Campaign Story

My name is Casaundra, I go by Cassie.

When I was 14 years old I was diagnosed with a Bicornuate uterus, less than 5% of females end up with this. I started my periods around age 13, everything was normal at first till they became extremely painful, until one day my uterus was protruding out of me and my belly was huge. My parents rushed me to the hospital to find out that I in-fact was having TWO periods!

From what I recall it was 72 hours of continuous tests that eventually led to an emergency surgery to drain a 14cm mass of Blood that had built up in the second uterus, causing me all the discomfort and pain up to that point. They removed my left side uterus and Ovary. This left me with a Right side normal functioning Uterus and Ovary. At the same time they found out I was also born with a single kidney! Talk about a lot to process at 14! They told me I would never get pregnant or have children. . .

Fast forward to today, It’s April 2024. My husband Micheal, who goes by Mikey, and I have been together since 2016. We want a family, even with my issues, we still want to have a child of our own. Ever since I could remember it’s all I have ever wanted, to be a mother, and wife, be as amazing and wonderful as my grandma was to her family.

We have tried for several years to get pregnant naturally, 2 miscarriage’s and one ectopic pregnancy later, and no success. The ectopic pregnancy brought to light that I also have Endometriosis. Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant. Endometriosis can start at a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause. Mine just happens to help hinder my ability to have a child.

This year I reached out to our providers and got together with a Fertility Doctor to discuss our options moving forward. Can I even have a baby? Were the doctors truly right back then that I would never be a mother? A reality I refused to accept, not in this day in age not with how far medical practices have come there has to be an option out there.

I have so many things stacked against me. My surgery from 14, the ectopic pregnancy where they discovered I also have endometriosis, the scar tissues that keep my eggs from properly traveling down my single tube, and the fact I have only one reserve of eggs, which is low. I feel as though I am running out of time.

My wonderful doctor went over every single possible test we could, but the fact of the matter is that my HSG test shows my eggs are not able to fully drop where they need to for me to have a success at a natural pregnancy, or IUI. I am left with one option if we want a baby of our own, IVF.

My fertility Doctor highly recommended IVF at the ORM Facility here in Portland, Oregon. She even recommended me to a wonderful provider there, I feel like I have a little more hope. Based on my history, we would like to pursue this route. We were quoted that a single session of IVF without insurance coverage is 22,000. ( Because of course our Insurance provider doesn’t cover IVF)

I am 34 years old as of April 14th 2024, I want more than anything to have a child, just one. I want to be a mother, I want us to build a family, the only thing holding us back is the financial obstacle of IVF treatment. I know after the age of 35 fertility drops, the older you are the harder it is to conceive. My egg count is already low, the odds are stacked against us. I am just not ready to give up yet, not on my dream, not on the chance we could still have a family of our own.

We are by no means well off, nor are we poor. We just get by, we survive like so many others out there. We just want to achieve that American dream. A House, a Family, and stability. But with the way of the world, and all my fertility issues that dream seems so unreachable. Sometimes it’s so hard to hold out hope, I wanted to do this naturally, but it’s not meant to be. time won’t wait for us. My body won’t stop aging, and my fertility chances will continue to drop if we don’t take this chance, if we don’t try this year, I fear we may never have a child of our own, a little me a little him, a tiny bit of both of us, to love, cherish, and raise into a wonderful little person.

So I am reaching out for help, any help, a little help, that maybe, just maybe we can reach the dream of a family of our own, a little baby of our own, a child to cherish and grow with. I never expected to have to reach out for financial help to have a child, but here I am, my story laid out for all to see, in hopes that maybe, just maybe someone out there can help us achieve one dream we can’t alone. The dream to become a family of three.