Campaign Story

When they say, “Childbirth is a miracle,” you don’t stop to think about the absolute crapshoot of an endeavor just conceiving a baby can be. It’s just… I don’t know… “supposed” to happen when two people love each other and have committed themselves to one another in front of their friends, family, and the heavens.

To be perfectly frank, much like a large portion of the medical community, we had little to no information about Endometriosis or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) when our fertility journey started. And, if you will allow me, Steven, a further extension of graciousness, I still don’t have a firm grasp on any of the proceedings.

What I do know, is that a year into our marriage, my wife and I started trying to conceive a baby. For that year, while having the time of our lives, we had no success. Being frustrated, but more concerned about what was happening, we went to the doc and had everything evaluated. My guys passed with standard marks, but we found that Michelle had PCOS. Her incredible gynecologist suggested surgery, and, during that surgery, he found that she was also suffering from Endometriosis.

After the surgery, it was suggested that Michelle go on Clomid and Letrozole, and we continue trying the way we knew how. We did that for two more years without even a whisper of pregnancy, and then… life kind of happened to us.

Nothing happened… there wasn’t a traumatic experience. We just kind of drifted. We never gave up on a baby, but we stopped taking care of that part of our life… as well as our basic self-care. We both ballooned to an unhealthy weight and were drinking entirely too much. We focused on pursuits outside of our lives together and lost focus on what we wanted all along.

Then, the better part of 20 years passed by.

Like a lot of people in the world, we took the pandemic to work out all the stuff that was holding us back. We got healthy. We quit drinking. We found each other again. And then, we looked back on that one missing piece of our lives together… a baby. Someone to give all this love and affection that we have built between the two of us. Someone to show the lessons we’ve learned and pitfalls we can help navigate. Someone to take our talents and our heart and use them to make the world a better and brighter place in ways we never imagined.

Unfortunately, that work on us didn’t change any of the obstacles that still stand in our way. We have been working with Michelle’s team of doctors and health professionals for the last year. Monitoring cycles and testing, and… there is new equipment in my bedroom that I, again, don’t understand and don’t ask too many questions about. I simply know that it’s all for my wife and me to achieve this wondrous goal we have set for ourselves.

We are in our 40s now, so we knew things weren’t going to get easier. But we were trying, doing the clomid thing, and weren’t having any luck. Chelle had another surgery, and we found out she had gone from Stage 1 Endometriosis to Stage 3 with one of her Fallopian tubes completely blocked. Since then, we’ve had 3 unsuccessful cycles on clomid, with one of them eliciting a 47 mm, and excruciatingly painful, cyst on one of her ovaries.

Now we plan for the next step, and that means more money than we have, unfortunately. Our next option would be IUI, or insemination. Our insurance does not cover any of these costs and we need all the help we can get. In total, we are hoping to raise $5,000 to cover the cost of 5 cycles utilizing IUI. That is what doctors suggest planning for to ensure the most success.

As a husband, I want to give my wife the world. I want to be able to fix any problem and save her from any malady… large or small… that might beset her. I am helpless in this vein and, unfortunately, she married a creative who doesn’t have a whole lot of assets. She is the epitome of light and love, and I know that she would trade whatever world I can give her for the soft coo of a baby that has my eyes. All we are asking for, is help in pursuing this goal and this unbelievable gift.

We appreciate you simply reading this far and sincerely hope you’ll consider helping us on this journey.