Our son, Elijah, was born on December 21st, three-and-a-half months early. Though we are so grateful for our early Christmas miracle, we obviously weren't prepared for his entry into this world. Unfortunately the news we have to share isn't what we hoped or prayed for during our pregnancy. Our son is not healthy. His birth was deeply traumatic for everyone involved. We've barely had a second to come to terms with what's happened emotionally, but we know financially we're about to be hit just as hard. We've made this gofundme to help with the medical and travel costs in the coming months.

The morning of December 21st I woke up with some mild stomach pain. I soon realized that these were contractions and was advised to relax, take a hot bath, and let them pass as they were likely Braxton Hicks. Except they didn't stop. The pain became alarming and my husband drove us to the ER. Being only 25 weeks along I was terrified of actually going into labor.

We were admitted and sent to L&D where they were unsuccessful in stopping the contractions. We later learned that I had gone into early labor due to a plecental abrubtion. We were incredibly lucky because this could have killed both my son and I. The situation was severe enough that I was life-flighted to Nashville where Elijah was delivered. As we can all imagine, emergency helicopter flights aren't cheap.

While I'm thankfully healthy and recovering Elijah is going to be in the NICU for months. We just found out he has a severe brain bleed that could possibly cause more complications. We know money is tight for everyone around this time of year, and with that being said we will take all the thoughts and prayers for our son if that's all you have to give. If you're able to though, we would be beyond grateful for some financial help so our family can focus on our son's recovery where it should be. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless you all - The Barfoots