Help us provide a safe, comfy womb for BABY COOKS

Hi, so some of you may know and some of you may just be finding out right this second but Le Ron and I (Heather) are expecting our first child together. We are over the moon with excitement, joy, love and happiness for this surprise addition to our lives. However, what the majority of you don’t know is at 35 I’m considered a geriatric pregnancy and I have struggled the past 3 years with unknown fertility issues only recently having received a partial diagnosis with that being mild endometriosis, which is helpful but wasn't exactly life-changing news for our fertility journey. Several specialists had the two of us resigned to the idea if we were going to have a child it was going to be with medical assistance and costly, aka IUI and/or IVF. At the end of 2022 with the holidays coming, Le Ron's birthday in January, trying to save money for us to move into a new place together and adding additional classes for nursing school so I could begin clinical hours in the fall of 2023 instead of spring 2024, we found ourselves financially not in the position to expand our family.

BUT... the universe had different plans and after a couple of days of feeling lethargic and everything making me projectile vomit a friend of mine suggested I take a pregnancy test. At the time I remember thinking how silly I was and had probably caught a stomach bug from one of my patients at work... And then time in the late evening sitting in a public bathroom scrolling through TikTok those 2 lines popped up and although I had never had a positive test and those lines were BOLD, I felt pretty comfortable it was wrong. Before I told Le Ron or anyone else I consulted a doctor and got blood and urine confirmation that I was in fact pregnant and could expect our first child, a little miracle in late September 2023 (fingers crossed for a Libra).

During our first ultrasound and bloodwork, the doctor expressed some minor concerns about the measurements of my uterine lining and the security of the embryo implanting and growing safely. A few days later after viewing myChart results I knew the doctor would be calling me and probably prescribing some supplements or lifestyle changes but nothing too crazy. The next morning our doctor gave me the rundown and was pretty hopeful that a daily medication and some additional supplements to my prenatal vitamins would help bulk up my endometrial lining and bring up the hormone levels that weren't quite up to par. I was reassured by the physician that the baby and I had nothing to be concerned about, just staying hydrated, eating what I could keep down to survive the morning sickness and trying to not kill Le Ron during a random hormonal fit of pregnancy rage (kidding, kind of). At our following ultrasound 3 weeks later, we finally got to hear our baby's heartbeat, and it was at that moment both of us just absolutely melted and resigned ourselves to do whatever we had to do to bring this child into this world safely, comfortably and peacefully. It was also at this appointment our doctor expressed concern about the development of my womb and amniotic sac attachment, our baby was right on the development track and has a strong heartbeat of 144 bpm. Unfortunately, my body was just not kicking into gear to provide a safe space for our little one. Probably some of the most devastating things to be told as a new mom and to be perfectly honest the most helpless feelings I've ever had. Unfortunately, the current regimen of medication was not doing the trick and my doctor upon consulting with my fertility specialist has put together a plan of action they feel very confident with and without all of the boring medical jargon the rundown consists of medications I need to start taking ASAP throughout the remainder of my first-trimester minimum and fingers crossed my body gets the kick in the butt to start doing its own thing and by May this baby will be halfway there and snug like a bug in my womb no assistance needed.

OK SO NOW is the part where we have to uncomfortably discuss the fact that because my medical insurance is part of a broken system it barely covers half of one dose of one of the four medications I'm being prescribed. In the cover picture is a screenshot of the pharmacy invoice for the total of 3 weeks of medication after insurance, roughly $2,500 and with a minimum of 2 months to finance for a total of $7,600. We've researched multiple specialty pharmacies that carry my prescriptions, in town and out and I'm sure like so many of you can relate to your medical issues or family members not getting the coverage or being able to afford procedures or medications based on limited coverage or outrageous deductibles, there are not a whole lot of options besides shady non-FDA approved internet pharmacies that I'm not willing to take a shot in the dark on. Both of us have increased our hours at work and I'm UBERing on my off hours as much as physically possible, but as most women who have ever had children can empathize I'm exhausted, in pain and by the end of most of my shifts and just worn out. I've dropped down to part-time credit hours and will be taking a break until after the baby gets here, to cut down on expenses and allow for more time to pick up shifts at the hospital and UBER. Because of student loans I'm unable to finance a medical loan at this time and the timer is ticking down to when I am supposed to order these prescriptions and transition to this new plan of care. We've completely cut out all unnecessary spending, and social outings, besides rent, car payments, car insurance and other necessary utilities we are just not coming up with numbers. That is why we are asking our friends and families for help, I know everyone is struggling in this economy and we don't expect people to put themselves or their families out all we are asking is if you can help with a couple of dollars from you amazingly, kind and considerate people Le Ron and I are blessed to have you in our lives and to consider our village and hope that you can allow our child and our family to thrive and enjoy this pregnancy without the fear and stress that our broken healthcare system has given us.

So, we hope you can understand the fact that this little peanut found its way without any additional help other than a BRUTALLY COLD December that made cuddling up close and body heat a necessity is beyond a miracle they are here. Both of us have fallen in love with Baby Cooks even if it's barely an inch and just developing its 10 little fingers and toes, and we have humbled ourselves to ask for help because we need it and hope you can understand how truly hard and uncomfortable having to do something like this is for us, so please if you find this ill-timed for you or you don't agree please offer us some compassion and grace and not any negative or inconsiderate comments.

If you can't donate to our situation at hand then please PLEASE PLEASE copy and paste, forward and share this campaign with anyone you think can help us.

THANK YOU AND MUCH LOVE,

Le Ron, Heather and Baby Cooks.