Campaign Story

We are TJ and Megan Seiber and we are raising money to bring our final adopted embryo home.
We are high school sweethearts who decided we wanted a large family shortly after getting married in 2015. Due to Megan’s previous PCOS diagnosis, we knew that getting pregnant may take us a bit longer than the average healthy couple. After a year of trying to conceive naturally Megan set up an appointment to talk to her Ob/Gyn. The Ob/Gyn placed her on Metformin and scheduled an appointment for her to come back in two months to begin a Clomid cycle. During this time, TJ was sent for further testing “just to be safe”. These tests revealed that we have both male and female factor infertility.
TJ was referred to a urologist who told us we would never conceive naturally, that IVF was our only option, and our Clomid cycle was canceled.
We immediately began researching all the possible IVF options and almost gave up hope when we saw the price tag associated with each one. This is when Megan came across an Embryo Adoption website. Sometimes those who have previously undergone the IVF process have embryos remaining after they have decided their families are complete. They can decide to donate them to other families. Megan purchased a Hopeful Recipient profile on the website and began reaching out to potential donating families. After a couple of weeks with no response we had begun to lose hope with embryo adoption. That’s when a message came in. A potential donor contacted us back after reviewing our profile.
After messaging back and forth for a while, the family decided to donate their single remaining embryo to us and we joyfully accepted. This began our process of looking for a local clinic to accept the embryo and complete the embryo transfer. We found an amazing Reproductive Endocrinologist and clinic just 45 minutes from our home. After meeting with this RE for the first time, he suggested TJ get a second opinion from another Urologist about what options we might have other than IVF. The RE also agreed to do the embryo transfer.
The new Urologist said a varicocele repair surgery could give us a chance to have IUI as a possibility for us. The surgery had a 50/50 success vs fail rate. We prayed to be on the right side of the ratio and TJ underwent the surgery. Just a few weeks before our embryo transfer we were told the surgery was unsuccessful.
In November of 2018 the perfect little embryo was transferred to Megan’s womb. Four days later, we got our first ever positive pregnancy test! For a few days the tests kept getting darker, but then they began to fade. On Thanksgiving Day 2018 we got the phone call that Megan’s lab results were back and she was no longer pregnant. We were completely devastated and back at square one.
Megan joined an Embryo Adoption and Donation Support group on Facebook and posted a hopeful recipient profile. This time we waited to see if anyone would reach out to us. Two different people reached out but neither were the right fit for us and we once again began losing hope. Then a Facebook message popped up from a potential donor family and something immediately felt right. After messaging, emailing, and video chatting, an amazing couple offered to donate 4 of their remaining 16 embryos to us. We were over the moon! Less than three months later one of those embryos was transferred to Megan’s womb.
The transfer was once again successful and this time, the pregnancy tests continued to get darker! At six weeks gestation, Megan began cramping and bleeding. An ultrasound showed a gestational sac but no fetal pole and no definitive yolk sac. It also showed the largest Subchorionic Hemorrhage the doctor had ever seen. We were told to go home, pray, and wait. Four days later a repeat ultrasound was performed and it showed a miracle was happening! There was a yolk sac, a fetal pole, and a strong heartbeat! The baby was attaching at the only spot not completely surrounded by the hemorrhage. The pregnancy continued without problems until a 25 week ultrasound showed that the baby’s growth had begun slowing. By 30 weeks, the baby was measuring way behind. Megan also had a very abnormal blood test and was sent to a hematologist.
The hematologist believed that the abnormal test was just Megan’s body’s reaction to the stress of pregnancy but ran more tests anyway. A week later, we got the phone call that the test results were back and we needed to come in and speak to the oncologist. The tests showed that one of Megan’s genes had mutated and her abnormal platelet counts were most likely due to a rare form of cancer called Essential Thrombocythemia. This diagnosis couldn’t be confirmed until a bone marrow biopsy was done and since the pregnancy was so far along, it was best to wait until after delivery.
At our 38 week appointment it was discovered that Megan had developed pre-eclampsia and we were sent to the hospital for an induction. Twenty hours later our beautiful 6lb 3oz miracle girl was born. We brought her home from the hospital on Thanksgiving day 2019.
At a follow up appointment we were told that her slowed gestational growth was due to micro-blood clots that formed throughout the placenta because of Megan’s high platelet count. In January 2020 Megan had a bone marrow biopsy performed. While in the recovery bay, she was awoken by her phone ringing. It was the oncologist and some of the new test results were already in and she was to start a low dose chemo the next day and more than likely, she would need to stay on this for the rest of her life. This meant future embryo transfers were no longer a possibility due to the fact the chemo would also attack healthy fetal cells and lead to fetal demise of future pregnancies. The offical cancer diagnosis came a week later.
After lots of research, Megan’s oncologist said that a future pregnancy would be possible if she began taking Pegasys. Pegasys is typically a medication used to treat Hepatitis, but its main side effect was lowered platelet counts. Several case studies showed that pregnant women with ET who were on Pegasys had significantly better pregnancy outcomes than those who were not on it. Megan began a twice weekly Pegasys injection that week. A month later, Pegasys was recategorized to be an at-home injection. This change now meant Pegasys would fall under our pharmacy coverage not our medical coverage and our pharmacy insurance continually denied our requests for coverage. Pegasys cost $1,200 an injection and Megan’s platelets were rising fast. If something didn’t happen soon, chemo would have to be restarted and embryo transfers wouldn’t be a possibility once again. After lots and lots of prayer, God gave our family another miracle! Megan received a grant from the drug manufacturer and now receives Pegasys free of charge!
While all these medication struggles were going on, we conceived naturally three times. Unfortunately, all three pregnancies ended as chemical miscarriages.
Finally in February of 2021 we were cleared by all doctors to finally have another embryo transferred. We were so excited to make it to this date after a year of endless doctors appointments. Our excitement grew when we found out the transfer was successful and we were pregnant once again. Our six week ultrasound went well, but our 8 week scan showed that there might be a neural tube defect. Ten days later we came back for a repeat ultrasound. This time we received devastating news. Our baby’s heart had stopped. The next day we said goodbye to our beautiful girl, Baylor Layne.
By this point we had completely exhausted all of our funds on surgeries, transfers, medication, and doctor’s bills so we decided to sell our house. This is when we once again received God’s grace and favor. Our house sold in a single day at well above asking. These extra funds allowed us to pay off all previous medical debt AND pay for another transfer. In July 2021 we had our fourth embryo transfer.
Low and behold the transfer was successful! That was where the good news ended. Megan’s hCG levels were not rising fast enough. Still we had hope! Our six week ultrasound showed a small gestational sac but a perfect heartbeat and our hope grew. At 7 weeks, Megan began bleeding heavily and we were immediately brought in for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that the baby was still growing but Megan had another Subchorionic Hemorrhage that was actively bleeding. All of her blood thinners were immediately stopped. We still believed that everything would turn out alright. A week later, we were told the baby’s heart had stopped. Because of the repeated losses, we sent our sweet babe for testing to see if there were any chromosomal abnormalities. The testing revealed that our sweet baby was a perfect little boy.
In January of this year we conceived naturally once again, but like the others, the pregnancy ended in another chemical miscarraige.
We have one precious embryo left and we want to bring them home. Our last chance. Our hope for another miracle.
For the past four years we have worked hard to earn, save, fundraise, and even sell our house to pay for all our fertility expenses. Over the years our village has grown and has been so incredibly generous with their prayers and gifting. We currently have half of our final transfer costs saved but need help with the second half and are asking for help to reach our goal.
More than anything, we ask for your prayers for another miracle.