Tanya & Dragan's baby dream

Tanya Andriulaitis and Dragan Stojanovic are two of my dearest friends. This special couple doesn't have the typical "girl-meets-boy" love story. They weren't high school sweethearts, they didn't meet in university, at church or at a job: rather, after world travels and various life travels (and sometimes VERY wrong turns in those travels!), they went through some terrible struggles and both overcame a potentially fatal illness, meeting later in life.

Tanya still remembers that she first saw Dragan - literally, "across a crowded room"! - and was eventually introduced to him by a mutual friend who knew them both through their (very) bad times & good. Despite the fact that some people thought they were a bit of an "odd match", they defied the odds and skeptics and built a strong friendship, relationship, and - since October 2010 - marriage.

Also since that time, they have been trying to start a family. Unfortunately, meeting the love of your life "later in life" is not so conducive to success in this area! Although they are both extremely healthy and everything checks out "on paper", they have had to turn to fertility specialists for help in order to achieve their dream: and yet they've still had no success. The sad fact of the matter is, Tanya says she has probably missed the "baby boat", and that her eggs are probably just too old for her and Dragan to have a child of their own.

Over the last year they have incurred large financial burdens in order to pay for IVF (in-vitro fertilization) as well as several other procedures, none of which were inexpensive, and none of which - unfortunately - worked, either. And while these treatments may have exhausted their finances, they have not exhausted Tanya & Dragan's dream to have a child. However, the only way this can happen now is to try IVF again, but there is a very high likelihood that they will have to do this with surrogate (donor) eggs.

Both Tanya and Dragan have taken on extra work in order to save up for this last "kick at the can" - Tanya by getting a part-time job at a vet clinic where she gets to be involved in working with (her) beloved animals, and Dragan taking on painting contracts as they come up - but they still need extra help. This is where this message/request comes into play: Not only is IVF very expensive, but with donor eggs it is even MORE expensive than usual. There are legal fees to consider with regard to the donor as well as the medical expenses and the up-front costs of getting a donor in the first place.

I have a friend that used this site to raise money to take the final trip of his life before he dies of terminal stomach cancer. It was such an amazing and wonderful thing to witness the generosity of others to help him have his final wish granted. This situation is the complete opposite as Tanya and Dragan's dream is to bring life INTO their world, to love and raise a child.

Tanya has been my friend, my confidante, and sometimes even my Mother, or "Mama Bear" as I like to call her. She has stood by me through thick and thin and I cherish our relationship. Tanya and Dragan would be the most incredible parents if they just had the opportunity.

Please consider helping make Tanya and Dragan's dream a reality. Any contribution - no matter how small - between now and April would be greatly appreciated (DONATIONS can also be made offline as well as by Interac E-mail transfer). I love you and thank you in advance for partnering alongside Tanya and Dragan on their journey to become parents.

xoxo Jean