Getting to our Rainbow Baby
Hello and welcome to our fertility journey,
This is one of the hardest things we have ever had to write (and almost didn't). We debated for a long time whether or not we should ask for help. We are very proud and it feels a little foreign to us to start this campaign. However, in our dire need, our family and friends have encouraged us to reach out and remind us we are worthy of support to keep our journey to start a family going.
Adam is a Colorado native, US Marine and Iraqi war Veteran, and currently works for the State of Colorado, division of Veterans affairs, assisting veterans in need with accessing their benefits. I (Lauren) am a southern raised paralegal working in Denver and a freelance portrait photographer. I am seven years in remission from cervical cancer and have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)--this makes getting pregnant with a healthy baby on our own near impossible. IVF gives us the hope and the ability to start a family.
We started trying to conceive in 2017 and had our first round of IVF in March 2020. During the early stages of fertility treatment alongside hormone injections, I had a positive pregnancy test, but it painfully ended in miscarriage. Although thinking of our angel baby in heaven made us feel devastated with grief, it also made us hopeful that our rainbow baby was yet to bring us light after such a dark time in our lives. This hope drove us to continue forward with another round of IVF treatments. After months of agonizing injections, procedures, and painstakingly waiting for test results, our first transfer of embryos was in December 2020. We were longing for the best gift Santa could bring--a positive pregnancy test! Mournfully, the first transfer was unsuccessful and the embryos did not attach.
Although in the last year, we have endured intense physical, emotional, and financial ups and downs, we are blessed to have an opportunity to do a second round of IVF treatment. The cost is great (we spent roughly $30,000 for the first round and testing), and while we do both have medical insurance, neither covers any costs related to fertility treatment (not even bloodwork!). Here is where we are asking for help. We currently have limited funds and a very limited amount of time for further transfers. Any assistance you are willing to provide will get us one step closer to affording the transfer and one step closer to starting our family.
How can you help?
-If you are financially able, please consider donating to this GoFundMe campaign!
-Send encouraging/inspirational texts, messages, or cards.
-Send prayers and positive thoughts.
To thank you for your support we are offering the following handmade gifts.
-If you donate $50 you will receive a handwritten thank you note from Adam and I.
-If you donate $100 you will receive an adjustable pineapple print (symbol of support towards infertility) cloth face mask.
-If you donate $200 you will receive a t-shirt with a pineapple logo.
-If you donate $300+ you will receive all three gift options.
To learn more and follow our fertility journey further, please visit our Instagram page @realtalk_ourfertilityjourney.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU! We appreciate your time, love, and support during this challenging process. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.
With love,
Lauren and Adam Sutton
