Jenna and Casey’s Surrogate Journey

Hello! My name is Jenna, and my husband, Casey and I are working hard to fulfill our goal in finding a surrogate to start our family. Casey and I are both full time firefighters for Toledo Fire and Rescue Department and City of Jackson Fire Department working 24 hour shifts, as well as coaching at our local gym on our days off. We work hard to make this process possible, but will be difficult to do this all on our own! In 2021, I made the extremely difficult decision to have a hysterectomy due to a rare congenital uterine anomaly diagnosis. Prior to my hysterectomy, I was dealing with extreme pelvic pain that would come and go for over a year, and doctors struggled to find a diagnosis and cause to these very painful events. I was frustrated with not getting answers until the pain became so unbearable. I ended up in the emergency room for the pain and was admitted into the hospital for four days. These days involved two emergency surgeries, pain management, a night in the Intensive Care Unit on a ventilator, additional procedures and appointments and even thoughts of wanting to go to sleep and not wake up due to the extreme amount of pain I was in. It was finally understood that the pain was caused from a major infection surrounding my uterus that was worsening by the day. I feel lucky to be alive as this could have caused life threatening circumstances if the infection spread any further. After aggressively treating this infection with both oral and IV antibiotics, we were able to find how the infection started in the first place.

After I was discharged from the hospital and continued treatment for the infection as well as recovering from invasive surgeries through the abdomen, I then had another procedure scheduled to get more answers. It was now time to make the hardest decision I’d ever imagine a 24 year old would have to make. I was told there was no chance I’d have a normal pregnancy due to the abnormal shape of my uterus, if conceiving was even possible at all. I was given a one-way ticket to a pain free future that would resolve these severe infections with one solution; one that no 24 year old should ever have to go through. With how rare my situation is, there was not one diagnosis the doctors could give me. I had multiple textbook abnormalities all put together into one. In order to prevent this, I needed to have my uterus removed, but it felt like much more than just removing an organ from my body. Every day, Casey and I both deal with the emotional consequences this means as future parents. Financially, our dream of having our own children will be extremely difficult considering the major costs of surrogacy, though there is no chance we would give up on our dream to have a child of our own someday. We are hoping to make this process smoother with the help of others. We will use all funds from this GoFundMe toward the expenses needed in this process of growing our family, through the gift of a surrogate, making our dream possible of becoming parents. 

 Did you know? 

-Most insurance companies cover little to no expenses for infertility purposes including IVF and surrogates. 

-Intended parents cover all fees for both themselves and for the carrier including: medications, appointments, procedures, agency fees, legal contracts, compensation fees, as well as any additional costs along the way. 

-Through this thorough process, total costs can range from $100,000 up to even $200,000! 

We ask for you to join us in making this possible in any way you can to ease us into this journey. We are extremely thankful for your support in taking the time to read about our story. Please share to your friends, family, or any others to help spread awareness so they can be a part of this too. We thank you in advance!

If you have any questions, please reach out and I will do my best to inform you in any way I can.