Beachwood Babies' Plane Ride Fundraiser Gets A Boost

BEACHWOOD, NJ — Efforts to raise money to help a Beachwood family bring their infant twin sons back to New Jersey from a Houston hospital have gained a significant boost from a local philanthropist.

Jeremy Grunin, the president of the Jay & Linda Grunin Foundation, has offered to assist in the fundraising effort by contributing the final $4,000 needed to cover the Grace on Wings flight to transport Wyatt and Holden Krean from Texas Children's Hospital to a hospital closer to home.

The boys, born in the Houston hospital in May at 24 weeks' gestation when their mother, Susan Morales, sought treatment because the two babies were suffering from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, have now improved enough to be moved, according to friends of the family, which includes her husband, Ty Krean, and their two older sons.

Grace on Wings, a charity air ambulance that provides medical transportation for those in need, has said it will transport the babies with all their needed medical equipment and medical staff, the family just needs to cover the cost of the fuel for the plane, family friend Melissa Decker said.

The total cost has been put at $17,159, Decker said. As of Thursday morning, efforts to draw attention to campaign have raised $9,685, she said, leaving them $7,474 to raise.

On Thursday, Grunin offered his support, he confirmed by email.

"When they let me know they’re $4,000 away from completion, I’ll put my $4,000 in!" said Grunin, who also plans to discuss the effort Sunday morning on the radio program "Topic A" on WOBM, which he co-hosts with Bob Levy.

The flight is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 21, Decker has said.

>> READ MORE: Help This Beachwood Family's Twin Boys Fly Home

The situation has been very stressful for the family, both financially and emotionally, Decker said. Morales and Krean learned she was pregnant with their third child in January, and soon found out she was carrying twins. At her 12-week appointment, her doctors discovered she was carrying triplets, as one of the fetuses had split into identical twins. The planned in-utero surgery aimed to give the best chance of saving the life of all three babies, but the single baby, Sawyer, died of complications of prematurity after several weeks of fighting to live, Decker said.

Donations to help the Krean family can be made directly to Grace on Wings, and they are tax deductible. Go to the Grace on Wings website, click on the "Donate' button and click "One-Time Donation." Fill in the amount, and be sure to put KREAN BABIES in the customer ID box, Decker said. Putting Krean Babies in the customer ID box ensured the donations will go directly to the cost of transporting the babies, she said.

"All the crew and medical staff are volunteers and it is bedside to bedside transport," she said.

Click here to visit the Grace On Wings website.

Photo of the Krean family courtesy of Ty Krean, used with permission