Vail Valley Charitable Fund: The power of community in a time of crisis

One year ago, our lives changed forever — as most people say when they welcome their first child. But our experience began very differently than most.

What started as a routine checkup quickly escalated into an emergency. A few hours later, I was sent by ambulance to Denver due to severe preeclampsia and doctors’ suspicion that our baby boy had tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Little did Brian or I know that day would be the last time we would be home for the next four months.

Hunter was born via emergency C-section three days later at 33 weeks and four days, weighing just three pounds, four ounces. The doctors’ suspicions were confirmed — Hunter was born with TEF. He underwent surgery on his second day of life to correct the defect, the first of many procedures. In total, Hunter had eight surgeries, was medically flighted twice, and spent 150 days in the NICU.

The first time we brought him home, it lasted only one day. During that day, we had to perform CPR twice to resuscitate him, leading to the first medical flight back to Denver. The second time we made it home, we had three weeks before he was hospitalized again — this time in the PICU for four more weeks due to a severe respiratory virus and another medical flight.

Throughout all of this, Brian and I lived in Denver out of the suitcase he had packed in a panic the night I was sent down. We stayed with friends and at the Ronald McDonald House so we could be with Hunter every single day. Eventually, paid family leave ran out, and after both of us being unable to work for four months, financial stress quickly set in.

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Our human resources manager, Mackenzie, shared the Vail Valley Charitable Fund grant application with us, explaining that they had helped former employees through difficult times. VVCF was truly a blessing for our family. Their support made it possible for only Brian to return to work full-time while I could remain home, helping us adjust to caring for a medically complex newborn.

Hunter required round-the-clock care and constant monitoring — he was on oxygen, a pulse oximeter, and was fed through a G-tube. For a long time, our living room felt more like a hospital than a home. The VVCF grant alleviated an unbelievable amount of stress, allowing us to fully focus on our child.

What meant just as much was that Vail Valley Charitable Fund continued to check in with us throughout the year, following Hunter’s progress and genuinely caring about how he was doing. We are incredibly blessed to live in a community that shows up for its residents during their hardest moments.

Hunter turned one on January 23 and is doing amazing. He is now a completely healthy, happy little boy. He will never remember his rough start, but we always will — and we will always be grateful for the kindness, generosity, and support that carried us through.

Tiffany and Bri Gummow are VVCF grant recipients.