Campaign Story

My name is Manuela Lewis Thomas. I married my husband Shane Willis Thomas on June 8th, 2019. We
have been together for 6 years. We met in Jr. high school. After we both graduated high school in 1999,
we went our separate ways. We both joined the Army. We both served for 6 years. We met back up in
2015. Since we have been together, we have been trying to conceive. We found out in July 2020 that
had ovarian cysts and fibroids in my uterus. Also found out that I have stage 4 endometriosis. I had
surgery to remove the cysts in my ovaries. This was the first major surgery I have ever had. It was during
the beginning of the Covid outbreak. I was not allowed to have anyone in my pre op room. I was
terrified. I found out in July of 2021 I now have 4 more cysts and an Endometrial polyp. I also have stage 4 endo.

Neither me nor my husband have children of our own.
Sometimes I feel as if this is an impossible goal to meet. We live in the state of NC, which is a state that
is not required to offer infertility insurance. We are doing everything that we can to raise the money for
this beautiful journey. We have attempted to get loans and apply for credit cards; however, we have
been unsuccessful. We are now trying to sell everything that we possibly in order be able to take this
journey. We flea market or have yard sales every weekend, weather pending. We have also gotten
creative with trying to raise money, by making small concrete objects to sale. We have also invested in a
cricut to make shirts and decals. We have had some help from our families, however that’s just a small
drop in the bucket.
We go above and beyond for our
families. We make sure that the children that are in our family or our friends that they have everything
they need. Sometimes some parents just need a little extra help.