Campaign Story

Our names are Brett and Katelyn. If you know us then you already know our 2 year old daughter, Taylie is our little miracle. She is our life. What you may not know is that we have tried 3 more times to have baby #2 with no luck.
We want to give her a sibling to grow up with so bad but unfortunately it has not been successful. We have a few embryos left that we would like to use if possible. We have exhausted our financials by trying all these times in the past 2 years. This time we have come up with a new plan with our doctor and want to try a natural cycle.

If you don’t know us or our full story, here it is:

I have always dreamed of being a mom. My mother started a home daycare when I was 5 years old. Kids have always been a big part of my life. Growing up all of my extended family lived hours away so it was always just my immediate family. I have 2 older brothers who have 4 and 3 kids of their own. I love being an aunt but there is nothing compared to being a mom. Every now and then I reminisce with my brothers about fun things (and sometimes not so fun things) we did as kids. I would love for Taylie to be able to do that with a sister or brother one day as well. It’s all about the memories! Fertility issues never crossed my mind as I dreamed of the future.

Brett grew up with a small family. He has one younger brother. In 2013 Brett went to the ER for shoulder pain. There he was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma which required him to undergo chemo and radiation immediately. He was told he wouldn’t be able to have biological children after that. It happened quickly and was terrifying. After completing all the treatments, he’s been in remission for 10 years. Bretts’ dad was the only boy in his family growing up and Brett’s brother has a medical condition in which he is unable to have children. So it was expected for their bloodline to end. Bretts’ parent’s dreams of being grandparents were shattered as did his brother’s thoughts of being an uncle. It was heart breaking for all, but Brett survived and that is what mattered. Brett gave up on the idea of being able to have children after his fight with cancer until it was brought to our attention that IVF was an option. It was a miracle come true when IVF was successful and Taylie was born in 2022.

We were married in Sept 2020 during the pandemic hoping to start a family right away, any way we could. We started meeting with doctors and his sperm was tested. It was confirmed that he has a low count but he was not sterile, which as a huge surprise to us since he was told he would be sterile from the chemo/radiation. Having the lower count though would require IVF to successfully have any biological children. In June, 2021 we went through IVF for the first time. We were able to get 4 embryos. We froze 2 and transferred 2 embryos by a fresh transfer. One of those embryos took and we have our amazing little girl, Taylie. She was born in February 2022. Best day of our lives! In November of 2022 we tried again with a frozen embryo, but it did not take. Our IVF doctor retired and he referred us to Dr. K at the Center of Reproductive Medicine. We tried again with our last frozen embryo in August 2023 which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. It was devastating knowing the transfer worked but that the embryo did not progress. We received a grant that covered part of the costs to try fresh one more time in February 2024. We pulled all our savings with the grant to be able to go through with the whole IVF process again. Unfortunately the embryo did not take again… We have talked with Dr. K about trying a natural cycle transfer if were are able to try again with our frozen embryos but are unable to proceed forward now because we have drained our savings though all these procedures.

We love spending our time making memories as a family. We go camping with Bretts family every summer and a family cabin with my family and all of Taylie’s cousins every August. We love roasting marshmallows in our backyard and going to parks around our neighborhood. In the fall we always go to a big pumpkin patch with family. In the winter we like to explore attractions in our area, visiting a huge walk through Christmas Light show and going sledding down the many neighborhood hills we have around us. It would be much more fun to have another child so they both have a sibling to experience all these things together and reminisce in the future. We also enjoy crafts and staying busy within our home. We usually have some kind of home improvement project going on. My dad is a carpenter and we are always coming up with new things for him to help us with in our house. I am not sure if he agrees because it is a good idea or just another way he gets to spend more time with his youngest granddaughter, Taylie. She already has her own play tools and loves using them to “fix” all of toys.

My employment is remote, I have the flexibility to work around our family’s schedules and be where my family needs me to be, whenever I am needed. We are hoping to be able to have at least one more child be a sibling with Taylie and to complete our little family.

Brett drives a small bus for a nursing home, bringing all of the residents to and from their appointments. He gets to sometimes bring them to fun activities like the casino, shopping and out to eat with family. He also helps with maintenance around the building. He has been working there for almost 10 years.

We have talked with Dr. K about trying a natural cycle transfer if we are able to try again with our frozen embryos but are unable to proceed forward because we have exhausted our financial options to continue paying for treatments while still providing for our family. It gives us hope that our family could still have a chance to grow with your help. We wanted to have a second child as soon as possible as we started this journey later in life and are only getting older. It would truly be life changing for us to have one more chance at giving Taylie a sibling. We will forever be grateful for your support!