Campaign Story

Hi, my name is Le’Kia Stimage and I am married to my amazing husband, Christopher. I am 38 years of age. Christopher and I are newlyweds. We met in March 2019 and married one year later to the date. It was hand down one of the best days of my life. We both expressed wanting children; but the road, definitely has not been easy. Chris and I both work in law enforcement and devote our daily lives to public safety. Immediately upon marrying, we began trying to expand our family. Month after month, we were constantly met with disappointment. After approximately 5 months, we sought fertility treatment. It was then, that I discovered I suffer from Graves’ disease and a mass was also observed on my left chest. In addition, we discovered my husband suffers from a low sperm count and motility issues. Our dreams to have a precious little baby by 2021 were crushed, and abruptly placed on hold while I underwent testing and biopsy for potential lymphoma cancer and he had to take meds to improve his sperm quality. We spent the next year or so awaiting doing CT scans every 3 to 4 months to see if I in fact had cancer. Thank God He blessed me with a life partner because he was my rock during that time. In June 2021, we finally were informed by doctors that they did not believe the mass was cancer but I have to undergo annual testing to ensure there is no growth in the mass. On a better note, That meant we could continue our fertility journey, and was beyond ecstatic. In July 2021, we planned to do a IUI transfer in August. During the trial transfer, the physician assistant was unable to enter my cervix. One week later, the doctor attempted and too was unsuccessful. I was given a referral to see a Ob-gyn doctor to determine the factor and discuss possible surgery. In August 2021, I met with the Ob-gyn. He stated the issue was fixable however I’d have to undergo surgery to do so. Anxious to become a mother, the surgery was held on 8/28/2021 and was successful. 2 weeks later, we had the IUI procedure done and 2 weeks after, we were pregnant! I cried like a small child, I had never felt that high off joy, gratitude and excitement. During our ultrasound at 5 weeks, we found out we were blessed with 2 babies! I’d have to admit, I was nervous about making it through the 1st trimester but I remained optimistic. Unfortunately, at our 1st Ob-gyn appt at 8 weeks pregnant, we found out we had lost baby B. Shocked, hurt, confused and in disbelief, we still held on to hope that we still had baby A. One morning, at approximately, week 10 pregnant, I woke up and no longer felt “pregnant”. I tried not to worry, but, I was so In tuned with my body, my intuition told me something was not right. I expressed to my husband how I was feeling, and we agreed that we should schedule an unplanned ultrasound. 11 weeks pregnant, we found out we had in fact loss baby A.  Devastation is an understatement. The following day, we had a DNC and my babies were officially gone. Just like that. We had testing done to try to find closure and was informed that it was a genetic issue. My baby was missing a chromosome. Depression began to set in and my husband I decided it would be best to take a month or 2 off to allow us to heal mentally and physically. But with time not on our side considering I’m 38, too much time could not be given. So in January and February 2022, we had two cycles of IUI, sadly with no success. In March, We met with a physician assistant and was informed IVF would be the best route considering my age and our history of miscarrying. When asked about pricing, we were told $20,000-$25,000! Oh my! that included the medications. We are employees for for non-profit human services organizations and simply cannot afford IVF. Unfortunately, again, due to my age, time is not on our side. Any donation and I mean any would help us move closer to our dreams coming true, to experience parenthood. Most don’t know what it’s like to go through infertility, but many do. It’s not easy. On a positive note, we have 2 fur babies whom we love and adore. Thank you kindly for reading our story. Sincerely, Le’Kia and Chris