Support Danielle and Travis's Adoption Journey

Dear Community,

Why Adoption?

Travis and I have been trying to have a family since we got married in August of 2022. Once we passed the year mark of us trying and not conceiving a child, we decided to get some tests done by a fertility clinic. During a consultation with the IVF clinic, I was advised to get tested to see if I had my mother’s Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), as that could affect carrying my own child. PKD is a genetic condition in which cysts grow on the kidneys. Over time the cysts may cause the kidneys to get bigger and stop working. Due to my mother having a closed adoption of her own, she did not have her family’s medical history, and therefore did not know she had PKD until she was already in end stage kidney failure. In 2023, I got x-rays which showed many cysts on my kidneys and I was officially diagnosed with PKD. I consulted with a kidney specialist at Dartmouth where my mom got her kidney transplant. The doctors told me we could conceive, but if we did it would take years of my kidney function as being pregnant increases your blood pressure, and having high blood pressure causes your kidneys to work harder, which could decrease the function of my kidneys faster. I would also be considered a high-risk pregnancy and have a higher chance of developing preeclampsia. The other risk is to our child, because there would be a 50% chance that we could pass the PKD gene down to the child we conceived. After many conversations Travis and I made the decision to not continue with conceiving ourselves, and to begin our journey into adoption.

Adoption has always been a part of our lives, as both our families have encountered adoption in some way. Travis has two adopted sisters, and my mom was adopted from an orphanage when she was 4 years old. Travis and I have always wanted to be parents. One of the things we both loved about each other was how great we were with the children in our lives. We both have close friends with kids that we love as if they were our own family. We both have big families with many nieces and nephews. The word family means more than blood relatives. To us, it means having people in your life that you would do anything for. We care deeply for our family, and our friends who have become family.

Where We Are at in the Process

In August of 2024, we had a finalized home study through LUND, an adoption agency in Vermont. Travis and I are looking to adopt an infant, and we are working with LUND to get matched. Additionally, we are working with a consultation company called A Step Ahead Adoptions. This company works with other agencies across the country. We have received and reviewed many cases. The cases provide as much information on the birth parents, and their family that they can. They also provide an anticipated cost of the adoption. Most of the time, they give us a breakdown of what the funds will go to and when they need to be provided. With each case there is an anticipated expected due date. These due dates have been only two weeks away or as far as a couple months away which doesn’t give us a lot of time to prepare.

After we started working with A Step Ahead Adoption, we started getting cases right away. It was at this point, when we saw the anticipated costs of each case, that we realized we needed help from our community. The cases range from $50,000-$60,000 of anticipated costs. Additional to these costs, we will most likely match with a family out of our state. This will add extra travel expenses which includes, one way flights (as we can’t plan for how long we will be out of state), hotel/air bnb expenses, baby expenses, food etc. Before we can bring the baby home after the birth mother signs over her rights to us, there is a process called The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). This process includes many steps, and can take up to 7-10 business days. ICPC is a legal agreement between states that allows them to work together to support children placed across state lines for adoption. Even after the child is born, we will have to stay in the child's birth state until the ICPC process is over, where we can legally bring the child back to Vermont where they can be placed in our care. While we are out of state, I will have started maternity leave, but this will put Travis out of work for that chunk of time.

Thank you!

Every donation no matter what it is will be greatly appreciated to us. We both appreciate you taking the time to read our story and will be forever grateful for anything you're willing to donate to help us grow our family.