Josie's Toesies
Josie's Toesies
Josie's Toesies
Josie's Toesies
Josie's Toesies
This campaign is closed
Josie's Toesies
Our daughter Josie was born in early April with a serious heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and major aortopulmonary collaterals (TOF/PA/MAPCAs), and was immediately transferred to Stanford for open heart surgery. We've been camped out in Palo Alto ever since, sitting by Josie's side, through her ups and downs in the Cardiovascular ICU, until the magical day we can finally take her home.
This has been the toughest thing we have ever gone through, both as new parents and as people who hate seeing children and babies in distress. It's been heartbreaking to see our little Josie so helpless, in discomfort, in pain, and with tubes and lines going in and out of her. And it pains us that we are unable to bring her home, love her, spoil her, and give her a normal start to life.
At the same time, we've been deeply touched by and grateful for the support and love our family has received from friends, relatives, colleagues, hospital staff, and other ICU parents. As cliché as it sounds, it really has made a huge difference — whether it's delivering meals, visiting us, or simply offering positive thoughts and prayers. It has all given us the strength we need to get through this trying time.
The hospital staff's sharpness, calmness, and compassion have also sustained us throughout our ordeal. Also incredibly helpful has been the Ronald McDonald House, which put us in a room near the hospital so we wouldn't have to drive back and forth from Berkeley every day, and given us a sense of routine and normalcy, which has been very helpful.
Another seemingly small gesture, but which helped tremendously by adding a little more normalcy to our stay, was when one of the nurses painted Josie's toenails with a red sharpie. It was a tiny touch, but it was deeply personal and helped us so much by adding a little joy to a hectic period in our lives.
Which brings us to our fundraiser.
We have been very fortunate in so many ways: in living so close to a hospital whose cardiac team specializes in and is world-renowned for treating Josie's condition, for being able to stay so close to Josie without spending tons of money on hotels, for having so many people who love and care for us step up and come keep us company, deliver meals (all the way from the East Bay, in often heavy traffic, no less), or just send us loving thoughts. And now, we would like to pay it forward.
We are raising money for both the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford and the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. And in honor of Josie's wildly-popular pedicure, we're going to base our fundraiser around that. You can help, too!
If you would like to participate, whether to donate or simply to show solidarity with Josie, here's how to do it:
1. Get a pedicure (or give yourself one at home), and get your toes painted in a classic red (think candy apple red, Revlon Red, or any other classy red nail polish). Yes, guys can get in on this too — in fact, we encourage it!
2. Donate however much you're able and willing to give using this platform. Give however much you feel comfortable with — every little bit helps! (And even if you can't donate anything, don't worry — you can still paint your toenails in solidarity!)
3. Post a picture of your painted toes on the social media platform of your choice with the hashtag #JosiesToesies in the caption, tag Jay and/or Jenny (usernames below), and include a link to this fundraiser with some words of encouragement for others to do the same.
Our social handles are:
Facebook: Jay Rooney or Jenny Rooney
Instagram: @RamblingRooney (Jay) or @jenilola729 (Jenny)
Twitter: @RamblingRooney (Jay) or @jenilola (Jenny)
4. You're all set! Thank you for participating in our fundraiser, keeping Josie in your thoughts, and helping other families who are going through similar situations.
*All proceeds will be split between the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford and the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.