Thirty-eight-year-old Courtnie Bailey cherished the dream of raising a child even if she was single. She was elated when she became pregnant through in vitro fertilization. But Courtnie's dream of motherhood took an unexpected turn when her pregnancy faced a grave challenge. At just 23 weeks, she went into early labour. This was critical: babies born at 23 weeks have barely a one-in-three chance of survival.

Courtnie was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where on Monday, July 29, she gave birth by caesarean to Rayn Chancellor Bailey. Her baby, extremely premature, weighed just 600 grams and was immediately brought to The Montreal Children’s Hospital’s (The Children’s) neonatal intensive care unit. His lungs were severely underdeveloped, and he required respiratory support and to be placed in an incubator, a controlled environment that helps babies stay warm and safe while their vital organs develop. Thankfully the little fighter pulled through.

Rayn will be home for the Holidays!

Rayn now weighs a little over 3.2 kilograms and is free of the incubator where he spent seven weeks. While his respiratory and immune systems will still require medical attention, he was finally strong enough to leave the hospital after nearly four-and-a-half months. Courtnie couldn’t have been happier. “I can't wait to get home with my baby and get down to a normal life," she says.

Many families face financial stress when their child is ill

But Rayn's journey hasn't been easy for Courtnie either. She, like many families with severely ill children, faced extreme financial distress. She stopped working as a pharmacy assistant to be at her son's bedside. The Children’s social worker Victoria Coles-Gamache says the cost of staying at the hospital with your sick child, combined with the lost income, can be crushing.

"When we can address some of the financial concerns of families, we can see right away that we have alleviated a certain amount of their stress." Money was indeed a source of worry for Courtnie, when she would have preferred to focus all her attention on her baby.

This is where The Children’s Foundation came into the picture. Thanks to gifts from donors like you, the Tiny Tim Fund provided Courtnie with monthly parking passes, gas vouches for her daily trips to and from the hospital, and meal tickets at the hospital cafeteria. The P.K. Subban Foundation, a close partner of The Children’s Foundation, provided money to help with the new mum pay for other expenses.

An emotional Courtnie says: “All of us together made this work. The love and support the people at The Children’s and The Children’s Foundation gave me and my child – they’re all so incredibly inspiring.”

Your Donations Help Families in Financial Distress

The very grateful mother wants donors to know how vital their generosity has been to her and other families like hers: “Thank you a million times over! Because of you, I could focus on my child’s well-being and not worry so much about my financial situation. One day, we’ll be able to take our turn to help others in need.”

In the meantime, Courtnie is grateful she will be home for the holidays with her precious baby. There can be no big family gatherings for now: Rayn’s immune system isn’t strong enough to meet the world. “It will be the two of us at home for Christmas.”

Another beautiful story for the holidays!