About the Campaign
My name is Tori Hoffman and Stephanie Knopp is my little sister. It is on my heart to share the struggles that Stephanie and her family face in hopes of surrounding her and her family with all of the love and support that they can get during this difficult time. Their story follows but first let me say that Stephanie and Todd did not ask for this help. In fact, when the idea to start a small campaign first surfaced they were opposed. As days have past and the future weeks look uncertain, they have agreed that they will need help. The greatest need at this time is prayer. That is followed by encouragement and finally financial and resource support.
Thank you for helping me love on my sister and her family.
Baby Layla's Story
Hi!
Our names our Todd and Stephanie Knopp and we are the proud parents of two amazing little girls. Our eldest daughter is named McKenna and she is almost 2, who, up until now has been our biggest priority and biggest joy in our lives! I say up until now, because she just recently (on January 7, 2014) had a little sister enter the world, and due to the complications of her sisters health has had to quickly learn that mommy and daddies attention would be split between the two of them.
Layla Rose Knopp is already a miracle in our eyes - born 4 weeks before her due date, she proved many people wrong by making it far past the 25 weeks we were told we would have to deliver her by.
At 18 weeks pregnant, Stephanie went in for her routine ultrasound (in our eyes really just to find out our babies gender), and were told we would have to return in a couple of weeks because they weren't able to see everything that they needed. We took it as a fluke and simply another opportunity to see our baby! When we returned at 20 weeks pregnant, much to our surprise they were still unable to see what they needed to and later were told that the amniotic fluid around our baby was low and that we would need to see Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) for a more detailed ultrasound to determine cause/treatment.
At 22 weeks pregnant, we went in for our first (soon to be MANY, MANY, MANY) appointments with MFM. It was confirmed at this point that yes, the amniotic fluid was low and we met with a perinatologist who explained to us the complications that could occur because of this. He also informed us that between the babies 18 week ultrasound and 22nd that they hadn't seen any growth and he was concerned that the two things could mean several complications (growth restriction, organ abnormalities (heart, kidney issues), and/or a genetic disorder such as Down's syndrome. We also were told that our baby was a little girl, but obviously at this point in the conversation, we realized that the gender was really the last thing for us to be concerned with.
At our next appointment her fluids had dropped into the danger zone, and her growth proved that she was not gaining anything, and she was diagnosed with Oligohydramnios (low fluids) and IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction), and we were told to prepare that at week 25 we would be in the hospital and probably delivering her soon after. Thankfully at her 25 week appointment we saw a slight increase of growth and fluids so we were able to stay out of the hospital for another week.
Fast forward several weeks (mainly because as many appointments as we had this could be a novel) and we had been having weekly ultrasounds and bi-weekly NST's to measure fluid levels, growth, and her placenta's Doppler flow, as well as to check to make sure she was not going into stress. During this time, it was an ever going roller coaster with one week fluids up and one week fluids down, several times her diagnosis of low fluids had even been removed , however the growth restriction was still a problem.
For the 3 weeks leading up to her induction, everything had been looking great! Fluids were relatively normal, and her size was in the 10th percentile (just at the tip of not being growth restricted), we really started to believe at this point that we could have a baby with NO ISSUES and us, as well as our family started to believe that maybe the doctors had been being over cautious about the circumstances.
At Stephanie's 36 week check up, Layla's growth had shot through the roof! She was now in the 25th percentile, and no longer IUGR! Unfortunately, her fluid went from 12.8 to 2 and Stephanie was told she would be induced that day. Reluctantly, we took their advice, still thinking that this was all for nothing and she would be a perfectly healthy little girl!
Stephanie's induction started on Monday evening and Layla was born on Tuesday night at 10:41pm! She was 5 lb. and 6.5 oz and definitely NOT IUGR! She was placed immediately on Stephanie's chest however immediately removed because she was having issues breathing. They informed us she would be taken to NICU (Neo-natal intensive care unit) and Todd followed the nurses as they took her.
Well that leads us to today. Layla has been in the NICU now for 6 days. During this stay we have learned that being premature really has nothing to do with Layla's issues, but because of the low fluids she encountered during the pregnancy, her lungs were not able to develop, causing them to be functioning at the capacity of a MUCH younger baby. She has been keeping the nurses on their toes daily and as they jokingly say "taking advantage of all their equipment". She has been slowly but surely doing better and we are thanking God daily for this! We still have no clue as to how long she will be in the NICU, but the doctors tell us their estimate is anywhere from a few more weeks to a couple of months (obviously rare for a 36 week old baby).
With all the amazing blessings we have been receiving in the form of love, encouragement and financial support, it is really no wonder we are making it through this very difficult time!
When we were approached about this fundraising campaign, our first instinct was to say "NO!", it was a little pride, but also because we felt so blessed, it seemed selfish to ask for help, but after a lot of prayer, some humbling time looking over the financial obligations, a few more nudges from our family to do it, we decided to humbly accept whatever blessings people in our lives were willing to offer.
We want to take time to recognize the love and support from everyone we have received and thank you all for all that you do! It truly has been overwhelming the love we are getting and it, along with trusting God is our biggest factor in getting through this time!
We love you all and are so thankful you are here in this journey with us because we could not do it alone!
Love,
-Todd, Stephanie, McKenna, and Baby Layla
1)Prayer. We believe that prayer has the greatest ability to positively change the course of direction for Layla and can help to sustain us emotionally and spiritually through this time. It is our belief that God answers the prayers of those who earnestly seek Him.
2)
Encouragement. We have set up a Facebook page for Layla and Stephanie and Todd love to read your comments of support and love. Please keep them coming!
3)
Meals/Childcare. If you are local, they can always use a little help with some grocery/meal help when they return from long days of errands, especially after eating hospital food as much as they are. Also, they have leaned heavily on family and church family to help take care of McKenna while at the hospital visiting Layla. Any time you can offer care for her at this time would be appreciated.
4)
Financial. As mentioned earlier, we are not certain how long Layla will be in the NICU nor do we know how long she will need extra help once she returns home. We are so thankful that medical bills are being covered through insurance plans! It is estimated that a week in the NICU can cost well over 100k a week! However, there are other areas that have the potential to create severe financial stress on the Knopp family. These include:
Gas and travel expenses
Uncovered medical expenses
Loss of income expenses (Todd is required to take unpaid leave during this time)
Daycare expenses (if needed)
Meal expenses while traveling
Unknown expenses caring for a premature baby
Finally, the Knopp’s have family and friends that span the globe. Please share Layla’s story with them. The more people we have praying for Layla, the better.
Let’s bring Layla home - healthy, safely and soon!
