Support the Bouzan Family During High-Risk Pregnancy

Update:

We've had some questions as to how else people can help us over the next few months. Meals are always welcome for the boys to eat. Premier protein powder/shakes or Market Basket, BJs or Walmart gift cards would be helpful for me to get the drinks I need. We have hospital bills accruing at Tufts, Concord Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock if you would like to cover a specific bill. If you or someone you know is available to watch Ricky for a day during the week here or there, that would be very helpful in eliminating childcare costs. Otherwise, donations and prayers are most helpful during this time. I have updated the total to the exact amount that we need to survive until Olivia is born. Thank you!

Hello everyone,

As many of you may know, our family is growing with baby #2 and although we are beyond thrilled to be bringing another beautiful child into this world, we are yet again experiencing another high risk pregnancy and medical emergency this time around.

I have been diagnosed with bowel dysmotility, an issue that I have likely always had that stayed dormant until a major event happened within my body (in this case, pregnancy) to flare it up. What that means for me is that the muscles and nerves don't work as they are supposed to in my intestines, so I need to be on medicine to keep my intestines cleared out at all times. When I'm not pregnant, I am easily able to manage this. However, as soon as my body starts going through the changes that come with pregnancy, my intestines do not respond to the meds. Because of this, I have frequent bouts of severe pain in my abdomen and back that lasts consecutively for hours and sometimes days before I find relief, making it difficult to stand, move or breathe. This usually warrants a trip to the hospital for pain management and a few days of fasting.

There is a chance that the pain I'm having is due to another hernia in my intestines as a result of the bowel dysmotility issues, but it is too risky to operate at this point as it could induce early labor. I am only 24 weeks along.

For those new here, I had 2 mesenteric hernias with my last pregnancy which almost killed me and baby at 4 and 12 weeks pregnant because they did not show up on any imaging and needed exploratory surgeries to find and fix.

I am on a slew of meds to manage the symptoms and a mostly-liquid diet for the remainder of the pregnancy in hopes that I don't have any more extreme flare ups. Unfortunately this new regimen comes with its own list of side effects, including drowsiness, chronic nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and dizzy spells. I already have a plethora of medical problems as it is which has only added to my suffering. To put it simply, I need to be on bed rest as much as possible, which is simply a joke with a busy toddler.

We are asking for your help to get us through the rest of this pregnancy as smoothly as possible. What your donation will do will help cover the following:

*Cost of childcare from now through my c-section recovery which we cannot afford on Stephen's income alone.

*The numerous unexpected medical bills that we have and will continue to accrue.

*The lost income from Stephen's time spent out of work each time I've had a flare up (no work=no pay). We've had to lean on credit to pay for groceries and immediate needs which has put us in more debt during this time.

*It will help us pay for my expensive protein shakes which I need to keep myself and baby alive.

*It will help us continue to pay for my medicine and weekly doctors visits between trips to Maternal Fetal Medicine for the high risk pregnancy, iron infusions, Gastric and surgical followups, tests, as well as parking expenses as I will be seen at Tufts in Boston going forward.

We understand that this is a big ask, and anyone who knows us knows we do not like to ask for favors or help if we can do things on our own. It is embarrassing and I'm sure nobody would feel comfortable having to put themselves out there as we are right now. We are at the end of our options and need all the help we can get.

I know it's not much, but we will be praying for each person who offers help in any way. It's all we can do right now.

Thank you in advance,

Mary, Stephen, Ricky and Olivia Bouzan