Support Dahlya and Ivory's Critical Medical Battle

Saving Baby Ivory and Mama Dahlya

While some reading this may know us as friends and/or family, but many may not. Hello, my name is Curtis Coleman. I am the loving husband of my wife Dahlya and proud father to our third children. Dahlya was at full term with our third child, baby Ivory, when the unthinkable happened on August 15, 2024. Now, the lives of BOTH my wife and newborn daughter, Ivory, are in a delicate balance fighting for their lives in different hospitals due to their individual critical medical conditions.

In a Race for Time 

Dahlya started to feel severe pain around 4am and I immediately left my night shift job. We arrived at the emergency room at Lake St. Louis Hospital in St. Louis at 7:03am. I let her out at the front door of the emergency room while I went to park the car. Once parked, I went straight to the entrance and she was gone. I panicked and was like, “where’d she go?” Within seconds, the staff greeted me and guided me to where she was taken. 

I rushed down the hall and met up with her. That’s when Dahlya showed me her hand. It was covered in blood. We were terrified! Staff promptly took us up to the room and by this time she’s clearly leaking blood. They propped her up on the bed and tried desperately to find our little baby Ivory’s heartbeat. We held our breath and seconds seemed like minutes. 

When they finally found the baby’s heartbeat, it was super quiet. Seconds later, 6-7 nurses come into the room and start hooking Dahlya up with IV’s and an ultrasound. Once they were able to ascertain a better picture of Ivory’s condition they rushed her out and told us that an immediate C- Section was necessary. 

It was diagnosed a “Placental Abruption” - which is a very rare and serious complication that happens when the placenta separates away from the uterine wall before childbirth. When this happens, the baby essentially loses all nourishment and vital resources from the mother such as oxygen, blood and food.

Welcoming Ivory - The Fight for Ivory’s Life Begins

At 7:23 AM on August 15th, our beautiful baby Ivory was born. Ivory had no heartbeat at first. By the grace of God and the phenomenal medical team at Lake St. Louis Hospital, they were able to resuscitate my daughter after a couple of minutes. But the time elapsed of oxygen deprivation had taken its toll on Ivory. Doctors had to put a tube into her lungs because she couldn’t breathe on her own. So, machines were breathing for her. Ivory was immediately rushed to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. 

A Mother’s Life on Edge Separated from Her Baby

Dahlya laid hemorrhaging on the operating table, losing more than two liters of blood due to a condition known as preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is when the mother develops extremely high blood pressure and proteins during pregnancy. The extreme high pressure during delivery caused loss of sight in her left eye and kidney failure as a result. It is unknown at this time if Dahlya will regain her eyesight. Her kidneys are struggling and have suffered severe damage. 

She is aware of what happened and misses our baby Ivory so much, as they are at different hospitals and cannot be reunited at this point in time. While Dahlya is left battling with severe and life threatening complications of her own, she is praying our daughter Ivory will win her fight for life and will be reunited soon. 

Miracle Baby Ivory in a Battle for Her Life 

Just a day after her birth, baby Ivory was able to have her breathing tube removed because she can finally breathe on her own. However, because of the Placental Abruption there was an excess amount of time elapsed of which where there was no oxygen going to her brain. So she still has some breathing tubes and a CPAP on. 

Ivory has begun having seizures so now and tests have shown the seizures are coming from the frontal lobe of the brain. She is opening her eyes, making cooing noises and can grasp my finger. But she’s going to be here for quite some time yet to come while they monitor her for any brain damage. 

Only time will tell and all we can do is pray, wait and be here for her. She is surrounded by the love of our family, close friends and the incredible NICU staff of Cardinal Glennon Hospital. Her life is in delicate balance fighting with all of her heart and soul. Ivory is truly in the hands of God and she is a fighter - just like mama. 

Walking A Tightrope - Trying To Pay Mounting Bills While Wife and Daughter Battle for Their Lives

They say that God won’t give you anymore than you can handle, but sometimes the challenge is more than I can bear. I have almost lost my wife and daughter in the blink of an eye and still may. Our children at home, Ember age 5 and Amara age 2, have questions that I grapple with to answer. Questions like where’s mommy and baby and when are they coming home? 

I spend every waking moment bouncing back and forth between hospitals to be there for both, while taking care of our loving children so I’m not able to work my job. I have applied for assistance with every program I can find and am waiting for decisions. But in the meantime, the bills are piling up fast. We have a modest home, reliable average car and both work full time jobs that, under the circumstances, we cannot work at the moment. 

Its with a very humble heart that I have come to the conclusion we need help from our community. We desperately need YOUR help. I know that for some of you, we may be strangers to you, and times are hard for everyone these days. However, if there’s one thing this has taught me these last couple of days, it's that life can be taken from you in the blink of an eye and your life turned upside down. 

I ask you to please consider if you and your family were in our situation. Your gracious donation to help our family during this critical time to enable us to pay some bills and lessen our burden would be most appreciated. Anything helps… even if it's only a dollar. It truly does. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read about the people who mean the most to me.

Please pray for my wife, Dahlya and little miracle daughter Ivory and may God bless you and your family