Fundraiser to help Carpentersville family with 'micro-preemie'

For Carpentersville residents Dave and Anna Keehler, the moments after the birth of their second daughter were a whirlwind.

Only 23 weeks into gestation, Eden Keehler was born Jan. 18 at 1 pound, 6 ounces - nearly four months before her May due date. The micro-preemie was immediately taken from her parents and rushed to an area hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit.

Upon hearing his daughter had a 50 percent chance of surviving, Dave Keehler said only one word could describe how he felt in that instant: Panic.

"Just seeing a little baby in an incubator - it's scary," he said. "Time just stands still."

Now almost eight months later, Eden weighs more than 11 pounds and is living at home. Though she still eats through a feeding tube, she is breathing on her own and developing a personality, and her parents say she is growing stronger.

Still, life as they knew it changed quickly for the Keehler family, including their 1-year-old daughter, Victoria. Anna and Dave Keehler spent the first four months of Eden's life traveling two hours each day to visit her at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Now that she's home, not only does Eden require nonstop care, but she also can't be around people who may put her at risk of getting sick. This limits the family's ability to socialize with their friends and relatives, Anna Keehler said, noting most of their loved ones have yet to meet the baby.

"It's hard to understand if you're not going through it," she said. "This is not like just having a newborn."

Additionally, between the hospital stays and the several surgeries Eden has undergone, the Keehlers say their medical expenses are through the roof.

"The lifestyle we used to have is gone," Anna Keehler said.

Her husband agrees: "Now we're just trying to scrape by."

To help offset the thousands of dollars in outstanding medical bills, a fundraiser will be held Wednesday at Nick's Pizza & Pub, 990 S. Randall Road, Elgin. From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 25 percent of the sales generated from customers who present a flier, which can be found on the event's Facebook page, will go toward the Keehler family.

Photos and raffles will be set out throughout one of the restaurant's party rooms, Anna Keehler said, and T-shirts will be for sale for $15.

Peg VanMeter, Anna Keehler's aunt who organized the fundraiser, said the event also serves as a chance for the Keehlers to get out of the house and visit with loved ones. Though Eden can't leave the house, Anna, Dave and Victoria plan to make an appearance.

Additionally, a GoFundMe page called "Eden Abigail Keehler's Medical Fund" has raised more than $7,000 as of Monday morning.

Pointing to donations, meals, baby sitters, gifts and general acts of kindness, Dave and Anna Keehler said they're already overwhelmed by the support they have received.

"It's easy to think, 'They're home. What's the problem?'" Anna Keehler said. "It makes us feel so good that people aren't forgetting."

Though Eden is getting stronger as time passes, her parents say she may develop other health problems in the future. She might always have a chronic lung disease, her dad said, and her eyesight will likely be poor. She may have behavioral or developmental issues down the road, Anna Keehler said, but "you just have to wait and see."

Despite the hardships the Keehler family has endured in the past year, they said they feel lucky to have such a strong support system.

It's the little things that make all the difference, they say: A moment when the four of them can spend time together, a kind gesture from a friend, a time when Victoria gently hugs her younger sister, a smile from Eden.

"That makes us feel really good," Dave Keehler said. "That makes me feel like everything's going to be OK."