Couple from Somerset left with a £200,000 medical bill after their baby was born prematurely in the US
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester, from Frome in Somerset, are a couple who perform together as folk duo Ferris and Sylvester.
A British couple feared they would have to sell their house when they were hit with a £200,000 medical bill after their baby was born prematurely in the US.
Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester, from Frome in Somerset, are a couple who perform together as folk duo Ferris and Sylvester.
During the first five months of her pregnancy, Issy felt so well that the pair continued gigging and flew to Nashville to perform when she was 33 weeks pregnant.
However on the penultimate gig of their tour, Issy began to feel unwell and started vomiting, initially believing she had bad food poisoning.
Little did she know that she was actually suffering from the dangerous pregnancy complication pre-eclampsia, a condition which can affect some women, usually in the second half of their pregnancy.
Their son then had to be delivered by an emergency caesarean, in order to save both mother and baby from more serious complications.
However the couple were then hit with a mammoth £200,000 bill, which their travel insurers initially refused to pay.
They were forced to consider selling their home in order to cover the vast medical bill.
Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester pictured in their wedding clothes after the birth of their son Lucky
Issy and Archie pictured at Glastonbury Festival, just months before they flew out to the US
The touring musicians had made sure they had comprehensive travel insurance for the trip, believing it would be their last before Issy went on maternity leave.
Issy said: 'I was in such denial. I was 25, I'd never been seriously ill before. I had been on stage singing the night before. And suddenly there I was, fighting for mine and my child's life in a hospital thousands of miles from home.
'It was an incredibly difficult time. I spent months examining my medical records in order to build my case against a huge company who should have behaved better, and instead claimed ignorance of an illness which was included in their insurance policy.
'Eventually, we hired a lawyer.'
It was only after a ten-month battle that the insurance company finally agreed to pay out.
Issy, then 25, had discovered she was pregnant in spring 2022 and sailed through all of her midwifery appointments without a glitch.
She didn't suffer any pregnancy symptoms, other than feeling ravenously hungry.
The couple were thrilled to discover they were expecting a boy, and Issy felt so well during the first five months that the pair continued gigging.
The couple pictured with their premature baby after his birth Lucky in Nashville, Tennessee
Issy with Lucky shortly after his premature birth after Issy was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia
What is Pre-eclampsia?
Pre-eclampsia is a condition which usually affects women in the second half of their pregnancy.
Although the exact cause is not known, it is thought to occur when there is a problem with the placenta, which links the baby's blood supply to the mother's.
If untreated it can put both the mother and baby at risk.
Women with pre-eclampsia have high blood pressure and protein in their urine.
Symptoms include:
- Swelling in the hands, face or ankles
- Severe headache
- Vision may be blurred
- Upper abdominal pain
You are more at risk of pre-eclampsia if you are overweight, had kidney disease, have high blood pressure or have diabetes.
Delivering the baby is sometimes the only way to cure pre-eclampsia.
They were due to play the Americana Festival in Nashville in September 2022 and flew out having organised travel insurance that took into account Issy's pregnancy.
The couple said pre-eclampsia was specifically mentioned as being covered in the smallprint, and women expecting a baby are usually allowed to fly until the 36th week, with some airlines asking for a doctor's note.
Issy had performed two gigs in Nashville and was on a day off when she started to feel unwell.
After around eight hours of vomiting and chest pain, she became worried about dehydration and sought medical help at Nashville General Hospital - still believing her illness was simply a bug she had picked up.
Within half an hour medics told her she was suffering from pre-eclampsia.
They tried a 24-hour magnesium drip to see if it would stabilise her, but it didn't.
She was given steroids to help strengthen the baby's lungs and then told he would need to be born immediately.
She was transferred to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown where a C-section was carried out.
Archie, 36, said it was the 'most terrifying moment of our lives'.
He added: 'Issy really believed she just had a sickness bug and thought they'd just give her something to settle her stomach a little bit, and we'd be able to do the last gig and fly home.
'It suddenly went from "I think I've got a sickness bug" to very, very serious.
The couple were hit with a £200,000 medical bill, which their insurance would not cover for ten months
'The consultant sat us both down and said "OK, you have severe preeclampsia. And you are not flying home. Your child is going to be born in America." It was just the most surreal conversation.
'It was a wonderful, healthy and happy pregnancy leading up to that moment, and we just did not expect that to happen to us.'
Baby Lucky was born weighing 4lbs 1oz on September 19 and was taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit.
'I was able to look at him and give him a cuddle, then we were apart,' Issy says.
Archie moved constantly between the two, taking Issy's colostrum to Lucky in the NICU.
Within days, Issy was able to visit Lucky, gradually spending more and more time with her son.
When Lucky was ten days old, the couple married in Nashville's Centennial Park, visiting their little boy dressed in their gladrags after the ceremony.
Archie added: 'Everybody was terrified. We knew we were going to be there for a while and we needed something to look forward to.'
Issy and Archie had their wedding at Nashville's Centennial Park as 'something to look forward to' while their baby was not able to leave the hospital
Lucky remained in the NICU for three weeks before he was strong enough to leave.
For that, several milestones had to be met, including maintaining his temperature, weighing more than 4lbs, feeding every three hours and breathing on his own.
On his discharge, the trio moved to be with their families in a rental property, as they had flown out to support them.
They were given fit to fly notes by doctors five weeks later and flew home in November.
When they returned they discovered that the underwriters for their insurance company were refusing to pay all of the enormous medical bill.
'We had travel insurance and because of the touring aspect we made sure that we had premium travel insurance that was suitable for pregnancy and conditions and issues surrounding pregnancy and childbirth,' Issy said.
'I remember the most lovely nurse, I think I sort of said to her we need to look at our insurance and she looked me in the eye and said "We're treating you now."
'There was no choice.
'The insurers tried to claim that only I would be covered for my treatment for pre-eclampsia, which is incredibly unethical and insensitive because the only cure for it is to give birth.
'It was an incredibly difficult time.
'I spent months examining my medical records in order to build my case against a huge company who should have behaved better, and instead claimed ignorance of an illness which was included in their insurance policy.
'The insurance company made the whole process much more traumatic.'
Archie, pictured with baby Lucky, said the ordeal was the 'most terrifying moment of our lives'
A lawyer fought the case and won - but the battle marred much of the couple's early months with their son.
Their new EP, Songs That Saw Us Through, is made up of the songs they listened to 'on repeat' when Lucky was in NICU.
Archie added: 'These songs helped us get through that time. If somebody else going through a similar experience can feel comforted by listening to this, that's a really positive thought for us.'
Determined to resume their lives as touring musicians, the duo released their second album 'Otherness' in the spring of 2024 when Lucky was nearing 18 months old.
It was called 'a manifestation of strength' by Rolling Stone Magazine.
The Frome-based couple want to raise awareness of pre-eclampsia and the impact of preterm birth, both acknowledging it 'never crossed our minds' that anything might go wrong with their pregnancy.
They are also raising funds for Tommy's, the largest UK charity researching the causes and prevention of pregnancy complications, miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
They have since had a daughter, Dusty, one, who weighed almost double her brother when born.
The couple pictured enjoying their trip to Nashville, Tennessee, just days before Issy became unwell
Their experience of preterm birth has had profound consequences on them both.
'It was only when Issy's pregnancy with our daughter progressed to full term that I felt the effects of this, which I didn't expect,' Archie said.
'I've been stuck in fight-or-flight mode, waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
'I'm starting to understand how Lucky's birth has affected not just Issy, but me too.
'It's a lot to deal with, watching the person you love and your baby fight for their life. It takes time to recover.'
Issy added: 'To any parents out there struggling, there is life after premature birth.
'There is joy, messiness, storms and rainbows. There are first steps, baby teeth and sleepless nights. Above all, life is richer and more precious than ever.
'We're forever changed and we're grateful for it.'
Kath Abrahams, Chief Executive of Tommy's, said: 'We're immensely grateful to Issy and Archie for their support, and for sharing their experience so honestly.
'We're thrilled to hear that Lucky is doing so well after his difficult start.
'Having a baby prematurely is frightening. It can take a huge toll on parents and children, physically and emotionally.
'Every parent whose baby has spent time in neonatal intensive care will recognise the fear and uncertainty described by Issy and Archie and the ways in which 'normal' life is upended.
'We're funding research into pregnancy complications that can cause premature birth, and into treatments that can prevent it, so that fewer families experience the trauma Issy and Archie have lived through.'