Campaign Story

I have a dear friend, who I have known since college, who is the most generous and loyal friend you could ask for.  She is the youngest of five children and has five nieces and nephews whom she loves dearly and is very close to. She was raised by a single mother, and has a fierce network of family and friends who support her in the decision to become a mother herself.

Over the past year, she has had 3 IUI’s, which led to one pregnancy. Unfortunately, at 15 weeks the baby was diagnosed with cystic hygroma and fetal hydrops. The diagnosis had nothing to do with the mother’s health or ability to carry a child to term but actually is a very rare and spontaneous anomaly. This led to the heartbreaking decision to terminate the pregnancy, as it was not viable.

My friend bravely faced her grief, and continued on her journey towards conception. The fact that she is able to conceive is a good indicator of future pregnancies but of course it takes an emotional toll. She is working towards her dream with open eyes and an open heart, however the cost of this journey is growing significantly.

Some of you may be asking, why spend thousands of dollars on these procedures when you could get the “materials” with relative ease? For the path of single mothers, having non-contestable custody, as well as genetic screenings to ensure the health of a future child is the reason for this being a better option, and that process is expensive. Each vial of donor sperm is roughly $1200, and each IUI costs $900, in addition to a variety of other medical procedures in preparation for conception, and to ensure her overall health.  None of the fertility costs are covered by insurance because she has not been diagnosed with infertility, rather she just doesn’t have a partner.

My dear friend is a great fan of the show Ted Lasso, and it melts my heart whenever I am at her home and see the word “Believe” on her bathroom mirror. It is a beautiful image of the hope she has to one day become a parent. She wants this so badly and I hope you can support her in her journey.