Help Alexandra & Baby Josephine's Journey

My name is Alexandra and if someone told me a year ago that I would be here, reaching out to perfect strangers for help, I wouldn’t have believed them. I had a full-time job, my own apartment, a car, and an amazing future ahead of me, all of which I had worked so hard to achieve. Then life came around and placed hurdle after roadblock after challenge before me. Staying positive and hopeful has been extremely hard, but I’ve had no choice but to try and persevere.

It started in April of this year when I found out I was pregnant. A complete surprise at 37 years old. I never thought I would be a mother but felt the universe was sending me a gift. I was financially stable and confident I could provide a future for myself and my baby. A month later, I lost my job of 8 years (and yes, my boss knew I was expecting). I filed for unemployment, but it wasn’t enough to keep my apartment. Finding a job while pregnant proved to be very difficult and alas, unsuccessful. I had to move back home to live with my mother, who I had been estranged from. After only a day of being home, I noticed something was very wrong with my mother, and after weeks of hospitals and numerous medical facilities, she was diagnosed with dementia and was told she needed 24-hour care. I had to take care of my mother on my own as I am an only child and my parents divorced when I was 18, all while trying to find a nursing home that was financially affordable. During this time, I found out that I have a condition called Vasa Previa, which only occurs in about 0.05% of pregnancies. I was ordered to limited activity and told to “embrace the home life with little to no stress.”

After finding a nursing home for my mom, I discovered she was severely behind in multiple payments for her mortgage, HOA, FPL, utilities, etc. Her home was/is facing foreclosure. Since I was and still am living at my mother's until the baby arrives, I have been scrambling to pay what bills I can with the very little money I was bringing in with unemployment. My mother’s income, which is just social security disability, goes to paying her nursing home. The power has been shut off 3 times since I’ve been here, and the last time it took me 6 days and the generosity of a friend to pay the reconnection fee. My unemployment ended in October, and my job searches for WFH positions have been futile. My car was repossessed because I was unable to keep up with payments, and I have missed important doctor appointments as a result.

I am scheduled for a C-section this Friday at 36 weeks due to the Vasa Previa and am praying my baby girl won’t have to go to NICU. If that were the case, transportation to and from the hospital, which is 45 minutes away, would be challenging to say the least.

I am here today asking for help to pay for the outstanding bills for the house. I am terrified that the power will be disconnected after I bring the baby home.

The current past due on the FPL is $707.93, and the utilities bill is at $364.76. With any donations received, the money will go towards these as well as any transportation I may need to doctors, food, and baby supplies (i.e., formula, diapers) for Josephine until I am able, physically, to get a job.

As I mentioned, I never thought this would be my life at this time, but life gets hard, and we do what we can to survive and thrive. I look forward to paying it forward in any way I can in the future and thank you in advance for any and all kindness received.