Campaign Story

Thank you for visiting our page! We are building a puzzle for our journey with IVF. Please see below how you can help us, and for more about our story. 

How does it work?

1.       We have a 500-piece puzzle.

2.      Each puzzle piece is a donation of $20.

3.      We will write your name on the back of each puzzle piece(s).

4.      Once every single piece has been “sold”, we will put the puzzle together and reveal the picture we chose. It will hang in our home as a physical reminder of the blessing we have been given. Not only will it serve as a reminder, but we will also be able to share it with our future children. This will show them how wanted, loved, and prayed for they were!

Our goal with this fundraiser is to sell all 500 pieces and raise a total of $10,000. This would go entirely towards the cost of medications. We would be honored and humbled to have you as a part of our story!

Our Story

We’d like to share a bit of our journey with you all, and we hope that our story inspires others to be open with their infertility journey with their friends and families. Through it, all we know that God has a plan for us, and our faith has allowed us to find peace and acceptance throughout the entirety of the process thus far. 

In 2019, I went to the ER with extreme pain in my abdomen and entire body. After numerous tests, the ER staff called in the OR team for an emergency surgery. I had ovarian torsion in my right ovary and fallopian tube due to a softball sized dermoid cyst. Ovarian torsion is an uncommon, yet serious condition that occurs when the ovary and the fallopian tube twist on the tissues that support them. This cuts off the blood supply to the ovary, which, if not treated promptly, can cause tissue in the organ to die. A dermoid cyst is a cystic growth, which is usually present at birth and grows slowly over several years. This led to the removal of the right ovary, right fallopian tube, and the possible damage of the left fallopian tube. 

Fast forward to 2021…Thad and I revisited the clinic, where over the next year they confirmed that my fallopian tube does not function properly. Over 30 percent of women diagnosed with infertility have damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. This condition is also referred to as tubal disease, tubal infertility, or tubal occlusion. Our only options to have a child are In vitro Fertilization (IVF) and adoption. Many adoption agencies will not allow couples to simultaneously adopt and receive fertility treatments. We will begin IVF first and eventually adopt in the future.

Our specific IVF treatment plan consists of two egg retrievals (back to back) before the final embryo transplant. We are very fortunate to have insurance that covers some of this process, but we will have a remaining balance of $25,000. We have worked multiple jobs and recently had a roommate to help with the medical expenses from 2022 and 2023, and we also have money saved for IVF treatment. We would like to not work our extra jobs and have a free room, as this would help our stress tremendously, but eliminates our extra income. It would mean the world to us to have our friends and family help us pay for our medications through this journey with a donation! We know times are tough, so please do not feel obligated to give. If you could pray for us, the doctors, nurses, and lab staff, that would be great! 

Thank so much and we love you all!

Caitlin and Thad