BARRY COUNTY, Mich. – After selling everything they own to save their daughter’s life, including the family business, one Hastings couple is moving several states away in search for the medical attention their child needs.
Baby Ruby Bunker was born blind and deaf and at just a year old, she has dozens of other illnesses including glaucoma and chronic lung disease. Ruby’s mother, Margaret Vantongeren, says her daughter is living with some of the most rare life-threatening illnesses.
“They still don’t know exactly what’s wrong with her or why this happened to her, so we’re constantly just in and out of the hospital,” said Vantongeren.
Ruby’s also living with multiple holes in her heart and doctors say her brain is slowly deteriorating. Her parents are now doing everything they can to keep her healthy.
“We had our own store and sold everything in it,” Vantongeren said. “We closed down and now we’ve been selling our belongings. Now it’s a matter of what’s important.”
Her parents are unable to work because of her illnesses which demand constant attention. However, they’ve raised enough money through a Gofundme page to pay off some of her medical bills and buy an RV camper where Ruby lives with her parents and two siblings. Her family plans on hitting the road now to seek the medical attention she deserves.
“We are in the process in preparing to head to Utah,” Vantongeren said. “There’s good weather out there and there’s eight different award-winning GI specialists.”
Her parents say they’re still raising money for their ‘miracle baby’ through a Gofundme page, Help Baby Ruby Pearl Stay Alive. You can even follow Ruby's road to recovery on her Facebook page, Prayers for baby Ruby.
