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| Home: Jake Jr. Amish Quilt Raffle |
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What is the Jake Jr. Amish Quilt Raffle?
Jake Jr. SurgeryJake Jr. had his eyelid surgery Tuesday morning, December 13th, at Mott Children's Hospital. The surgery was outpatient and everything went according to planned and all was well. (I am so relieved that it is over and seemingly sucessful.) The family was able to go home at around noon. His eyelids were a bit puffy and swollen, but he was otherwise fine. The father, Jake, called me a few days later to tell me that the baby looks very happy and can see better all ready. His eyes are blue! Thank you again EVERYONE for making this possible. The doctors have also since volunteered to donate their services, and all we have to cover are the hospital costs. So thank you, Dr. Christine Nelson at Kellogg Eye Center. I also would like to thank Len Pytlak's Accounting firm who is donating its accounting services to make sure the money all gets handled correctly. And a special thanks to Neal Rubin from the Detroit News. Proceeds from the raffle are going towards the raffle expenses and Jake Jr.'s eye surgery and subsequent eye/medical care -- I have set up a new non-profit organization called Jake Jr. Amish Quilt Raffle which is entirely separate from Branch Hill Joinery. In the event that we have extra funds, we will find another Michigan child (possibly Amish) who also needs our help for his or her eyes and can't find help elsewhere. I am doing this entirely as a charity and none of the funds are going to me personally or to Branch Hill Joinery. It is now February, and little Jake is growing big and looking all around. One of his eyes is still kind of droopy, but at least he can see! He will go again to the doctor this week. It is likely he will need additional surgeries as his face and eyelids grow. He will need at least one follow up surgery when he is 3 or 4 years old and we have that covered as well now. It is wonderful that we were able to raise enough funds to cover not only this surgery but all subsequent care for little Jake. Jake Jr. 2007Jake Jr. is now over a year old and completely normal in development -- he is walking around and playing with toys and eyeing his baby sister, Anna, who was born November 24, 2006. That is the same day as my own daughter, Elizabeth's birthday. Jake had to have an adjustment surgery last August because one of the slings holding up one eye was becomming infected and it had to be removed. So these last months, one of his eyes hasn't been able to be open much. Now that the infection is clearing, he will have another surgery in January 2007 to replace the sling. Fortunately, we still have funds to take care of this. If all goes well, he will not need another surgery until he is six. At that time, they will make the slings out of his own muscle tissue taken from his thighs. That is supposed to last him well into adulthood. Raffle ResultsThe raffle was held at Sunward Cohousing at a community meeting December 13th and was witnessed by twenty plus people. One person who did not enter the raffle mixed up the tickets and another person drew the winner blindfolded. The grand prize winner is William Bond of Ann Arbor. I don't know him. I decided to have a second prize winner since we had over 1400 participants and the second place prize goes to Roger and Charlene Hall of Montgomery, MI. (I don't know them personally either.) They will receive a small baby/wallhang quilt. See pictures of some of the winning quilts. (We are still working on the 3 larger quilts!) Background InfoThis quilt raffle was for the benefit of Jake Jr. who was born last August to a young Michigan Amish couple, Jake and Anna. They are a young couple and this is their first child. Their baby needs surgery in order to be able to see. They are cousins to the family that makes the cabinets and furniture. I have known Jake since he was a child -- he used to help on my little farm with the garden and planting trees. Jake now works for a pallet company and rides his buggy over an hour to get there. It can get cold in the winter with those open buggies. They use umbrellas to block the wind. Jake now works in an Amish pallet factory and drives on his buggy over an hour one way to work each day. The winner's quilt will be made by Anna and her sisters. It will be a queen size Center Diamond Quilt - 100% Cotton, and intricately quilted with old-fashioned patterns. The drawing will be Dec 13th and the winner will be able to choose the colors that they want. Additional quilts will be made for the people who helped so much with this endeavor -- the large donors (>$3000), Neal Rubin, Len Pytlak, and Dr. Christine Nelson who donated her services. Here's more about the baby -- Jake Jr. was born full term with his eyelids fused and is unable to open his eyelids more than a small crack. He has been to U-M Kellogg Institute and his eyes have been examined, and are completely normal. His condition ptsosis can be treated with eyelid surgery so that he will be able to see. The surgery, scheduled for December 13, is expected to cost approximately $8,000 and the hospital wants the money up front. The Amish do not have health insurance. It is important that the surgery be done soon before the brain shuts off and permanent damage to his eyes results. Usually, all patients are treated at the hospital regardless of insurance. However, since Jake's condition is not life threatening, the hospital does not deem it totally necessary. The doctor does say, however, that it is totally necessary if the baby is to be able to see. The baby is healthy and developing normally in all other ways. About the Amish
Copyright Branch Hill Joinery Amish Furniture, Cabinetry & Quilts 2005 |
As you may well know, I am friends with an Amish community in southern Michigan.
Actually I have been working with them for over ten years. This is the first time I have ever tried anything like this.
I try to help them out by selling eggs, quilts, furniture, etc. But this time, we need to raise a large amount of money in a short
time for medical help. So I tried a charity quilt raffle and we had a huge success!
Here is a picture of an "English" baby dressed in Amish clothes. Unfortunately, the Amish do not allow photos to be taken of themselves. So for fun, I dressed up "Baby Noah" in Amish clothes and snapped a few shots. For more information about the Amish, take a look at: