The Frome-based folk duo had been touring in the US when Issy was strucken down with pre-eclampsia, a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication
A couple was slapped with a whopping $200,000 medical bill after their baby was born prematurely while they were in the US. Folk duo Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester had jetted off to Nashville for a performance when Issy was 33 weeks pregnant.
However, during the second-to-last gig of their tour, Issy started feeling sick and began throwing up, initially thinking she had severe food poisoning. Little did she know, she was actually grappling with pre-eclampsia, a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication that can strike women, typically in the latter half of their pregnancy.
This meant their little boy had to be delivered via an emergency C-section, leaving them with a staggering $200,000 bill which their travel insurance initially declined to cover. It took a grueling ten-month fight, including hiring a lawyer, before their insurers finally agreed to pay up.
The ordeal almost drove them to sell their home in Somerset to foot the enormous medical bill, but eventually, the insurers and underwriters caved and covered the bill, as well as the couple’s legal fees. This case underscores the crucial importance of having comprehensive travel insurance when traveling during pregnancy.
The touring musicians had ensured they had top-tier coverage for the trip, which was supposed to be their last before Issy went on maternity leave. But the clash with the insurers still left them wondering if they would have to sell their house to settle the bill, given the lack of free healthcare in America.
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.”
Issy, then 25, found out she was expecting in spring 2022 and breezed through all her prenatal check-ups without any issues. She didn’t experience any pregnancy symptoms, except for an insatiable appetite.
The couple were overjoyed to find out they were having a boy, and Issy felt so healthy during the first five months that they continued performing gigs. They were scheduled to play at the Americana Festival in Nashville in September 2022 and flew out with travel insurance that accounted for Issy’s pregnancy.
They claim that pre-eclampsia was explicitly covered in the fine print of the insurance policy, and women carrying a single baby are typically allowed to fly until the 36th week, with some airlines requiring a doctor’s note. After performing two gigs in Nashville and taking a day off to rehearse, Issy started feeling sick.
After about eight hours of throwing up and experiencing chest pain, Issy became concerned about dehydration and sought medical help at Nashville Gene.
Despite initially thinking it was just a bug, she was quickly diagnosed with pre-eclampsia at the hospital. Despite attempts to stabilize her condition with a 24-hour magnesium drip, it proved unsuccessful. She was given steroids to strengthen the baby’s lungs and informed that immediate birth was necessary.
Consequently, she was transferred to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown for a C-section.
Archie, 36, said: “It was the most terrifying moment of our lives, for sure.
“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.”
Baby Lucky was born weighing 4lbs 1oz on September 19 and was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit.
“I was able to look at him and give him a cuddle, then we were apart,” Issy recalls. Archie was constantly moving 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 tied the knot in Nashville’s Centennial Park, visiting their newborn son in their wedding attire after the ceremony. Archie shared: “Everybody was terrified. We knew we were going to be there for a while and we needed something to look forward to.”
Their son, Lucky, stayed in the NICU for three weeks until he was strong enough to be discharged. Several milestones had to be achieved before he could leave, including maintaining his temperature, weighing over 4lbs, feeding every three hours, and breathing independently.
Upon his discharge, the family moved to a rental property to be closer to their relatives who had flown out to support them. Five weeks later, they received clearance from doctors to fly home in November.
However, they faced a significant hurdle when their insurance company’s underwriters refused to cover the entirety of their substantial medical bill. Issy explained: “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. “
She recalls a compassionate nurse assuring her during this stressful time: “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 insurance company attempted to argue that only Issy’s treatment for pre-eclampsia would be covered, which she found incredibly unethical and insensitive as the only cure is to give birth. She described it as an very challenging period: “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.”
Legal representation secured a victory in the case – but the ordeal overshadowed much of the couple’s initial months with their newborn son.
Their latest EP, Songs That Saw Us Through, features tracks they played ‘on repeat’ during Lucky’s time in the 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.”
