Walkathon For R Baby, West Freehold School
On Friday, April 20th, 2018, Students at West Freehold School in New Jersey hosted a walkathon in loving memory of Michael Aldarelli, to raise money and awareness for R Baby Foundation. Students, teachers and friends raised $3,300 which will go to saving babies’ lives around the country.
Read a Message from West Freehold Parent Kim Aldarelli:
12 years ago, my 11-day old son was taken from us unexpectedly from an undetected viral infection. I wonder every day if R Baby was around then, would the outcome have been different.
I am touched that the West Freehold School is supporting R Baby Foundation this year through their walkathon. No parent should ever go through the loss of a child under any circumstance, especially in a situation that may have been prevented. Not only is R Baby improving pediatric emergency care, they are also educating and empowering parents about how to prepare for an emergency, when to go to the ER, what to expect in an Emergency Department, how to best advocate for your child and promoting kids to get involved in fundraising projects within their own communities.
Thank you to all who support this cause, we can all work hard to help R Baby save as many babies’ lives as possible.
A Message from Phyllis Rabinowitz:
R Baby Foundation was started in 2006 when my husband Andrew and I lost our 9-day old daughter, Rebecca Ava, to a misdiagnosis in a New Jersey emergency room. We rushed Rebecca to the ER with concerning symptoms including severe congestion with thick mucus, slow feedings, lethargy and difficulty breathing. We were told that Rebecca had a common cold and they sent her home. Rebecca passed away the next day. We discovered too late that it was not a cold. Rebecca had contracted an enteroviral infection that can be life-threatening in babies. If Rebecca’s symptoms had been accurately assessed and she had received supportive care, she might still be here today. Babies aren’t mini adults. Pediatric emergency care is a specialized field of medicine and should be treated as such.
We started R Baby Foundation soon after to honor Rebecca and to try to prevent this tragedy from happening to other families. Our grants fund state-of-the-art pediatric training, education and research in children’s hospitals who in turn then train and educate non-children’s hospitals and non-Pediatric Emergency Rooms, where most of our children are seen. In addition, in collaboration with Mass General Hospital, we have introduced a pediatric update for the findERnow app. This app helps parents and caregivers quickly identify the closest emergency rooms (ERs) to their current location or any location in the U.S. and see which are more likely to be prepared to treat children. Every parent and caregiver should have this important app on their phone.
Our work, with your help and support, will impact the care of over 1 million children this year alone. We are grateful to Kim Aldarelli who has been a wonderful friend to R Baby, and to the West Freehold students who are helping R Baby improve care for all of our children in New Jersey!
