Help Luke and Amy start a family.
Help Luke and Amy start a family.
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$20,000.00
Fundraiser Goal -
$14,842.00
Funds Raised -
0
Days to go
Amy Tanner is organizing this fundraiser.
Campaign Story
Dear Friends, Family and Kind Strangers,
Our names are Luke and Amy Tanner and we would like to share with you a bit about our journey together, our life and longing to start a family together.
We fell in love during high school and got married right after Amy’s graduation.
We started trying to have a baby not long after we were married, but almost eleven years later— it still has not happened.
A few years ago, Amy was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycyclic Ovarian Syndrome), which is a condition that can cause a wide variety of health problems, including infertility. Though it should not be impossible to get pregnant with PCOS, as many women do, it can make it extremely difficult. When Amy was diagnosed we felt a sense of relief, believing that a diagnosis could finally provide an answer to the infertility. One common symptom of PCOS is ovulatory dysfunction. Our doctor believed this was our main issue preventing pregnancy, and in 2021 put Amy on a medication called Clomiphene for 6 months (this is a estrogen modulator, which essentially means that it forces ovulation). Unfortunately, even this was unsuccessful and it was heartbreaking. This treatment was the last thing we could try before our doctors could no longer help us due to our medical insurance’s limitations for fertility treatments.
Amy has been to many doctors over the years and had countless tests done, but we have yet to find the answers we need. Therefore, with our medical insurance being used up, our next step is to see an “out-of-pocket” fertility specialist. Fertility treatments are very expensive, even consultations and tests to determine a treatment plan alone can be thousands of dollars. IVF is the most widely used treatment plan, but at more than $10,000 per treatment, and requiring an average of 3 attempts; financially this just hasn’t been an option for us to go forward with.
We have always loved children, and over the years we have found so much joy in pouring our love into our nephews and our friend’s children, but we long for the day that we can share all of the love we have with a baby of our own.
We have been in love for almost fifteen years now. We have gone through so many stages of life together; great joys as well as painful hardships, but we have grown tremendously as individuals and as a couple through them all. Now, all we want is to be able to have a family together— we believe that we are ready for that to happen now more than ever before.
This fertility journey has been the hardest thing we’ve ever gone through, the pain truly feels unbearable at times, but we know that once we finally hold our baby in our arms, it will all be worth it.
Anything you can give, even the smallest amount, is so appreciated. If you can’t give anything right now but you’d still like to help, you can share this fundraiser.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and be a part of our journey.
With love,
Luke and Amy
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08-29-2022
BIG Update
I'm sure many of you have seen or heard our latest update through various social media platforms, but for our supporters who made it possible, we wanted to make sure to give you an update!
Since we started this fundraiser, we've seen more love, support and encouragement than we could've hoped for. We have always had one goal in mind; to have a baby. We didn't know how it would happen, such as natural birth, adoption or IVF. We started with the dream and promise in our heart and took the first steps.
We've spent 10 years trying to communicate to doctors all of the health issues Amy had, even beyond not being able to get pregnant. We suspected a condition called Endometriosis, which is a very painful condition causing a plethora of issues. We were always told that what she experienced didn't sound like Endometriosis, but without being given any other answers. We knew we needed an expert that our insurance wouldn't provide. Once we started receiving donations, we committed to the first step; a consultation with a local fertility center. We needed to start with finding out what our options were. Fast forward to July 27th, we spoke to the fertility doctor and answered a series of questions about Amy's life, symptoms, etc. Within 3 questions, he was confident she had the condition, Endometriosis. All the symptoms she'd been dealing with for more than 10 years were all classic signs of Endometriosis. We knew it could only be both diagnosed AND resolved through surgery but it was so encouraging to hear we weren't crazy! We worked with the fertility center to find out how to proceed, having doubts how we would be able to do this. We found out the surgery and pre-op appointment were almost exactly the amount we had from the fundraiser. We knew it was already an answer to prayer.
Within 1 week we had everything set up for surgery on 8/26/22. We were ecstatic to be taking the next step so quickly after initiating this process. We'd been trying to get answers for so many years that we couldn't wait another minute.On 8/26, we arrived at the hospital at 5:15am and were checked in promptly. The entire staff was super helpful, kind and you could just sense hope was there. We were both excited and in good moods despite being up at the crack of dawn (which hadn't even started yet). Amy was brave through the whole process, even right up until the moment they rolled her to the OR. I was so grateful they let me stay with her in the room until then. It was a 2 hour surgery with a 1 hour isolated recovery so I went home to get some rest. I got the call from the surgeon that she did, in fact, have Endometriosis and it was 'extensive' and 'significant'. He also confirmed the surgery was successful! I was calm and reserved but once I hung up I just thanked God for his hand in all this. We received further detail of the overall report and learned that the Endometriosis had formed in multiple places including the reproductive system, bladder and bowels. He was not able to remove the Endometriosis from the bowels without risk of damaging them but he removed everything that would interfere with getting pregnant, as well as some other painful symptoms she'd had. He also went on to explain getting pregnant was not only possible, but likely, and in doing so could actually help remove the remaining Endometriosis! We've been at home, recovering since and taking it one day at a time. We've had multiple calls with the doctor and everything so far is looking good. There are still upcoming and likely unexpected expenses, so your continued support is so appreciated.
I can't say this enough, but I am so proud of my wife. She has been so brave through this seemingly endless journey. She never gave up because it would've been easier. She always did her research, continued pressing doctors for help and hoping it would happen somehow, someday. We're so glad to have you all along with us in this journey and look forward to giving you the ultimate update of what we've been praying for. Until then…
With love,
Luke and Amy
| Name | Donation | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous | $100.00 | March 01, 2023 |
| Pat Olsen | $150.00 | February 18, 2023 |
| Carolina Wallace | $300.00 | February 17, 2023 |
| Albert Zehr | $300.00 | February 17, 2023 |
| Lauren Caldwell | $100.00 | February 16, 2023 |
| Heather Papendieck | $50.00 | February 16, 2023 |
| Brenda Nestibo | $200.00 | February 16, 2023 |
| Anonymous | $200.00 | February 16, 2023 |
| Anonymous | $100.00 | October 16, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $100.00 | October 01, 2022 |
| Uncle Tim and Aunt Lori Pelton | $100.00 | September 26, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $100.00 | September 22, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $100.00 | September 03, 2022 |
| Brad Bodenman | $500.00 | August 26, 2022 |
| Albert Zehr | $200.00 | August 25, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $2,000.00 | August 24, 2022 |
| Tracee Anne Loosle | $111.00 | August 24, 2022 |
| Michele Taliaferro | $500.00 | August 22, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $145.00 | August 19, 2022 |
| Kerry Champagne | $100.00 | August 18, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $140.00 | July 01, 2022 |
| Diane Tanner | $100.00 | July 01, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $50.00 | June 25, 2022 |
| Jonathan Backer | $200.00 | June 25, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $140.00 | June 19, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $150.00 | June 05, 2022 |
| Karen Zheng | $555.00 | June 01, 2022 |
| Lydia Backer | $1,000.00 | May 18, 2022 |
| Celine Baker | $50.00 | May 18, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $130.00 | May 18, 2022 |
| Wayne Pelton | $300.00 | May 14, 2022 |
| Janet Bizjak | $50.00 | May 09, 2022 |
| Julie King | $50.00 | May 08, 2022 |
| Patricia Devenish | $30.00 | May 08, 2022 |
| Carolina Wallace | $1,000.00 | May 05, 2022 |
| Cheryl DeVoe | $100.00 | May 01, 2022 |
| Alison Rolf | $25.00 | April 30, 2022 |
| Naomi Metzler | $111.00 | April 30, 2022 |
| Tiffany Tornay | $125.00 | April 30, 2022 |
| Molica Hsu | $200.00 | April 30, 2022 |
| Andrayakatrine Legaspi | $100.00 | April 29, 2022 |
| Vincy Abraham | $50.00 | April 28, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $500.00 | April 28, 2022 |
| Brenda Nestibo | $200.00 | April 27, 2022 |
| Sheena Tranter | $60.00 | April 27, 2022 |
| Noah Pelton | $50.00 | April 26, 2022 |
| Malcolm Petch | $100.00 | April 26, 2022 |
| Lauren Caldwell | $100.00 | April 26, 2022 |
| Schrepel Stephanie | $50.00 | April 26, 2022 |
| TJ Pelton | $175.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $1,000.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Anonymous | $700.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Julie Tan | $500.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Tiffany Ryman | $100.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Blake Johnson | $500.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Allison Bell | $100.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Carolin Sadler | $100.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Tabitha Lemaire | $75.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Laura Collins | $100.00 | April 25, 2022 |
| Albert Zehr | $200.00 | April 24, 2022 |
| Vincy Abraham | $50.00 | April 24, 2022 |
| Debi Beasley | $20.00 | April 24, 2022 |
| Sierra Holz | $50.00 | April 24, 2022 |
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Amy Tanner is organizing this fundraiser.