Ariel, 1 year old, NJ | NEEDED BY 08/29

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Ariel was born with special needs but seems to handle them with grace. She is fed through a feeding tube, which is used every three hours during the day and continuously throughout the night. Ariel attends multiple medical and therapy appointments each week, with visits to specialists in neurology, gastrointestinal health, orthopedics, and ophthalmology. Some of these appointments are located far from her resource home. Nevertheless, thanks to the dedicated care of her resource parents—especially a resource mom who is a pediatric nurse—Ariel is a sociable and happy child. She joyfully claps her hands for visitors and enjoys playing games of peek-a-boo.

Ariel’s resource parents have had difficulty finding medical caregivers and suppliers who accept her insurance. The most pressing problem at the moment is a lack of feeding bags. Insurance covers only one per day, and with so many feedings each day, they quickly degrade and must be carefully cleaned for reuse multiple times. If one breaks, there is no backup. It would be a great help in caring for Ariel if the resource parents had an additional case of feeding bags. It would give the resource parents peace of mind and make their long and demanding days slightly easier.