Help the Meredith's in our hope of adoption.

Hello, we are Evan and Hannah Meredith and we are hoping to expand our family through the gift of adoption. We are asking for help from friends and family as this is a very costly process. Help of any amount is so greatly appreciated!!! Often with adoption, costs are just estimates and are not known until the actual birth of the child. (Cost breakdown at the end)

Our story:

We have always wanted to have children. We often find ourselves day-dreaming and saying things like "I can't wait to have kids to [insert activity, destination, or thing here]…" We began trying to conceive about 1 year after we were married in September 2016. This was a very challenging time for us as we both so desperately wanted to expand our family but seemed to be having no luck with no particular reason. Fast forward to 2020, I (Hannah) began working with the Institute of Reproductive Health to begin basic fertility counseling and treatments.

In late October 2020, after many weeks of suffering from shortness of breath and shrugging it off as something inconsequential, I was admitted to the hospital for Pulmonary Embolism. After an agonizing 40+ day stay in the hospital, it was discovered that I have a rare autoimmune disorder called Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome; in short, I'm very prone to clotting and although my case is managed well, the risk will always be there. Still, the desire to have children remained. I began working with the Mayo Clinic to receive a definitive "yes" or "no" on whether or not we should continue trying to biologically have children. With the full support of the Institute for Reproductive Health, we began looking into IVF.

Meanwhile, I was still experiencing some shortness of breath and low oxygen saturation when I would attempt to exercise. I began working with a new pulmonologist who discovered that due to my massive PE event, I had developed exercise induced Pulmonary Hypertension. I finally received my definitive "no" when I was informed that pregnancy would only cause the hypertension to progress.

We took that "no" in stride, and had already been looking into adoption. In fact, we had already completed our homestudy earlier in the year (now 2021) in the event that this was the path we had to choose. We began working with Building Arizona Families and Adoption Assistance out of Louisville, KY. We eagerly began waiting for the cases to start rolling in and are now well into the emotional roller coaster of "I think this is the one!" only to be met with "no it is not." We were devastated when we found ourselves matched with what we thought was the perfect child, only to be told that the estimated cost was not initially quoted accurately, so we had to turn down the opportunity to parent that child because the cost was much greater than what we were first told. While we have money in savings to put towards the adoption, we are overwhelmed with what the actual cost might entail, and find ourselves humbly reaching out to friends and family who wish to help.

Any donation would be greatly appreciated. We do not know what the costs will be when our perfect match is finally made, but any donations will go directly toward the adoption costs in some form. Whether it be the legal costs, medical costs, or costs for travel and stay when the baby is born, every dime will be put towards this child.

We thank you so much for taking the time to consider donating to this cause and ask that you might share our story.

How else can you help?

Lots and lots of prayers! We ask for your thoughts and prayers as we traverse this journey. Outside of the financial burden, we often find ourselves feeling the emotional tax of this endeavor. We ask that you pray for us to trust in God's timing and can find comfort in His promises. Most importantly, we ask that you pray for the birth mother of our future child, as we know that the temporary heartbreak and trying emotions we feel now only pale in comparison to the difficult decisions she will make.

When the time comes, we have built a gender-neutral registry. You can find it here:

babylist.com/hannah-meredith-baby-reg

How much does adoption cost?

Domestic Cost: According to a 2016 fact sheet called "Planning for Adoption: Knowing the Costs and Resources" from the Children's Bureau, the price of private adoption varies greatly, but usually ranges from $20,000 to $45,000. Costs include legal fees ($1,500-$4,000), court documentation fees ($500-$2000), home studies ($1,500-$4,000), counseling and medical expenses for birth parents, training for adoptive parents, and interim childcare. ( https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/s_costs.pdf)