Sending out an S.O.S.

Hi friends!

I am writing to you all to ask for some lovin’ on the Plein family.  As many of you know, Aaron and Susan, welcomed their second little girl, Margot Silvia Guinevere Plein on July 26, 2013 in Adelaide, Australia.  She came 8 weeks before her due date, and Susan had to be airlifted to the Adelaide hospital from their hometown.  Susan had a C-section and has been working to recover from the preeclampsia that threatened her and Margot when she was pregnant. 

Here’s the rub: due to Visa Regulations, Aaron is unable to work for wages in Australia for the first year he lives there, and he has only been in country a few months.  For the next 6 ish to 8 ish weeks, they need to stay with friends nearby the hospital so that Susan can feed Margot and recover from her surgery and other health concerns, and then they will be looking to move into the city to stay near that continuing care Margot will need as she grows.  Basically, this means that no one in the Plein family can earn money for a good two months, but they still have rent to make, gas to buy (their hometown is about 3 or 4 hours drive from Adelaide, where their oldest is staying with relatives and friends), etc. 

We are hoping that in lieu of a shower gift, or as part of your discretionary giving that you would consider sending a gift to the Pleins to help cover some of these bills.  If you can afford a certain amount from each paycheck, like me, then please consider giving multiple smaller gifts over time.  Any bit helps! 

Due to the wonky international currency exchange business, we are asking that you either write a check to John or Mary Plein and mail it to them (they can deposit it stateside in Aaron’s account that he has a debit card linked to that works overseas)

From Mary:

1. Send a check (made payable to Susan or Aaron Plein) 2. Mail to: Mary and John Plein, 33883 County Road 39, Pequot Lakes, MN 56472-36823. Greeting cards welcome too! Smaller, flat things I can forward for you until they get a permanent address in Adelaide.4. No gift card please, they are not transferable.Thank you in advance for your generosity. Please read on to understand why I am reaching out at this time...
Susan wrote... "I hope you are all doing well, and that you are relying on each other through this interesting season in our lives.  Aaron and I have somehow managed not to rip each others heads off yet 

I feel like our situation is genuinely unique - I don't think anyone has ever dealt with a preemie baby, unemployment (I officially quit my job on Wednesday), personal health concerns (my blood pressure is still up despite the medication), government bureaucracy (my Medicare and Centrelink cases, both of which have been in the works for literally months - and Margot's Medicare can't be processed until I have mine sorted out... It doesn't affect her treatment and it doesn't mean we have to pay for anything, so really it's a non-issue right now), moving house (we have decided to bid farewell to Bordertown and turn our sights permanently on the city) AND immigration all at once! When we spoke to the hospital social worker last Monday, she was kind of speechless, and then said she was really truly sorry but she wasn't able to help us! I don't blame her, this elephant is going to make for a lot of one-bite-at-a-time over the next year!!
As Calvin's dad would say, it builds character! "

 or we have set up a Paypal Medical Assistance Donation account that links directly to their Australian account so that you may donate online with your bank account or credit card information. 

Please pass this information on to anyone you feel would like to help out!

MARGOT UPDATE:  Margot has been downgraded from Intensive Care to the Special Care Unit. J  She is working hard to learn to suck and enjoying cuddles with her Mum!  She was 2lbs 13 ounces at birth and has nearly regained her birth weight.  She is off of all oxygen support.  She is still in her little “baby barn” to help regulate her body temperature (because at this point that takes too much energy away from growing!) and she has a tube into her mouth for feedings while she works on those sucking muscles!  She spends some time under the lights to keep jaundice at bay, but it is not a constant.  All of these things are very encouraging for such a wee one.  Please keep her and the Plein family in your thoughts and prayers.  She is in the 10^th percentile for size for her gestational age, so she is a little sweetie, and needs to work on that growing!

If you want to send a gift as well as contribute financially, you may send something to Susan’s parents’ house and they will bring it the next time they visit.  Here’s that info:

Susan Plein (or Margot Plein!) c-/ Michael Eckert 120 Woolshed St Bordertown SA 5268 Australia