Campaign Story

My name is Phylicia Sipp, and I am happily married to the wonderful Justin Sipp. I am 26 years of age. I am currently working on my master’s while being a full-time Elementary P.E. teacher. My love for children is unexplainable, and I hope to have my own one day.

In 2014 I was getting ready to go to class, and suddenly, I had a very sharp pain in my stomach and right leg. I called my mom and told her I could not walk, so she called my brother-in-law, and he rushed me to the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, the doctors told me that I would have to have emergency surgery because my fallopian tube ruptured due to an ectopic pregnancy in my left fallopian tube that I did not know anything about. After surgery, I was told  I had internal bleeding and was not supposed to make it. The doctor said to me that I had two cups of blood sitting in my stomach, I got two blood transfusions. My heart was devastated after hearing the sad news. The doctors took my baby and my left fallopian tube. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about how my life could’ve ended if I hadn’t made it to the hospital. The doctors told me that I had a 50% chance of getting pregnant after that surgery and offered me counseling. I didn’t take the help because, at that time, I was numb to everything. Later on in life, depression hit me.

Fast forward to 2020, my husband and I became pregnant again. We were so excited. Once we found out I was pregnant, we called my O.B. to set up an appointment to make sure everything was good due to what happened in 2014. We had our doctor’s appointment for about two weeks. We had ultrasounds done. The doctor could not find a heartbeat or a baby in the first ultrasound, so she scheduled me again two weeks later. The second time we went to the doctor, there was still no baby found or heartbeat. My husband and I became worried, but we still were optimistic. Later that week, I started feeling similar pains I felt in 2014. My husband took me to the hospital after I got off work. We waited and waited and waited until they finally called my name. Once I got to the back, I was told they would have to do an ultrasound on me. They took me up for an ultrasound, and there was still no baby found or heartbeat. Once I made it back to my room, the doctor came in and told me that I had another ectopic pregnancy. My husband and I instantly started crying. Our world was turned upside down in less than a minute. The doctors prepped me before surgery. I ended up having a c-section. I lost my right fallopian tube and my baby. The doctor on site told me that I did not have any chance of getting pregnant after that night. I became depressed, discouraged, and angry. I told my O.B. what the doctor told me, and she said that I still had a chance and that it would be through IVF.

I would have to do IVF because I have no fallopian tubes, but I have my ovaries and uterus. We were quoted $17,000 from our doctor. With your help, Justin and I will be so grateful for any support we can get.

P.S. our insurance doesn’t pay for anything.