A local mother is taking action after a maternity hospital in Ukraine was damaged by a Russian air strike.
Jennifer Smith's daughter was born with life threatening complications and given a 10% chance of survival. She promised herself that if her daughter lived, she'd find a way to pay it forward.
Her daughter Silvie Bells is now 6 years old, and she started a non-profit in her name.
The non-profit Silvie Bells is based out of Lake Worth and gives families of sick and preemie NICU babies Comfort Packages. With the conflict in Ukraine worsening, and a maternity hospital suffering damage, she is now taking her efforts to Ukraine.
"Wednesday morning, I woke up to the news that maternity and children's hospital had been attacked," Smith said. "So, I went from thinking two babies could've use monitors to, I don't even know how many, countless babies need to be monitored."
She says a heart monitoring device called an Owlet Smart Sock is what saved her daughter's life. She says the devices allows doctors and parents to keep track of a babies' heart rate with an app on their phone, and for many in Ukraine, that's now all they have.
"It's piece of mind. Its knowing that something is watching your baby while you can't."
Jennifer raised more than $5,000 and organized transportation to get the devices to Ukraine. She says the heart monitoring devices left on a truck from Berlin, Germany. They are set to arrive Wednesday morning.
Jennifer is now raising money in hopes of sending over more devices in the coming weeks. Click here to donate.
