Support Evan and Ashley Through Pregnancy Complications

My name is Ashley and I am an elementary school art teacher. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Evan, and we are currently 21 weeks pregnant with our first child. I was recently diagnosed with placenta previa, velamentous cord insertion, and a rare condition known as vasa previa which is life threatening to the baby. With vasa previa, unprotected fetal blood vessels cover the cervix and are at risk of rupture if put under stress. Doctors would have mere minutes to perform a c section to save him if they were to rupture. I have now had 2 major bleeding episodes and went into pre-term labor on 9/13, leading my doctors to recommend immediate medical leave for the remainder of my pregnancy. I will also need to be admitted to the hospital at some point between 24 and 32 weeks until delivery at 34 weeks, assuming things progress smoothly from here. This diagnosis has been devastating to our family, both emotionally and financially. If you are able to donate or share, it would be greatly appreciated.

Our Story:

A few years after we got married in 2019, we decided we were ready to make our dream of having children a reality. After lots of testing, procedures, and several fertility treatments, we determined that our best chance of conceiving was through IVF. If you have been through IVF, you have an innate understanding of the physical, emotional, and financial rollercoaster this process is.

On May 17th, 2024, our dreams came true; we discovered that I was finally pregnant! All of the trials and tribulations we went through were finally worth it. The joy we felt and still feel is truly beyond measure. This happiness has only grown as we've experienced the wonders of pregnancy - seeing the little flicker of his heartbeat for the first time, finding out that we are having a son, feeling him kick. Along with that though, came a new level of fear. Pregnancy after IVF, loss, or infertility of any kind is beyond anxiety inducing. The fear of losing what you've worked so hard to achieve is unimaginably intense.

As we began to wean off IVF medications and graduated from our fertility clinic to a local OB, our minds began to ease. We were safely in the second trimester, and baby boy was looking great - we could finally relax! However, that all shattered when the two of us were getting ready for work one morning at 18 weeks pregnant. As Evan was putting on a necklace for me, I sneezed and immediately felt a gush. Unaware, we both started laughing it off, thinking that I had just peed myself (one of the many joys of pregnancy). The laughter was immediately replaced with panic when we discovered that I was actually bleeding intensely. At the emergency room, doctors confirmed that baby boy was okay, but it looked as though my placenta was covering or close to the cervix - known as placenta previa. This can cause large amounts of maternal bleeding. While this diagnosis was scary, we were comforted knowing that majority of placenta previa cases resolve on their own as the uterus expands.

However, after further investigation by our OB and a maternal fetal medicine doctor, that comfort was robbed once again. Our doctors informed us that while I do have placenta previa, I also have velamentous cord insertion (abnormal cord insertion) and a condition known as vasa previa.

Vasa previa is a condition in which unprotected fetal blood vessels cover the cervix and are at high risk of rupture, which would most likely result in his death. With proper management by a high risk doctor when discovered prenatally, chances of a healthy baby are thankfully very high! If vasa previa is not discovered prenatally, the rate of fetal death is extremely high. Because this condition is rare, studies on it are relatively limited. The current treatment protocol is strict pelvic rest, close monitoring by trained professionals, and admission into the hospital between 30-32 weeks (which, in our case, will likely need to be sooner) with a planned c-section at 34 weeks.

Just when we thought we were getting used to the idea of a long term hospital admission and me having to stop working well before we had originally planned, I had another severe bleeding episode after work on 9/13. After rushing to the hospital again, we discovered that I was having contractions every 2 minutes. Doctors were thankfully able to successfully stop the contractions with medication and fluids. However, our doctor discussed with us that this is an especially vulnerable time because our baby is not yet viable until 24 weeks, which significantly limits what doctors can do to intervene.

That being said, our doctor decided that I needed to start medical leave now in order to prevent going into pre-term labor, bleeding, and rupture of his vessels.

At my job, FMLA is the only option for leave and it is unpaid. FMLA is only 12 weeks, which will be up on December 9th - most likely before our baby is even here. Once I have exhausted FMLA, we will need to pay my employer's portion of our health insurance - which you can imagine is very expensive, even with a steady income. We were also denied short term disability coverage due to being on fertility medications. While we tried to prepare as much as possible for the birth of our son, this diagnosis and the consequences of it have been extremely unexpected. I was in no way planning to be out of work for 6+ months. With a high insurance deductible and high out of pocket maximum, in addition to paying for the employer portion of insurance, we need financial assistance. My wonderful husband already works 2 jobs as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant for the same school district as myself and for a local hospital on weekends, holidays, and summers. We are doing everything we can, but with medical bills, extended leave, a long term hospital admission, and a potential NICU stay we need to ask our community for support.

Thank you for reading if you've made it this far! Right now, the most important thing to us is that our baby boy arrives earth side safely. If you are in any way able to donate it would truly mean so much to us. If you are understandably unable to donate, sharing would be a great help. A HUGE thank you to so many people who have already been so extremely generous in offering to help us with household tasks, meals, etc. We appreciate it more than we could ever describe. Thank you so much for being a part of our story!