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(English version below)
L’histoire
Damien n’était pas attendu avant le mois de mars. C’est pourquoi, quelques semaines plus tôt, sa maman avait décidé de quitter pour de petites vacances en Floride avec des amies, sous l’approbation de son médecin traitant. Après maintes recherches pour se trouver un assureur qui accepterait de la couvrir lors de son séjour à l’étranger, la jeune femme de 24 ans, enceinte de 32 semaines, ne parvint pas à se trouver un assureur. Toutefois, puisque sa grossesse se déroulait parfaitement, elle prît la décision de s’envoler vers Miami, le 6 janvier 2014. Mais Damien, lui, avait d’autres projets en tête! Toute une surprise pour maman, qui quelques heures seulement avant son retour au Québec et contre toutes attentes, creva ses eaux et dû se rendre d’urgence à l’hôpital Mount Sinaï de Miami. La nouvelle s’est rapidement rendue jusqu’à sa ville natale, Sherbrooke, où sa sœur aînée et le père du bébé ont décidé d’aller rejoindre la maman rapidement afin de lui offrir leur soutien. Heureusement, ils sont arrivés de justesse à l’hôpital, juste à temps pour accueillir le nouveau-né, né le 12 janvier 2014, tard en soirée. À sa naissance, Damien pesait 4.04 lbs et mesurait 17 pouces. Poids normal, considérant qu’il est né à 33 semaines, soit sept semaines plus tôt que prévu. Malgré sa petite taille, bébé est en santé tout comme sa maman!
Une facture monstre
Malheureusement pour les parents, donner naissance à un enfant en sol américain coûte excessivement cher. Imaginez les coûts reliés à un accouchement prématuré. Dès sa naissance, Damien a été placé en incubateur afin de le garder au chaud et de lui fournir de l’oxygène. Sachant que les frais médicaux s’accumuleront rapidement, les services consulaires canadiens leur ont recommandé de prendre une avion-ambulance qui les ramenerait au Canada dès que l’état du bébé serait stabilisé. Âgé d’à peine cinq jours, Damien a entrepris son premier voyage aérien, pour l’impressionnante somme de 28 000 CAD$, payable dès leur entrée dans l’appareil. À cela s’ajoute diverses factures : frais d’accouchement, honoraires des docteurs et du personnel soignant, location de la chambre et de l’espace en pouponnière pour le bébé, coûts de l’incubateur, de l’oxygène et des divers médicaments… pour une somme additionnelle de 40 000 USD$, soit près de 44 000 CAD$.
Levée de fonds
Si nous vous demandons votre aide aujourd’hui, c’est pour aider la famille Maréchal-Gendron et ainsi donner un meilleur départ dans la vie de Damien. Sa maman, Annie Maréchal, est éducatrice en CPE et bénéficiera pour les prochains mois que du maigre salaire octroyé par le Régime québécois d’assurance parentale (RQAP). Et que dire de la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) qui couvrira moins de 1 % de la facture totale? Son papa, Jonathan Gendron, qui est travailleur de la construction, fera un retour prochain aux études. Les grands-parents des deux familles ont fait tout ce qu’ils pouvaient pour rapatrier leur petit-fils au Canada et ont déjà bien rempli leurs cartes de crédit afin de financer l’avion-ambulance. Alors que faire?
Nous croyons qu’avec la générosité de tous, il sera possible de faire une différence dans la vie du petit Damien. Nous vous remercions déjà de votre générosité et nous vous serions reconnaissants de parler de Damien dans votre entourage. Ensemble, nous pouvons faire la différence.
English
The Story
Damien wasn't expected until the month of March. This is why a few weeks earlier, after having obtained her doctor's stamp of approval, his mother decided to leave for a much needed vacation in Florida with a few of her close friends. After several attempts at finding an insurer who would accept to cover her week's stay outside the country, the young 24 year old mother is left without luck. Given that her pregnancy was going perfectly fine, and that she had obtained a clean bill of health from her doctor, she made the decision to fly out to Miami, FL on January 6th, 2014. Unfortunately, the little Damien had other plans on his mind! In fact, he had quite the surprise for his mother, who against all expectations broke her water just a few hours away from her return flight home to Sherbrooke, QC. The young woman had no choice but to rush herself and her unborn child to the hospital of Mount Sinai in Miami, FL. The news rapidly reached her hometown, where, her older sister and Damien's father decided to take the next flight out to Miami in order to offer her their support. Thankfully, they arrived at the hospital just in time to welcome the little one into the world in the late evenening of January 12th 2014. At the time of his birth, Damien weighed an astoundingly light 4.04 pounds and was measured at only 17 inches in length. This being considered the expected size for a premature baby born 7 weeks before his due date, he was also given a Doctors' clean bill of health much like his mom!
A monster of a bill
Unfortunately for the parents, giving birth to a child on American soil implies excessive costs. Imagine the fees related to a premature birth. From birth, Damien was placed in a incubator in efforts to keep him well oxygenated and warm. Knowing that the medical fees would cumulate very rapidly, the consular services of Canada recommended to the parents to fly Damien back home in a Ambulatory care plane as soon as his physical condition was stabilized. At less than 5 days old, the little Damien undertook his first ever flight, for the impressive sum of 28,000 CAD$ (payable before boarding the aircraft). In addition to this bill, a number of special care services were charged to the new family including; labor fees, doctor and medical personnel fees, room rental and space in the nursery, incubator costs, oxygen and multiple medications... for an additional sum of 40,000 USD$, close to 44,000 CAD$.
Fundraiser
If we ask you for your help today, it is in order to help the Maréchal-Gendron family in order to alleviate costs in order to provide a better start in Damien's life. His mother, Annie Maréchal, works as an educator in specialized teaching programs and will only earn, for the next months, the mince salary granted by the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). And what is there to say about the ''Régie d'assurance maladie du Québec''? who will only cover about 1% of the total cost. His father, Jonathan Gendron, a construction worker, is soon returning to school. The grand-parents from both sides of the family have already put together everything they could in order to bring their grand-son back to Canada, maxing out more than one credit card in order to finance the flight in ambulatory care. So, the family asks themselves, what now? We strongly believe that with everyone's generosity, it will be possible to make a difference in little Damien's life. We can't thank you enough already for your help and encouragement, we are so appreciative and make sure that Damien knows he is surrounded by people who care. Together, we can make a difference.
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