Bring Baby Salstrand into the World!

Ever since I can remember, my sister Leah has wanted to be a mom, but these last 6 years have been filled with diagnoses, surgeries, and disappointments. If you know anything about her, you know she is an incredibly kind and caring person who has nurtured and supported so many people throughout the years-- we now have an opportunity to give some of that love and support back. As some of you may know, Leah and Zach have had some unexpected challenges in their fertility journey; it would mean the world to all of us if you would give what you can to help them become the wonderful parents we know they will be.

Below you’ll find some words from Leah and Zach, including what this would personally mean for them, some of the details on endometriosis and IVF, as well as a cost breakdown for some of the specific procedures. If you are unable to donate at this time, spreading the word and sharing this GoFundMe would mean a lot! Every little bit helps-- thank you!!

They say it takes a village to raise a child. And, in some cases, it takes a village to create the child.

First of all, we want to say thank you for being a part of our journey to parenthood and for following along with us.

The love, prayers, positive energy, support, and baby dust we have received have been incredible. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

We have had some people reach out to ask how they can help us so we have created the following fundraiser. We are so grateful for any donation, no matter how small! If you don't have the means to donate, we'd love your support by sharing the fundraiser.

We have been trying to conceive for the last 6 years with the last year being a year of hurdles: a stage IV endometriosis diagnosis, 2 endometriosis removal surgeries, 3 timed cycles and $7,000 out of pocket later, we have come to our next step in our journey to parenthood: IVF.

Now that we are past all the medical appointments and diagnoses and ready to proceed with our whole hearts... the cost to proceed is more than we have left despite traveling out of state to make the process more affordable.

To help with the cost we are starting a fundraiser with a goal of $20,000 (cost broken down below). We are piecing together a 1,000 piece puzzle and invite you to be a part of our journey to Baby Salstrand. Each piece is $20 and your name will be added to the piece or pieces of your donation. At completion, it will be framed and hung in the baby’s nursery to highlight the village that supported us to make our baby possible. There’s no limit to how many you can buy, as each piece gets us closer to fulfilling our family!

Let's break down the cost:

-$6,200 - CNY Bundle Paid in Full. This includes egg retrieval, anesthesia and medications for the retrieval. ICSI Process, embryo creation, and a fresh transfer for the first cycle.

-$4,000 for Embryo Testing. Many miscarriages are due to abnormal embryos as our bodies naturally discard what would not survive. This testing shows the quality of the embryos so we are able to use the most healthy/viable embryos possible to increase our chances for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

-$600 Embryo Storage for 1st Year

While we are SO hopeful that the first round works, we are also realistic in knowing the first embryo transfer round is usually not successful and it typically takes up to three cycles, the cost from this point is as follows:

For each cycle there will be an additional cost of:

-$1,000 per transfer

-$3,000 for medications

-$1,000 for local testing including ultrasounds, and HCG tests

-We are doing our IVF through CNY Fertility in Colorado Springs, Colorado and will be traveling there from our home in Minnesota which will incur travel, lodging, and food costs.

All in all, the cost with travel, likely increased med costs due to my rheumatoid arthritis and high immune protocol (which I couldn’t find the price of exactly) and IF we ONLY have to do 1-2 transfers is around $20,000.

Note - if there is any money leftover we will use any remainder to go toward the cost of labor, delivery, any other medical bills, travel costs and baby items in preparation.

August is our hopeful start date and it is right around the corner. We are excited to start putting our puzzle together and recognize our village that is making this possible! Thank you for your contribution!

We have decided to have a nature/tree themed nursery to remember to “always be rooted in love.” Thank you for sending love, prayers, and baby dust to us and for continuing to show us your support. It means the world to us. We love you more than words can express.