How to donate
Sugar River Bank branches in Monroe, New Glarus and Brodhead have established a fund in the name of Ava Rose. Contact them if you wish to contribute. Donations are tax-deductible.
• Monroe: 325-3025
• New Glarus: 527-5275
• Brodhead: 897-8607
MONROE - She turned just six months old Saturday, but in a few weeks Ava Rose Osbaugh will be undergoing a major medical procedure in hopes of correcting her birth defect known as craniosynostosis.
The condition causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal, possibly stunting brain growth.
As a result, the infant now displays an elongated and protruding forehead.
Ava is the first child of Billy and Alyssa Osbaugh.
"We're not sure if she's in pain," said Alyssa Osbaugh, 19. "We hope not."
Regardless, it's an emergency situation.
"I'm stressing out on it, and saying lots of prayers, but it's got to be done," she said of the procedure scheduled for Feb. 24 in Madison at an estimated cost of $40,000. Ava will remain hospitalized afterward for as long as a week and will then need a checkup every two weeks.
"Insurance will cover some of it, but how much depends on how detailed the surgery is" Osbaugh said.
"And there's a 50/50 chance she'll need a blood transfusion."
The parents are asking the community to help with what will be an overwhelming medical bill when all is said and done.
As of Friday, the donation level was at only $150, Alyssa said.
Yvonne Buss, Ava's grandmother, is helping to beat the donation drum, setting up two collections cans where she lives in Brodhead (at the Stop-N-Go and Mobil stations). Others have been set up in Monroe at the Phillips 66, Lucky 7 and BP, with others to follow.
"It's so sad someone so tiny has to go through such a traumatic ordeal," Buss said. "We've been getting lots of prayers and well wishes."
The condition causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal, possibly stunting brain growth.
As a result, the infant now displays an elongated and protruding forehead.
Ava is the first child of Billy and Alyssa Osbaugh.
"We're not sure if she's in pain," said Alyssa Osbaugh, 19. "We hope not."
Regardless, it's an emergency situation.
"I'm stressing out on it, and saying lots of prayers, but it's got to be done," she said of the procedure scheduled for Feb. 24 in Madison at an estimated cost of $40,000. Ava will remain hospitalized afterward for as long as a week and will then need a checkup every two weeks.
"Insurance will cover some of it, but how much depends on how detailed the surgery is" Osbaugh said.
"And there's a 50/50 chance she'll need a blood transfusion."
The parents are asking the community to help with what will be an overwhelming medical bill when all is said and done.
As of Friday, the donation level was at only $150, Alyssa said.
Yvonne Buss, Ava's grandmother, is helping to beat the donation drum, setting up two collections cans where she lives in Brodhead (at the Stop-N-Go and Mobil stations). Others have been set up in Monroe at the Phillips 66, Lucky 7 and BP, with others to follow.
"It's so sad someone so tiny has to go through such a traumatic ordeal," Buss said. "We've been getting lots of prayers and well wishes."