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Pregnant Mother Told She Has Six Weeks to Raise $2.7 Million to Save Her Unborn Child

Rob Velez, a U.S. Marine veteran, and Zofia Fenrych from the U.K. are parents to a beautiful 2-year-old girl, Bathsheba. They were excited to see their second daughter, Dorothea, for the first time earlier this year at…

IJR SyndicatedApr 26, 20223 min read

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“She said it as if was such an easy thing — but we’d just seen our Baby playing around in my belly,” Fenrych said. “We had love for her. It was like, ‘how could you suggest that straight away?'”

So they saw a fetal cardiologist, who explained the multiple surgeries that would be necessary starting just days after birth and said their daughter would likely need a heart transplant before her adult years — but he also said she would be able to have a normal childhood.

Buckling down and researching their Baby’s condition, the couple braced themselves for the unforeseen circumstances, arming themselves with research and preparing to love their daughter the best they could.

But just a few short weeks later, at 24 weeks, the situation became much more urgent when another scan showed a blockage in Dorothea’s heart.

“On April 5th, we had a scan at Guy’s & St Thomas Hospital (UK),” the couple shared on their Just Giving page. “We learned that Baby Dorothea’s condition has further complicated due to a ‘severe restriction’ that has been found. This blockage is creating an overflow into the lungs that is putting our Baby’s life at serious risk, and will require an in vitro operation to unblock hole.”

Sadly, there are no such operations available in the UK, and if the condition is not addressed before week 32, Dorothea will have a 5-10% chance at birth, and no surgery at that point would help.

However, hope for the family lies in Texas: Dr. Shaine Morris at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has corrected this condition before and has agreed to treat Dorothea.

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But the surgery comes with a staggering price tag. Initially, the treatment was quoted at $3.2 million, but the hospital has agreed to charge $2.7 total, leaving the family scrambling to come up with the funds before it’s too late.

So far the family has received around $46,000 in pledged donations, but are hoping for a miracle.

“We have Faith in God and medicine, we pray that you may help us in doing so,” their Just Giving fundraiser states.

“Thank you for all the generous support of friends (New and old) and family that are trying to help us whichever way they can. Please include Baby Dorothea in your prayers.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.