Bring Home Baby Vizcaino

HEY! If you are here, chances are you fall into one of two camps: 1.) you know and love Kelly and Agustin as much as I do or 2.) You may be a complete stranger or a distant acquaintance but you clicked the link to hear their story and find out more. Either way, I am SO glad you are here. 

 The first thing you need to do is to watch the video (link is above) to hear straight from their mouths on what this means to them and how the process of bringing home Baby Vizcaino will work. It's TRULY an honor to be able to support this growing family through not only finances, but through prayer. The ask is big but we KNOW God is way bigger and there is nothing we can't do through Him. 

I also wanted you to hear straight from Agustin about this journey and what it means to them. Just know that every cent raised through this campaign will go STRAIGHT to medical needs, all expenses that are directly related to the surrogacy process and to benefit the Vizcaino family directly. The calculations have been made and we will not be raising MORE than what is actually needed. From the bottom of not only my heart, but obviously the Vizcaino family, we are SO SO thankful you have decided to join in and be a part of making this a reality for Agustin, Kelly and baby Vizcaino too!
-Tonie Christine Sexauer


Their Story in Agustin's Words:


I love Kelly, when I think of the person I want to have baby with, it is always fun and exciting to think of Kelly as the mother of our children. I think of all they will learn from her about perseverance and finding happiness among even the toughest of times.

You may not know Kelly, and to tell you the whole story may take longer than you have time to read, but I would love to tell you a summary of the person she is, and some of the struggles in her life that have shaped her and allowed her strength to shine through.

When Kelly was twelve years old, her family was in a near-fatal car accident. At 80 miles-per-hour the car lost control and upon hitting the guard rail their lives changed forever. As Kelly smashed through the window her shoulder hit the side of the car. The severe blow pulverized the joint and her arm was almost detached from her body. The nerves that control movement to her arm were completely detached from her spine. This is called a fully avulsed brachial plexus injury. As difficult as it was for her to lose the use of her right arm, the most difficult part is the severe and chronic nerve pain that has resulted from her injury.  Over the years Kelly has tried several procedures to try to eliminate or at least reduce this pain. These costly and painful surgeries have not worked, and unfortunately in some cases they made matters permanently worse. But what I find the most amazing is that you would not know this if you met Kelly, at least not at first. Its not that she is afraid to talk about it. No, she welcomes real conversation and is open to discuss her paralysis and injury with others because she understands the power behind sharing our struggles with others. So, no, that is not the reason you would not know at first. The reason you would not know is because Kelly takes life by the horns. You rarely meet someone who lives every moment of every day.

If you had a chance to meet her you would quickly realize why I fell in love. And believe me, I hear this very often from people who meet her. And I love hearing it, because I also see it every day at home, when its just the two of us. Kelly inspires me daily. She does not complain, she finds solutions. She does not make my own struggles feel small, she finds a way to console me if I am sick or in pain. As you can see, Kelly has so much to give. One of her passions is to share motivation with young women who have had difficult upbringings. This is where I often see a glimpse of what the future holds for us and our children. A loving mom who truly understands what you are going through. And I see the way these girls look at Kelly. They love her, they respect her, they find so much joy and hope in her stories and the way she interacts with them. Yeah, she will be a great mom.

We started thinking about starting a family a few years ago. We knew that Kelly’s medications could present a risk and also wanted to know how pregnancy could affect Kelly’s nerve pain. Several months and doctor visits later, we found out that pregnancy would not be possible for us. Even though Kelly is healthy to carry a baby, some of her medications are known to cause severe birth defects and as a result it would not be wise for her to get pregnant. This has been a difficult reality to confront, but as we know from our shared life experience… God sometimes has a different plan for us.

As a matter of fact, God’s plan started many years back. After the accident, Kelly’s friends and family saw her walk through the trials of her new life. On one special occasion, when Kelly was 18 years-old, her childhood friend shared with her that she was willing to carry a baby for her if there ever was a need. Kelly appreciated the gesture but she was young and not thinking about having a baby anytime soon, so she forgot about it. However, her close friend was not joking and kept this promise in her heart. Fast-forward to a year ago; upon hearing from us about our hopes to grow our family, her close friend very sweetly reminded Kelly about their conversation many years ago. Her heart has not changed… and so we begun to prayerfully consider this possibility. The gift is so humongous we decided it was most important that Kelly fly out to see her friend and her husband to discuss. This trip was time well spent and it helped to confirm in all our hearts that we wanted to proceed to have a baby. Our dear friend would carry our baby. We cannot think of a more beautiful display of love.

Since then we have been on this journey, taking time to think, spending time in prayer, finding the right doctors, understanding the moving parts, and getting excited about what the future may hold. Regardless of what happens, we trust God and we continue to be more and more excited about our community of family and friends (near and far) who have encouraged us so far in this process.

Currently the obstacle we face is a financial one. Over the last couple of years, we have diligently saved towards this goal. However, we have been twice hit by unforeseen circumstances that emptied our baby-savings. The first was an extended family emergency we helped with. The second has been a random neurological syndrome that Kelly is currently recovering from (fortunately she is closer and closer to being fully recovered). Unfortunately, most of the costs related to surrogacy or gestational carriers are due upfront. And as some of you know, when it comes to fertility the earlier the better. Furthermore, we know it would be best for our dear friend and her continued family plans if we were able to start this process now.

We have once again diligently started our baby-savings account, but this time we are also asking for your help. We are excited to ask for your help. We believe this story will be better with community by our side from the beginning. The goal is to raise $45,000. This would enable us to start the process right away. We know this is a hefty amount… but as a good friend mentioned… if 45,000 of your closest friends give at least $1 then you will be there in no-time. Haha. True. Sometimes I think Kelly may have 45,000 friends but since this may not reach them all… I will leave it up to you and your heart to decide if you are able to help us.

Part of the ground-work has been done. We would truly appreciate your support to start the next chapter of our family’s story. Thank you, thank you for your love and support.

Much love,

A&K.

PS: I have not mentioned it, but if you met me (Agustin) you would know I am a child at heart. I cannot wait to be a dad. To show my kids that they are loved unconditionally. To teach them to play soccer, respect all people, be curious, show them it is OK to be silly, help them discover the beauty found in nature, and well … so much more.

To follow along and learn more about Kelly + Agustin - check out:

Bringing Baby Vizcaino Home - Facebook Page 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellylemon/
Blog: https://kellylemonphotography.com/blog/ - search "baby vizcaino"  or "A Life Modified"
Big Thanks to Green Attic Films + Carrie Littauer for the video.