Mother risks her life to save her baby's life

As many of you already know, my sister Heather and her family need your help. I am starting this fundraiser because so many of you have been touched by her story and have asked how you can help. I first want to say thank you to everyone who has already reached out, prayed and supported them throughout this journey. 

13 weeks ago, my sister and her husband went to the doctor for their 20 week ultrasound where everything with the baby was perfect. The nurse called in the doctor to look at my sister's placenta because she had been experiencing bleeding about a month prior to the ultrasound and something was wrong. The news that they got when the doctor came in was life changing.... The doctor told them that the placenta had invaded the cervix and uterus. The doctor stated this was life threatening for both mom and baby and urged them to terminate the pregnancy. He looked at my brother-in-law and told him to make my sister understand.

For all of those who know my sister and her husband, they knew what they had to do. They knew who they married, and they were going to do everything possible to give life to their baby. They knew this choice could kill both of them, could leave their four children who were already in this world without a mother, but my sister never doubted for a minute the direction she was going and her faith was what she had driving her the following weeks.

The next 12 weeks were the most painful 12 weeks of her life which led her to being hospitalized. The placenta had now aggressively invaded her bladder and abdominal wall. They had a plan and surgery was scheduled on Tuesday June 11, 2019. The Baby would be at 32 weeks.

Heather and baby both fought for their life that day. My sister hemorrhaged almost immediately beginning surgery and she was bleeding out faster than they could give her blood. My sister underwent over 15 hours of surgery over the next 2 days and her and baby are both stable, but still hospitalized. Heather finally got to hold her baby for the first time, 3 days after she was born. This was the first milestone in her recovery, and so many tears of joy were shed that day. When most people would have terminated because they would have thought about all the risks, my sister was able to bring a healthy, beautiful life into this world. Absolutely incredible, a true miracle!!

This is going to be a LONG journey for my sister and her family as recovery could take several months. Some women with conditions as serious as hers have taken more than a year to recover and some face permanent damage. My sister will be out of work for a long time, along with her husband who will also be out of work and trying to balance raising 5 children and supporting Heather while she recovers. It will be extremely challenging financially for them and the last thing they need to worry about is how they are going to pay medical bills.

I am truly blown away by all the people that have followed her story. My sister uses faith as her higher power and she really needs the continued prayers, support and love now more than ever. Thank you all for helping. The time to help is NOW!