Help with Stephanie and Baby's Medical Fees

Stephanie is a single mom and an essential healthcare employee working through the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also 6 months pregnant and recently found out that her baby boy has an extreme case of open spina bifida, more specifically: Myeloschisis, in which the spinal cord is bare and leaking fluid, and has no bone or skin covering the defect. Without this protection, an area of the fetus' spine and spinal nerves are exposed to the amniotic fluid, which is harmful to the fetus' spinal cord and causes damage to the nerves. Untreated, this can cause paralysis of the legs, bowel and urination problems, and brain complications and/or the necessity of needing a shunt placed in the brain.

After discussing different options with specialists in Denver, they recommended she reach out to Dr. Ramen Chmait, Director of Los Angeles Fetal Surgery in association with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and USC. Dr. Chmait is an acclaimed physician who is leading a pilot project to perform a ground-breaking, newly-pioneered procedure that repairs the spina bifida on the developing fetus while in the womb. The procedure uses a minimally-invasive percutaneous fetoscopic approach that has very little risk to the mother and baby and has no incision to the abdomen or uterus. During the surgery, a dermal collagen patch is then placed on the baby's back to cover the spinal defect and protect the spinal cord from coming into contact with the skin.

USC is the only location in the country performing this particular surgery using the patch technology. Stephanie just found out that she is eligible and has been recently accepted into the program with a surgery date scheduled for June 11, 2020. Assuming all goes well, after recovering in the hospital, she will then be released to fly back home to recover and deliver on her September due date in Colorado. Stephanie will be on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, and not allowed to work until several months after her delivery. Although her case is extreme, this procedure is considered elective, so Stephanie's insurance will only cover a small portion of the out-of-state expenses.

This procedure will give her baby the best opportunity for normal development and pose less risks to Stephanie, but the cost is very expensive. Stephanie's inability to work is creating a very difficult situation. Anything would help right now and would be SO appreciated. Thank you so much.