Campaign Story

Update from Becca & Ahmad (AUG 2022):  Hi Everyone, we can’t even begin to express how incredibly thankful we are to all those who have reached out, donated, etc.  THANK YOU!!

We also wanted to give you an update on our journey that has taken some unexpected and devastating turns, although we are still so very hopeful and can’t wait to hold our little one in our arms some day!

In December 2021 we had our first embryo transfer, and our surrogate became pregnant.  We had a confirmed pregnancy via blood test, but a few weeks later, miscarried.  We waited a few more months, and tried a second transfer with the same amazing surrogate in April 2022. Again, we had a confirmed pregnancy via blood test and this time we made it to the 7th week where they did an ultrasound and confirmed there was a heartbeat – and to our surprise – two heartbeats!!! The embryo split and we were expecting identical twins.  We were scared as any parent would be with this news, but more importantly over the moon excited!  At a follow up ultrasound on week 8, neither heartbeats were found.

It has been extremely tough for the both of us dealing with the last miscarriage but we are pushing on.  We will forever be grateful to our surrogate who went through this traumatic experience with us, but ultimately it just was not meant to be.  Luckily, we were able to gain an amazing friendship, and will always be grateful for her selflessness and willingness to help us.  We are working on our next plan of action and hoping third times a charm!

Thank you again to all our friends, family, acquaintances, and even strangers who have followed along on our journey.  We are continually grateful for your well-wishes, prayers, and donations.  From the very bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU.

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Original Message:

Our beautiful sister and brother-in-law, Becca and Ahmad, have always wanted children. They were thrilled when they found out they were pregnant with their first son, our nephew, Zayn. Becca had a normal pregnancy. The normal morning sickness, cravings, of course, but nothing to warn us what would happen on January 16, 2020.

Becca was scheduled to be admitted and induced on January 15th. Two nights before, we all had dinner together. Becca was so excited. She was nervous a little, of course, but the excitement to finally meet her son and start her motherhood journey literally radiated from her. We talked about how amazing it feels to hold your baby for the very first time. They were both so excited.

Like her pregnancy, the start of Becca’s labor was uneventful. Long, but not abnormal for a first child. Things started to turn when Zayn’s heart rate started dropping signaling that he was in distress. Becca was stuck at 7 cm and not progressing and they thought a c-section was in the best interest of Zayn.

During the prep for the c-section, Becca was having difficulties breathing. Thanks to the well-trained and fast-acting doctors at Women and Infants, they were able to identify this as an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), a very rare birth complication with a very low survival rate for both the mother and the baby. On top of that, she experienced a placenta abruption, which is also a low survival rate. The doctors saved her life, but in doing so had to perform an emergency hysterectomy.

Zayn was absolutely perfect and 100% healthy. Becca, on the other hand, was intubated and transferred to the ICU at RI Hospital. We were told that the best case scenario was that she would be vegetative state for the rest of her life. The embolism typically shoots right to the brain or to the heart, and it was already a miracle that she didn’t die on the spot. This was supposed to be the happiest day of Becca and Ahmad’s life; instead of holding onto her baby, she was holding on for her life.

Against literally all odds, Becca fought her way back from the brink of death within hours. When she was extubated, the ICU nurses cried along side all of us. It was nothing short of a miracle that we witnessed that day.

Becca lived. And that’s the most important thing. She lived for her son and husband. However, she lived not without complications. Upon waking up, we discovered that she had suffered a stroke that affected her entire right side. If you saw her today, you would have no idea; she has worked so hard in PT for a year to gain as much control and feeling back as possible. However, there is permanent damage that she will have to live with forever.

And, of course, the life-saving hysterectomy has left Becca and Ahmad unable to carry children again. They are unable to fulfill their dream of having more children in the traditional way.

But, if you know Becca, you know that nothing will stand in the way of her dreams. She and Ahmad have started a gestational surrogacy journey. This means, that they will have a child that is 100% biologically theirs, but is carried by another woman.

This journey is an expensive one. The average surrogacy upwards of $100,000. For a traditional pregnancy, most of these costs are covered by insurance, but Becca and Ahmad have to pay for it out of pocket, as surrogacy is not covered by insurance. Becca and Ahmad want more children so badly and went into this journey knowing this and prepared to do so through refinancing their home, etc. They would never think of asking anyone to help them financially. But, we are asking on their behalf.

Becca, Ahmad, and Zayn have been through so much and still remain such selfless and humble people. They have such big hearts. They have turned their story into a positive one, sponsoring blood drives in honor of AFE survivors and raising money and awareness for the AFE Foundation. They are the first people you can turn to if you need help or advice, without judgement or reservation.

We are asking you to consider making a donation to help fund their surrogacy journey. Nothing is too little and 100% will go straight towards helping them fulfill their dreams of bringing another baby into their world.

With so much gratitude and love,
Laura and Olivia