SUPPORT ANGELA MICHELLE
AIBP takes care of its own...
We invite all members and members of the boudoir community to to help support our friend, Angela Michelle of Raven Red Boudoir Photography.
In the wake of an unknown stroke, Angela has suffered a miscarriage of her first child and consequent blindness in one eye. Angela recently shared her story on Facebook, which we have included below, in her words.
Our goal is to collect donations that can help sustain her business expenses and any resulting medical expenses, while she recovers and re-discovers her path with her loss of sight. No donation is too small, and we appreciate your generosity.
XOXOXO
I discovered I was pregnant the day after Mother's Day and I knew my life would forever be changed but I could never imagine how. My husband and I had been trying for a year and while I was really happy I couldn't shake a feeling I have had my whole life. I since a very young age always felt I couldn't have kids. I never understood why... It was some sort of gut instinct I had. This is the whole story and will answer a lot of questions. First, I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the love, support, prayers and positive energy. It has kept a smile on my face during some of the darkest times Ihave endured. I was admitted to the hospital may 18 with pneumonia and after 6 days there I seemed to be getting better. Treatment was difficult due to the pregnancy but the pneumonia appeared to be clearing. But on my last day there I developed a whole new pain in my head and around my eye. I told the nurses several times but they just gave me some more pain meds and didn't seem too concerned with the new symptom. A couple of hours later I started having vision loss in my right eye which would come and go. I understand now these were signs of a stoke. Unfortunately the staff didn't recognize them at the time and told me I was having anxiety so they released me to go home and rest telling me I would feel better after a good night sleep in my own bed. I never made it home to my bed though. On the ride home I suffered a full on stroke and lost complete vision of my right eye. Talk about a photographer's nightmare. This has been one of my worst fears ever since I can remember. I ended up being admitted later that night to a different hospital which thankful recognized what was happening and acted quickly. They discovered three other blood clots in addition to the one that caused the stroke and quickly got me on blood thinners. But then one of those meds caused an odd reaction which had me bleeding into my salivary glands. This made my whole jaw swell up and prevented me from eating for five days and landed me in the ICU. Along the way I discovered I have lost the baby. The pregnancy is considered not viable but I'm still have yet to officially miscarry. The problem is I HAVE to stay on blood thinners the rest of my life and being on them during the miscarriage runs plenty of risks. But an operation in my very weakened state to remove the fetus is problematic since they would have to stop the meds to operate and run the risks of me suffering another stroke. My best hope is allow my body time to heal and hopefully by the time the miscarriage naturally occurs I will be past the critical point with the blood cots. It seems the blood cots which caused the stroke is a result of Antiphospholipid syndrome which they think was triggered by the pregnancy to begin with. I realize I wrote a novel here and if you made it this far in reading thank you for listening to my story. This is all very private stuff I know but I have always been a very open and honest person so why stop now. This is definitely changing my life in HUGE ways and losing my sight completely in one eye is going to be a crazy adjustment both in my personal life and business but provided I get through this mess I have no doubt I will continue to be a photographer and find success in my own way. The one thing this all has really taught me is just how amazing all the people in my life are. My husband, parents, family, friends, colleagues and clients have continued to surprise me with their love and I am so grateful for each and every one. Life is precious and beautiful and we should cherish every damn second we can... That's what I'm taking from all this. I refuse to look back and dwell on anything other than all the beauty I am still lucky enough to see with my other eye. Love and light my friends, love and light... Always
