Fundraiser helps support Asheville police officer whose baby was born with rare disease

By KRISTEN AGUIRRE

Click here for updates on this story

    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — In an effort to show support for public safety workers, Blaze Pizza is giving back to local first responders.

Until July 20, Asheville and Charlotte locations will donate a portion of sales from the “Hero Pies” to the Salute to Heroes Charlotte Foundation. This foundation directly supports first responders in financial need, that includes a local Asheville family.

“Very stressful,” said Aubrey Wood, an Asheville police officer, describing his daughter’s birth.

Parenthood is no easy task—and from the very beginning, it was filled with twists and turns for first-time parents Jasmine and Aubrey Wood.

“It’s one of those things you kind of have to adapt and kind of flow with it and make the best out of what you have and keep building to make it better,” he said.

The first challenge came when, after 50 hours in labor, they needed to deliver their baby via C-section.

“It throws you for a curve,” Wood said.

A little late, but baby Ella finally arrived June 5. But after about eight hours into her new life, she started throwing up green bile, and she wasn’t eating, urinating, or having bowel movements.

“I kind of knew a little bit about what to look for because of what my parents went through with me,” Wood said.

These were symptoms with which Aubrey was familiar, as he was also diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease as a baby.

“If I hadn’t gone through it, I don’t think we would have known,” he said. “So, it would have went unnoticed for a while.”

Hirschsprung’s Disease is a rare intestinal disease that doctors told Aubrey was not hereditary. Yet just 15 days after her birth, baby Ella underwent surgery to remove part of her lower intestines.

“Even now, at the hospital, not a lot of the nurses were really that aware of it,” Wood said.

Doctors at Mission Hospital told the Woods family the hospital only sees about two cases a year.

“It’s still pretty rare,” he said.

After nine days in the NICU, baby Ella was finally released.

“It’s a relief to have her home,” Wood said. “I think she’s happy to be home.”

Happy is an understatement, baby Ella is now thriving and developing her own personality. She loves to smile but will definitely let it be known when she doesn’t like something. Ella should continue to heal and get stronger.

Her parents are eager to share her story to help other families down the line.

“So that way, people don’t have the exact same path as we have, but if they do they know what to do,” Wood said.

The Woods are also thankful for this Blaze Pizza fundraiser.

“What we had set aside isn’t going to cut it for what we’ve done,” Wood said. “I think us catching it early is what was the miracle with her.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.