We knew prenatally that Olivia would be born with a rare congenital heart defect (CHD) that would require surgery at some point, but we never anticipated the emotional journey that would lay ahead for our new family. Olivia's CHD is the anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta. At 2 days old, Olivia underwent a catheter procedure and had a stent placed in her right pulmonary artery; the procedure went perfectly and we were set to go home. However, as we prepared for discharge on her 7th day of life, we were abruptly launched into the terrifying and unpredictable world of CHD. Olivia’s left lung suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed, and she went into cardiac arrest. It was the most terrifying moment of our lives, but she was letting us know that she wasn’t ready to go home yet. Olivia continued to live her first few months of life in the cardiac ICU and underwent 1 additional catheter procedure in preparation for open heart surgery on May 4th, 2020, in which she received her full repair! She was discharged only 5 days later just short of 3 months old. We spent every single day at the hospital with Olivia. A day didn't go by without us being there. Without our parking pass, we would have struggled to pay for daily parking rates. Further, when covid-19 hit and both parents weren't allowed to be there at the same time, our parking pass allowed us to enter/exit throughout the day and swap places so that we could both spend time with our baby girl which was incredibly important for Olivia and for us. We are so appreciative of the parking pass that allowed us this privilege! In the midst of the most difficult situation we have ever experienced, knowing that we had the parking pass gave us some relief.

Our family is so grateful to Some Assembly Required for providing a donated parking pass. As we prepared for our son Josh's Glenn surgery, we were expecting a long recovery stay. There were lots of stressors during that time, and we are thankful that the added burden of parking costs was not one of them. Thanks to SAR, we were able to be with Josh for the entirety of his recovery in the hospital.

First, I want to thank CCU parent Support-Some Assembly Required, for letting my family and I be a part of the amazing program. Although it may not seem important to others, it matters so much to us. My Irma has so far been diagnosed with Dextrocardia, LV dominant AVSD, Pulmonary atresia, severe hypoplasia of the right ventricle, and bilateral hearing loss. We originally came to Lurie’s on November 7th for an ear procedure with an overnight recovery time. However, her oxygen levels weren’t as stable as they should be when she was breathing on her own the following day. This carried on for the next two days and still no change. So, when I realized our overnight stay was unexpectedly going to turn into days, my main concern was being able to afford it all. I questioned how was I going to manage to stay here longer on the budget that I have without going completely broke? The answer was that I couldn't. I haven’t been able to work a day since Irma was born so money has been extremely limited. However, after reaching out, I was blessed enough to have been introduced to Some assembly Required’s parking pass program. Without it, I most likely would be hours away from my baby girl as she goes through the most crucial part of her life alone. So again, thank you for having us and for allowing us to continue to be as close as we can to Irma.

God Bless,
Jennifer (Mother to Irma)

Our son, Matthias, has been in the CCU at Lurie Children’s since he was born 15 months ago. We live about an hour north of the city and we commute downtown most days to be with Matthias. The parking expenses were really tough on us, on top of the hour commute there and back everyday. Now we are able to park at the hospital for FREE thanks to Some Assembly Required and all the amazing people who donated through them! Free parking is a huge weight and expense lifted off our shoulders, so we can continue fighting for our son everyday!

Melanie Wahl (Mother to Matthias - HLHS)

This pass for the parking lot was very helpful for us, because in 3 months and a half we would have spent about 2,000 dollars at the hospital. At this time my husband had leave his job to help me with Jesus in the hospital so we had no income. When they offered us the pass it was a respite, an expense we did not have to think about and to be able to enter and leave at any time without thinking about the extra expense or avoid having to take 2 lines on the train. Having the pass we felt confident to enter and leave the hospital at any time without having to think about paying each time.

Stella was inpatient at Luries for 127 days. At 5 days old she had her first open heart surgery called The Norwood. Thereafter, she had complications related to chylothorax, staph septic infection, and other surgery related issues. After 127 inpatient she came home to what is called “interstage:” a stage between Norwood and The Glenn to repair her Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She continued to be re-admitted for two more months with various cardiac catherizations and low oxygen saturations.

Then at 6 months old, she had her second open heart surgery The Glenn, thereafter and landing at home for 48 hours twice before having to go to the ER and back to the CCU, again suffering from many complications and needing other procedures to thrive. Her inpatient days totaled to 64 that time.
Stella is a twin; therefore, we had to divide our time between our baby in the hospital and our baby at home. We had to balance our jobs and loss of pay with unpaid leave and loss of business due to COVID.
CHD is a struggle and so are the parking fees when leaving the hospital to divide time between two babies and life outside the hospital walls (although 90% of life consists of the CCU floor during these surgeries). Some Assembly Required parking pass and community helped us through some of the hardest times of our lives. With the pass, we were able to be with Stella during the day and at night, diving our time between our twins. The pass allowed us not to be worried about financial strains of paying for parking every time we wanted to see and be with Stella. This pass gave us calmness in the storm. We are very grateful and thankful for SAR during our most vulnerable time. CHD takes a community and SAR gave us just that.

Stella was inpatient at Luries for 127 days. At 5 days old she had her first open heart surgery called The Norwood. Thereafter, she had complications related to chylothorax, staph septic infection, and other surgery related issues. After 127 inpatient she came home to what is called “interstage:” a stage between Norwood and The Glenn to repair her Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She continued to be re-admitted for two more months with various cardiac catherizations and low oxygen saturations.

Then at 6 months old, she had her second open heart surgery The Glenn, thereafter and landing at home for 48 hours twice before having to go to the ER and back to the CCU, again suffering from many complications and needing other procedures to thrive. Her inpatient days totaled to 64 that time.
Stella is a twin; therefore, we had to divide our time between our baby in the hospital and our baby at home. We had to balance our jobs and loss of pay with unpaid leave and loss of business due to COVID.
CHD is a struggle and so are the parking fees when leaving the hospital to divide time between two babies and life outside the hospital walls (although 90% of life consists of the CCU floor during these surgeries). Some Assembly Required parking pass and community helped us through some of the hardest times of our lives. With the pass, we were able to be with Stella during the day and at night, diving our time between our twins. The pass allowed us not to be worried about financial strains of paying for parking every time we wanted to see and be with Stella. This pass gave us calmness in the storm. We are very grateful and thankful for SAR during our most vulnerable time. CHD takes a community and SAR gave us just that.

When Demaiya was first born and admitted to Luries her parents would park far away and walk or park during free hours and be on the clock just to see their baby. They were in and out of the hospital many times in her first year of life but at just over 2 years old she needed a heart transplant. Her mom was 6 months pregnant when Demaiya was listed. After battling COVID she was listed for a transplant and When a Some Assembly Required parking pass became available to them they gratefully accepted and this is what they had to say.

“...{we knew Demaiya} was still going to be in the hospital for some time and we were offered the {Some Assembly Required} parking pass that could be used anytime, any day and it was in/ out for at least an month. That worked perfectly. You didn't have to wait for an social worker to bring a pass you can just come and go as pleased. It was good because on my doctor appointment days my mom would just come and we can switch out really fast. So she could actually see us both when switching I felt more comfortable. I had my baby in August and Demaiya was transplanted September 30th. The passes were still very helpful because it allowed my mom to be up there frequently without having to pay the parking meters while I went to visit my newborn. Demaiya was finally discharged October 23rd. Our team at Luries made everything perfect our stay there each and every time. I love you guys for everything!!”

Logan was in the the CCU for 61/2 month. So the cost of parking at the hospital adds up quickly. Having the pass from Some Assembly Required took away one more added expense. It also allowed us to come and go as needed to visit our other son. Thank you Some Assembly Required!
-Tracy (Logan’s mom)

My son Loran was born HLHS in Freeport IL and we had no idea he was born with 1/2 heart until he was 2 days old. When they told us they had to fly him by helicopter from Freeport IL to Oak Lawn, Chicago where he had 8+ years & many surgeries to fix his heart and then he transferred from Oak Lawn to Lurie’s Children’s Hospital & waited 7 months for a heart. And all those months waiting for a heart we were home away from home as we could stay at the Ronald McDonald house and all those parking passes we received. I don’t know how we were ever going to make it without all that help, thank you to everyone for all donations. We are forever grateful and do plan on to give back as much as we can .

As a heart parent that spent quite a bit of time at the hospital, I can personally say thank you and how grateful we were to have this. When you have to spend more than a month at a time in the hospital with your heart warrior, the last thing you are thinking about is paying for parking, and parking is not cheap. What this organization does- CCU Parent Support- Some Assembly Required is beyond amazing, and so incredibly helpful for all new heart mom and dads. People often ask how they can help, reach out to amazing people and organizations like this and see how you can help. Every little bit goes such a long way in helping a heart mom and heart dad out!

We are so grateful to CCU Parent Support- Some Assembly Required and generous donations that will support families allowing them to be able to have access to their child without the burden and worry of parking. Thank you for your incredible support CCU Parent Support- Some Assembly Required!