Asbury Park Teacher Fights To Help 'Micropreemie' Son

ASBURY PARK, NJ — David Ganz, a teacher in Asbury Park, was so happy when his wife told him during summer 2020 that she was pregnant with their first boy. They also have two young daughters, and sadly had lost a third daughter in a miscarriage in early 2020.

But despite the fact that Kate Ganz, a teacher in Neptune, was on bedrest with the newest pregnancy, she was diagnosed at 23 weeks with a placental abruption, potentially life-threatening for her and Kennedy. She had treatment to save Kennedy's life, giving birth on Jan. 27 to a 24-week, 3 day old baby.

The survival rate for children born at 24 weeks is currently 60 to 70 percent. Yet, this is much higher than those born 23 weeks or younger. (One study said 38 percent of babies born at 23 weeks have survived. Doctors say the survival rate is low at that age because the children's vital organs are still developing.)

Now, friends of Kate and David — both of whom worked at Trader Joe's part-time during 2020 to help pay bills — have started a GoFundMe to help them.

"At birth, Kennedy weighed just 800 grams and measured a tiny 31.5 centimeters in length," wrote their friend George Nimmo early this month. "While mom and baby are holding steady as of February 1, 2021, Kennedy has a long road ahead of him with potential lifelong health conditions."

This past Saturday, Kate posted an update: "Kennedy had a very tough week and has been a real champion through it all. Currently, he is critically stable even though he is struggling. He was put on a ventilator last Saturday due to sickness in his lungs, a respiratory infection, and extreme fatigue."

She added, "He has started to respond to treatment for pulmonary hypertension, but it will be weeks before we see the real results ... We are now beginning to feel the full weight of the financial situation ahead of us. Kennedy has entered the stage where surgery, long term care, and our very first bills from his stay are coming in. Please continue to share Kennedy’s story as the more visibility created for this page, the greater access we will have to resources to support our family."

David is still teaching, but Kate has taken maternity leave from her virtual teaching position.

"With their usual four salaries down to one, an unforeseen amount of medical bills ahead of them, daycare/preschool costs, and the usual high cost of living in New Jersey, the Ganz could REALLY use your help and support," Nimmo wrote.

As of Tuesday, they'd raised $31,000 of a $50,000 goal. Former students of both parents have posted how inspired they were by their teaching.

A contributor named Angelica wrote on the page, "Mr. David Ganz was an absolute inspiration as a teacher, and from all the happy stories he told his students about his children, I know he is a loving father to his children. So even if it isn’t much, I want to help him, his family, and their newest edition, little Kennedy. Stay strong, Ganz family."

The couple live in Eatontown. Kate grew up in Fair Haven, and David lived in Warren before transferring to Westfield High School.

The GoFundMe can be found here.

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