moved from Ronald McDonald House into a three-bedroom house in Canfield, about 30 minutes southeast of Hamilton.
But Malachi’s little lungs are still affected by chronic lung disease and he remains on a ventilator at home. Because his health is so fragile, he requires constant attention and care. While Nathan has been able to return to his job as a human resources professional, Jodi has had to give up her career as a support worker for people with disabilities.
The couple has been trained to handle any emergencies, but because two adults must be with Malachi 24 hours a day, the couple has had to hire a nanny to help Jodi with the other children. A private nurse is also required to watch Malachi while he sleeps during the evening so the couple can sleep. Driving anywhere also requires an adult sitting in the seat beside Malachi to keep an eye on him.
The loss of one income and the added expenses not covered by OHIP has created a financial hardship for the young couple. Nathan’s sister Corrine VanWoudenberg
started a fundraising campaign that raised close to $13,000 but the costs are constant. It’s expected that Malachi will require this level of care for two to three more years.
This Saturday, the Knights of Columbus in Caledonia will be donating money from its annual fundraising community cookoff to the VanWoudenbergs. Local businesses have all chipped in with goods and services to help.
Alex Komarniski, a member of the event’s committee, says they are hoping to top last year’s total of $16,000. “It’s a lot of stress,” he says, referring to VanWoudenberg’s situation. “Whatever we can do, we will do.”
Jodi, 24, says she is “very happily surprised and grateful” for the gesture. “Every
step of the way, people have rallied around to support us both emotionally and financially. We are blown away by the support we have been receiving since the triplets were born,” she says. She has kept track of their lives with a blog documenting the family’s journey from the beginning at http://november92016.blogspot.ca.