A Calhoun family seeks hope, prayer for mom and son this Mother’s Day

Hundreds of families will gather at the pulpit on Sunday, and many more will brave the after church crowds at local restaurants vying for the perfect Mother’s Day lunch to celebrate the women who gave all they had to raising their children.

However, for one mother, she will not be celebrating with a fancy meal, but glued to a hospital nursery where her premature son fights for his life.

Stephanie Lee and her husband, Richard, have had a stressed-packed last few weeks, and are running low on funds for medical bills and transportation to and from the hospital.

On Thursday, April 26, Lee was told that her father, Rev. Herman Timms did not have much time left due to an illness he had been battling for a long time, and had suffered a stroke that caused him to be bed ridden, according to Lee’s aunt, Carlotta Timms.

“This news caused her blood pressure to become dangerously high,” said Timms. “Being that she was 23 weeks pregnant with twins, she was taken to the ER; this happened three times that week.”

Timms went on to say that the last ER visit was the night before her father’s death, where she was sent to Chattanooga’s Parkridge East Hospital the day before her father’s funeral and learned she had developed preclampsia.

“The hospital managed to lower her blood pressure enough for her to attend her father’s funeral, however, she was to return to the hospital the next day,” explained Timms. “When she returned, she was told the babies weren’t receiving essential blood supply for their needed growth, and they were too small.”

Timms went on to explain that on Sunday, May 6, the doctors were forced to perform a caesarian section to save Stephanie’s life, so at 24 weeks, she delivered one boy, Timothy Richard, and one girl, Caroline Joy. Timothy weighed 15 ounces and is fighting for his life. Caroline weighed less than 13 ounces, and only lived two hours.

Both Stephanie and Richard live in Calhoun. They have a seven-year-old daughter.

During this difficult time, Timms is asking on behalf of Stephanie and Richard that the community comes together to help one of its own.

“With the price of gas, the cost of food, possible motel rooms (when Stephanie is released from the hospital), cost of a funeral, and cost of medical, this is going to be a long and pricey journey,” said Timms. “Timothy will be there for months and they are going to need help.”

Donations can be made at North Georgia National Bank in Calhoun; checks can be made out to Richard M. Lee or Stephanie D. Lee.

For more information, call Carlotta Timms at 678-986-4086.