It's hard not to feel jealous when looking at the gorgeous locations, effortlessly stylish clothes and ultimately enviable lifestyles that popular Instagrammers and bloggers share images of. But sometimes, all these luxuries can come down to nothing when life takes an unexpected turn and forces you to reconsider exactly what's most important to you.
That was the case for Jessica Stein, who is better known as fashion blogger Tuula Vintage.
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Known for her boho aesthetic, Australian-born Stein saw her fashion blog grow to monumental heights, attracting a large international fanbase before Instagram was even a thing. Now, the trendsetter has over 2.7 million followers on the platform.
She's been quieter on the social media front in the past year, and for very good reason too. Stein announced last year that she was pregnant, before giving
birth to daughter Rumi in March this year with partner Patrick Cooper.
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However, Stein had a difficult pregnancy, being admitted to hospital only 24 weeks into the pregnancy after having her waters break prematurely at 20 weeks. When first announcing her pregnancy in an Instagram post, the blogger wrote that she never thought it would even be possible to fall
pregnant.
“I experienced multiple pelvic and internal injuries after being hit by a car at 16 with ongoing pain and limitations, and was warned of what might never come to be,” she wrote. She said her and Cooper were planning to adopt before the "unexpected miracle" of her pregnancy happened.
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However, things have been no easy feat since their daughter arrived. Rumi was born weighing only 4.5 pounds and was diagnosed at
birth with an extremely rare chromosome disorder called Mosaic Trisomy 2. The small family has been to-and-from the hospital constantly since birth, and Stein said: "Every day is a fight" for the tiny, sick baby who has had to go in for emergency surgery more than once.
“Most days we can barely hold ourselves up let alone each other. We thought that we could just take each day as it comes and focus on the current battle. But with each new day came a new battle.”
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It looked like things had taken a turn for the worse when Stein had no choice but to turn to the internet to ask for help. Incredibly, the super influential blogger, who has made a substantial living for herself with brand endorsements, sponsorships and ambassador campaigns for different clothing labels, hotel groups and holiday destinations, spent her life's earnings on medical expenses for her precious daughter.
Posting another image of Rumi on Instagram, Stein opened up about her dilemma:
"What would you do if your daughter was born with one of the rarest voices of all, and you had an international audience that could be open to listening?
"I have always been extremely private and had planned to keep my pregnancy and children offline, until they could make the choice themselves."
However, Stein said she and her partner had "run out of options" and had made the bold decision to create a GoFundMe page to ask for help from her fans. It must've been an incredibly tough decision to make to use her social influence in such a way.
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"Pat and I would like to stress how uncomfortable we are to be asking for financial help and want to be completely transparent. We have already borrowed a few thousand from family to tide us over, but rent is due yet again.
We have lived off what little savings we had, prioritising paying the rent for a house we barely get to live in and frozen meals each day while we split shifts in Hospital.
Pat tried to work casual hours with a friend doing labouring, but never finished a day without a call from me in the Emergency room or in the back of an Ambulance."
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They had a goal of $100,000 in order to cover medical costs, private insurance, equipment and therapy for their daughter. Incredibly, after posting the plea for help, it took less than 24 hours to exceed the goal and raise $120,000. Now, just over a month later, 5,392 people have helped raise $235,804
to help Stein.
In response to the enormously generous response, Stein took to Instagram to thank the people who donated from all over the world.
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“We are in complete shock,” Stein wrote:
“The heavy knot that has been in the pit of my stomach for months on end is now lodged in my throat; I am lost for words that will ever carry the weight of what this means to us.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Stein has been posting a few more pictures of her small baby since then, and while she says they're still in and out of the hospital, at least they've got the resources to do so. It's a heartbreaking story, and we wish Rumi and her parents all the best looking forward.
