Friends and family help Rockville Centre mother’s mission

Rockville Centre mom Marissa Heitshusen, a real estate agent and digital brand consultant, and her newborn son, Christopher ‘Kip’ Welles, were both in need of lifesaving blood transfusions after she gave birth to him in December.

Kip was born 14 weeks before he was due, and was immediately administered the necessary transfusion, however, due to an emergency blood shortage affecting millions of residents across the New York Metropolitan area, Heitshusen was informed she would have to wait.

To raise awareness of the urgent need for donations, she teamed up with the New York Blood Center to organize a community-wide blood drive at the John A. Anderson Recreation Center in RVC on March 10.

“It was an unbelievable turnout,” Heitshusen said. “So many amazing members of the community came. The New York Blood Center said it was the biggest blood drive turnout in RVC history.”

She said that her friend Michelle Foley, a fellow Rockville Centre parent, helped coordinate the entire event with the New York Blood Center, one of the largest nonprofit blood collection and distribution organizations in the country.

Nearly 100 people showed up at the Recreation Center on March 10th to give blood. Thanks to the generosity of the community, the New York Blood Center was able to collect enough whole blood, red blood cells, platelets and plasma to help save more than 300 lives.

Heitshusen remains very busy with Kip, who has continued to fight for the last nine weeks and is growing stronger every day while in the expert care of North Shore University Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

She and her husband, Chris, and their two children, Charlotte and Weston, are still waiting anxiously for the opportunity to finally bring Kip home.

“It was an overwhelmingly beautiful display of support from the community for Kip and for all mothers or babies who have ever been or who may ever be in a similar position where they need lifesaving blood,” Heitshusen said. “We are so grateful and we are so proud of this town.”

Several local businesses who helped contribute to making the blood drive such a success include the  Children’s Athletic Training School on Maple Avenue, The Learning Academy of St. Marks on Hempstead Avenue, The Children’s Social Club on Sunrise Highway, Glass Beauty Bar on N. Long Beach Road and Reve Room Salon in Lynbrook donated raffle baskets that were given out during the drive.