Campaign Story

Hello! My name is Kristen Ross, and I am starting this fundraiser to hopefully help to expand my family. My husband and I got married in 2017 and wanted to start a family after a year of marriage. Unfortunately, the process took longer than we expected and just as we were ready to begin some tests to find a way forward the pandemic hit and understandably shut down all fertility procedures in our area. When we were able to truly get started with a fertility clinic in August 2020, all the testing we did came back with no clear answers to why we cannot get pregnant on our own. After three failed IUIs, my husband and I decided to pursue IVF in January of 2021, still unsure how successful this process would be.

Where everything failed before, IVF went better than planned. We were able to retrieve thirty-six eggs in March of 2021, nineteen of which ended up fertilizing. My husband and I tested eight of those eggs, six of which came back as genetically normal. In April of 2021 we did our first transfer cycle of the genetically strongest egg. Ten days later we got the results we had wanted for three years – a positive pregnancy test! Our little baby boy, Chandler James, was born that December and we were over the moon! 😊

My husband and I have always known we wanted at least two children, and believed that our smooth IVF journey meant that whenever we decided to pursue child number two that all would go just as smoothly. We have yet to attempt our second transfer due to one big issue: money. I was a teacher when Chandler was born, and chose to take the entire second semester off to care for him. We had saved money to cover this long maternity leave but the economy in early 2022 had different ideas for how that money needed to be used. Our finances stabilized a little after I returned to work in August of 2022, but it became clear to me quickly that teaching was not going to be the best career option for my family because of all the extra time it took up outside of the school day.

In February of 2023, I took a new job that was closer to home and required no take-home work. It was perfect because it gave me the time I needed to spend with my son and husband. It was less than perfect because it came with at $9,000 pay cut. The money we were saving for a second transfer was now being used to pay bills and as the timeframe we had in mind for a second transfer approached, it broke our hearts to realize it wasn’t a financially viable option for us right now.

I am hoping that we can raise $6,000 to help cover the expenses of an embryo transfer and the medications that go along with that. I feel so fortunate to have our one miracle baby, and I am truly happy with my current family. However, I know my son is meant to have a sibling and that there is one member of our family who still needs a chance to come into this world. I appreciate the time you are taking to consider our fundraiser and hope that you feel compelled to donate anything (even $5!) to help us bring that blessing home and complete our family. Thank you so much! I hope you have a lovely day.

Sincerely,
Kristen, Geoff, and Chandler Ross