Campaign Story

Hi! We’re the Durbin’s!
My name is Kayla & my husband is Tristan. We’ve been together for over 10 years, and for most of that time, we’ve dreamed of growing our family.

Our journey started in 2017 when we lost our firstborn son Karson to an umbilical cord accident. The following year, we miscarried at 9 weeks, a day after hearing the heartbeat. A year later, halfway through another pregnancy, we had an anatomy scan at 20 weeks to only discover our baby girl Kaydence did not develop any kidneys. A condition that was not compatible with life. We were faced with two impossible choices: to induce labor immediately to terminate the pregnancy or to go home and wait for the inevitable. We chose to spend every moment we could with her. I went into natural labor at 36 weeks and although we knew her time with us would be brief, we were blessed with four precious hours. She passed away in my arms, lying on my chest, and surrounded by love from her dad.

A year later, we were incredibly blessed to be able to adopt our amazing son Declan. He has brought so much joy into our lives, and every day he reminds us how much he hopes for a little brother or sister.

As we continued trying to grow our family, we learned that I have PMOS (previously PCOS), Hashimoto’s disease, and endometriosis. After nearly seven years of infertility, several surgeries, and medications, we decided to pursue IVF.

Our first embryo transfer gave us hope but sadly ended in another miscarriage.

This journey has impacted us emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. Unfortunately, our insurance covers none of the costs. Many people don’t realize that IVF isn’t a one-time expense. Every embryo transfer comes with its own medical costs, including the procedure itself, monitoring appointments, bloodwork, ultrasounds, and a new round of medications. Even through we’re incredibly grateful to have five embryos remaining, each transfer still carriers a significant amount of out-of-pocket expenses.

If you know us, you know that asking for help doesn’t come naturally to us. We’ve built our life together from the ground up. We’ve always believed in working hard, making sacrifices, and finding a way through life’s challenges on our own.

Sharing our story and asking for support is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do, but after everything we’ve been through, we’ve reached a point where we simply can’t do this journey alone. Any donations, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to another chance. Even if you can’t donate, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Our fundraiser is called Dandelion Wishes because every time we see a dandelion, we stop to make the same wish. We make that same wish on every shooting star we see, every time we blow out our birthday candles, every time we pick a four-leaf clover, and every time we toss a penny in a fountain. We keep wishing.

Thank you for taking the time to read and share our story and keeping our wish alive.

With love and gratitude,

Kayla, Tristan, and Declan Durbin.