Our journey to our dream of Parenthood

Hi and welcome, our names are Rachel and Chad Raymond, and it has been our dream to have a child of our own. We have been married for eight years. I, Rachel, work in the medical field for an eye doctor and Chad, a Navy veteran, works for a local construction company. It all started back in 2013 when after a year of trying on our own, we were referred to a fertility specialist by my OB-GYN.

We decided to meet Dr. Trolice, who also came highly recommended to us by friends that also went through fertility treatment. After a couple of unsuccessful rounds of IUI, we decided to skip more IUI treatment and go straight to IVF (Invitro fertilization). The first IVF didn't take, and I remember that I was at an internship when I got the call that there was no baby. It broke our hearts, but we held onto the hope that maybe next time.

In 2019, we tried again with IVF. This time we got a phone call from Dr. Trolice that we were pregnant! I remember coming home and telling my husband, as I could barely contain my excitement! We were both so excited and thankful for this moment to finally come after so long. We went through the pregnancy normally with no restrictions. Then tragedy struck at 14 weeks when I miscarried. We rushed to the hospital, but we were heartbroken again.

At a follow-up with my doctors, we were given more hope that maybe if I, Rachel, had a cerclage it could prevent the cervix from dilating. We decided after this we needed a break to gather ourselves and figure out when to try again.

Then in 2020, something amazing happened! When my husband came home, he could tell that something was up. The pregnancy test came up positive! We were both overcome with joy! We did it entirely naturally, and it was amazing! I called my OB-GYN, and she got me started with my checkups, knowing that I would need that procedure.

At my 23-week checkup, I explained that I was feeling pressure in my abdomen. The doctor and his team did a workup and said that I was experiencing round ligament pain. My cerclage was in place, and he didn't see anything concerning at that time. I went home that day and relaxed per the doctor’s orders for the next two days.

During the night, I had become more uncomfortable and immediately called my local hospital, and they told me to come in and get checked out. I met another doctor there who gave me an exam, except this time she told me that my cerclage had dislodged. My doctor called around to find out where I could go that was better equipped to help me since I was only 23 weeks along. I was rushed to Winnie Palmer via ambulance in the middle of the night. When I got to my room, I had to get more testing, and one nurse came in and gave me an ultrasound. For the next few days, we relaxed as much as possible in a hospital.

Then Sunday came, and I was 24 weeks; around 5:30 a.m., the nurses rushed into our room. That was when I found out what had happened. My cerclage was in place, but my uterus had ruptured open. They noticed that my son's vitals were dropping. I was quickly wheeled into the OR, with my husband close behind me. After arriving at the OR, our son was born within minutes.

We experienced the life-changing and unbreakable love for our son. We sat by his bed reading to him, watching as his toes danced in his bed. We couldn’t hold him for his first few days, but soon we were able to change his diapers, bathe him, and feed him in his incubator. We would sit by his bed reading stories about adventure. We cherished every second with him, watching him become the “feisty and tough” NICU baby that all the nurses called him. Spending days at the hospital, leaving only to go to the cafeteria for food. Even after Rachel was discharged, we came back to apply for Ronald McDonald Housing.

Then a week after he was born, we walked into his room and knew something was off. Nurses and doctors were everywhere in his room, and his "roommate" had moved out that day. We stood there at the door and remembered people trying to talk to us, but I couldn't hear anything they were saying. Our son died the next morning. Our sweet, precious little boy was gone.

Due to the conditions of the birth, Rachel cannot safely carry a pregnancy. And Rachel is currently undergoing breast cancer treatment that she was diagnosed with in April 2022. But we still have hope because we still have embryos that we retrieved for IVF treatments. They are with our fertility specialist and have a surrogacy agency picked out and ready to start. But we need help in achieving this dream. We appreciate any help that can be given.