pascack valley

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http://pascackvalley.dailyvoice.com/neighbors/one-year-later-how-foundation-helped-westwood-family-inneed/728280/

PASCACK VALLEY One Year Later: How Foundation Helped Westwood Family in Need 12/04/2017 Cecilia Levine

WESTWOOD, N.J. — About a year ago, Westwood mom Crystal Connelly visited her OBGYN for what she thought was a normal 21-week checkup.

Fate had other plans for Connelly, who discovered that her soon-to-be newborn son had a serious heart condition, turning her and her husband’s world upside down. They began to plan, emotionally and financially, for their son’s difficult birth and post-birth open-heart surgery. Connelly, both a teacher and manager at the Lightbridge Academy in Westwood, needed a lengthier maternity leave than expected on top of financial help. Every day, she and her husband spent nearly $100 commuting to Columbia University’s hospital to help their baby boy. Lightbridge Academy saw the difficulty the new family was going through and decided to help. The Lightbridge Foundation, a non-profit foundation associated with the leading early education and child care brand, covered the medical and travel expenses and provided ample maternity leave for Connelly to care for her recovering baby. The Connelly family had their baby in May and are all healthy and happy.

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