U.S. Marshal & His Wife Need Our Help

[RWC130 594]

Adam Stein, a Senior Inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service and his wife Terryann need help.

Adam is a personal friend of mine. He was born and raised in Peekskill, NY and worked out of

the NYC Marshals Office until his promotion at which time he moved to VT.

I ask that you please check out the link below and donate anything you can.

THANK YOU!

Written by Terryann's brother John Albert

I am putting this fundraiser together to help my sister and brother in-law. They have had a series of medical setbacks that have led to serious health issues and the unfortunate financial impact that comes from multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays and extensive out of pocket expenses.

We all have set backs in our lives but what Terryann and Adam have been going through both mentally and financially has become unbearable. They have had three catastrophic medical events that I’d like to elaborate on so you can get a better understanding of the mounting pressure and medical bills that I hope this fundraiser will help with. The limit I set is not near what they owe and continues to accrue, but I’m hoping that if we all band together and not only give what you can but share with your friends in hopes the generosity of others can at least lessen this burden. In the past I have received many requests for donations to help a friend, and even a friend of a friend who I didn’t even know. After reading what they were going through I always tried to help out, knowing that any time tragedy and hard times can come when they are least expected. This time it is my sister…

First, a brief synopsis leading up to the first major and worst event that I know they will never get over. When Terryann and Adam got married a little later in life they had a miscarriage and immediately went to a fertility doctor. Failure after failure and tens of thousands of non-insurance covered procedures they finally had a success. Any of you who have been down this road knows the stress and cost you are willing to incur to have a family.

After many attempts they had a successful IVF procedure and Terryann became pregnant with twins. You can only imagine after trying for seven years straight how happy they were. A boy and a girl were on the way. They decided to name them Julianna and Mitchell. Then, out of the blue, Terryann went into labor four months to soon. The doctors tried everything they could but Julianna was delivered too early for her little lungs to make it. All Terryann and Adam could do was hold her until she went to sleep and passed away.

Amazingly the 2nd twin was actually pushed back by the doctors as labor receded, at least giving him a chance. In order to not lose their son, Terryann stayed in the hospital, bed ridden for two months. Nothing else mattered but keeping Mitchell alive. In October she went into labor again. Everyone was very scared as it was still too soon and the odds were not in the baby’s favor. At 10pm Mitchell got tangled in the umbilical cord and strangled his blood flow thereby dropping his heart rate immediately. Terryann was rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section under anesthesia. After he was born he was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he stayed for nearly two months before coming home right before Thanksgiving. After a couple of months he required physical therapy and now having just turned two I’m happy to say he’s a fun loving, happy and healthy boy. He does still require therapy for a speech delay which is common in premature babies. Through all of this they had reached there out of pocket maximum on insurance. As you know, that number is never small.

After the holidays and seeing Mitchell’s progress, they decided to push on and do another IVF procedure to build the family they dreamed of and not let Mitchell be alone because of their sadness over the loss of Julianna. The doctors were relatively sure the reason for the premature delivery was because of the twins, but she was still treated as a very high risk patient. They did another IVF transfer and it failed. They tried again. It also failed. More money and sadness. They tried a third and final time as funds for fertility medications and the procedures were depleted. Luckily this time she became pregnant with Marshall. Everything looked great and we all started to breathe easy after a couple of months of pregnancy. Then after five months she started bleeding and was rushed to the hospital, where she had to stay for a week, while being medicated to strengthen the baby’s lungs and reduce contractions – it worked and she came home. Thank God for Adam's parents, as they rushed right up and took care of Mitchell so Adam could be with Terryann. Mitchell was safe at home with Grandma and Grandpa. She was discharged and told “total bed” rest so his parents and their dog stayed for weeks to make sure the baby had the best chance to make it to 28 weeks – a key survival number. They even stayed longer just to help ensure she could make it to 29. That probably saved the baby’s life.

After several weeks Terryann started bleeding again and having contractions. By evening things took a turn for the worse and she had a uterine abruption and started bleeding profusely. She was again rushed in for another emergency C-section. The baby turned transverse (sideways) and he was stuck. They worked on him for 18 minutes before rushing him to the NICU. Terryann remained in the hospital about a week due to the complicated surgery and Marshall remained in NICU for nearly 3 months. Things weren’t as good for Marshall in NICU. He would stop breathing, heart rate would plummet and he couldn’t hold his milk down. Beyond the stress of just that, he required extensive testing to find out what was wrong with him. X-rays, brain scans, endoscopies, etc. Eventually, after nearly three long months of Terryann and Adam going to the hospital to visit, he was able to come home but attached to a heart/oxygen monitor to alarm when he stops breathing or his heart rate falls too low. You can only imagine the stress. He will wear this until he is at least a one year old. Marshall is doing much better now and has even started physical therapy with the same visiting nurse therapist as Mitchell’s. Again the out of pocket maximum for insurance was reached, in addition to more child care and other expenses not covered by insurance.

Recently Terryann was having sudden abdominal pains. After a few days of it intensifying pain she went to her doctor. The doctors suspected a blockage and sent her for an x-ray. Even though she repeatedly asked if she could have a rupture because the pain was so severe they sent her home.

That night she went to bed and her intestine ruptured leaving a hole the size of a half dollar coin. She was convinced she was going to die...

The ambulance came and she was so bad they met the paramedics on route to the hospital. She was rushed to the operating room with a fever and sepsis. 15” of intestine had to be removed, a drain tube inserted due to the contents of her intestine going into the abdominal cavity. Part of her intestine was placed through her skin in such a way that it empties into an ostomy bag, and a tube put down her nose into her stomach. After days in ICU she was moved to a regular room and after about 10 days she was released, still with a 10” open incision. This wound, because of the possible contamination to the tissue, had to be left open and was stapled once every couple of inches. It has to be repacked and redressed every single day until it heals shut. The ostomy bag/flange has to be changed and This requires a visiting nurse to come 3 – 4 times a week but because of already insurmountable out of pocket costs, deductibles and co-pays, Adam is handling this part himself to keep costs down, only having a once a week VNA check to ensure there is no infection.

DONATIONS:

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/friends-family-rally-for-terryann-and-adam/245041#.VFoGRqii3rU.mailto