Baby Martinez Newborn Surgery

Hey there! I'm Ashley Martinez, and I'm married to Ralph Martinez. We've always wanted children so it's no surprise that we're due so soon, May 19th! Ralph is working full-time and going to school online as a full-time student. I am going to school part-time, and currently on bed rest. Why are we in need of money?We found out that our baby girl has a gastroschisis. Gastroschisis is a birth defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. The baby's intestines stick outside of the baby's body, through a hole beside the belly button. The hole can be small or large and sometimes other organs, such as the stomach and liver, can also stick outside of the baby's body." (Google dictionary). If you don't know what this is, or have never heard of it, I highly recommend that you research it and find out more for yourself. (This is the reason I've been put on bed rest- I'm considered a "high-risk" pregnancy. Any stress on me can hurt the baby). After meeting with the surgeon, we learned that she will be taken immediately after birth to have surgery performed. Yes- she will be taken moments after being birthed to be put on antibiotics and to have everything patched away for safety. If all goes well for 24 hours, she'll go into surgery. It'll be another few days before she can have visitors. She will be kept in the NICU for 4-6 weeks if everything goes well. If there are any complications, it could be up to 5 months. We learned that, although the surgery is covered, the stay at the hospital along with medications and feeding tubes wont be covered. We decided to reach out to our friends and family to raise money in advance for our baby girl. Thank you so much for all of your love and support during these difficult times. ❤