Campaign Story

Next month will mark 4 years we have been on our fertility journey, and it has been a journey! Through all the disappointments, we have done it together and supported each other. We have done 4 IUI cycles, and 6 IVF cycles. This has resulted in us having 2 euploid embryos. We are fortunate enough to live in Rhode Island were health insurance covers a large portion of the cost, and we have been able to cover the items not covered by insurance.

Unfortunately, the next step in our journey is not covered by insurance, and we need some help.
In September and November of 2020 I had to have two surgeries. I had a fibroid in my cervix, and fibrosis around my other organs in the area. The fibroid was the size of a grapefruit and weighted 1 pound. It was named Fiona, by one of the residents at the fertility clinic. The surgery in September was an attempt to remove it and maintain the structural integrity of my uterus. My amazing doctor attempted to remove it laparoscopically, but was unable to control the bleeding and had to convert to an open procedure. Fiona was not going to leave without a fight. I lost a lot of blood during the procedure and over the next 5 days was given 5 blood transfusions.

A month after this surgery I went for a follow up appointment. The ultrasound showed that there was still Fibroid in my cervix and it was dilated 7 centimeters. We had to make the hard decision to do a total hysterectomy. My ob/gyn and fertility doctor both thought that even if they could successfully remove the fibroid, never of them would feel comfortable with my uterus being able to carry a pregnancy.

It was only after the hysterectomy that we had our first glimmer of hope, when we did a cycle that resulted with a normal embryo.

Since I can not carry, we need to use a gestational carrier, to complete the rest of our journey. We extremely fortunate to have support from family to help us finish our journey, but additional help is appreciated.

There are still no guarantees, we could do everything we can and still not have our baby. Throughout this journey we have said “Failure is not that we do not have a baby. Failure is that we did not try everything we could.”

We are extremely grateful of all the support we have received from our family and friends throughout this journey. Any contribution you can make to help us see this through is greatly appreciated.