Michael Wesley Fairleigh wasn't supposed to be born until 11/23 but he came very early instead.  Ashley started having some serious contractions Saturday (9/25) around 9 pm. We timed them and she was within 5-1-1 (thanks Google) so we came to the hospital to get checked out. They did confirm that she was technically in labor with her contractions, but that her body wasn’t ready to give birth yet and she wasn’t expected to actually go into preterm labor. The plan was to just stay at the hospital, be observed, try to manage the contractions, and if all went well we’d go home Sunday (9/26). Around 11am on Sunday they gave Ashley some medication to help Michael (just in case) and ease her contractions so we could go home. At 11:49 the nurse noticed Michael’s heart rate had dropped. A doctor rushed in followed by 7-8 people who said “is this real?” - “yes this is real”. They were all taking very loud and very fast and unfortunately no one had any time to explain what was going on to a very scared mom & dad. They had to be efficient & they had to be fast because they had to save Michael. Ashley was rushed to an operating room, and I was escorted to a small waiting room to sit alone, I definitely cried the whole time. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long for someone to come tell me that my wife & newborn son were okay. Because 5 minutes from noticing his heart rate drop, and 4 minutes from scheduling the emergent c-section, Michael was delivered at 4lbs & 17 inches long. Ashley and I are so incredibly thankful & grateful for the medical team here at TCH, and everyone who prayed for us. We feel so very fortunate that Michael was delivered safely, because we know this could have been a very different situation. I have cried a whole lot more than Michael has, but he’s got time to pass me up.

The reason why this happened is that Ashley had a placental abruption (Google it, I did) and the contractions were holding the placenta in place. When Ashley got the medicine to stop the contractions, the placenta then completely separated from the uterus and put Michael in severe distress. We’re both just very thankful that he’s here & healthy.

Mommy and baby are both doing well but they need help because of the unexpected expenses of Michael having to be in the hospital for awhile.  Anything you can give will help.  Thanks!