Dream Baby for Cancer Patient
Donation protected
Baby for Cancer Patient/Survivor
Hi, we’re Andrea Tolosa-Swanson and Dennis Swanson and we would like to share our story with you. In 2001 we met in California where we worked and we were soon a young couple in love. The following year we moved to Colorado to be closer to Andrea’s family. Luckily we were able to transfer with our company. Our story continued for a few years until 2006 when our lives began to change. We had our wedding planned for late July, in March we purchased our home and soon adopted a puppy we named Teo (he’s a loveable black Lab). Life was good except that Andrea soon could no longer hide the pain she was in. On Easter Sunday, in the emergency room, our lives were upended. We were told Andrea had some form of cancer and over the new few weeks the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was confirmed. Our dreams of a beautiful wedding and parenthood suddenly were not so beautiful. Treatment needed to begin promptly and while the idea was floated about of trying to preserve some of Andrea’s eggs, there wasn’t time to focus on it. In May Andrea began chemotherapy while we continued to plan our wedding. By the time of our wedding, Andrea had begun to lose her hair and was fighting an infection (receiving IV treatment both on our wedding day and the next several days) but she powered through on the most special day of our lives, at least so far, our first dream of a beautiful wedding was witnessed by our close friends and family - it was magical! All except the baby plans, which we had to put on hold.
Over the next months and then years, Andrea endured numerous treatments all of which we and the doctors thought would stop her cancer in its tracks. Unfortunately for us and most importantly for Andrea, her cancer continued to reappear. There were victories along the way and every now and then our hopes would be lifted and our dreams of having a child would rise to surface only to be stomped down by a recurrence. Several years ago we began to consult with fertility specialists and we held on to a glimmer of hope that Andrea might one day be able to conceive. We now know that she will never be able to conceive naturally due to the high doses of chemotherapy and radiation she had received so we began to look into in vitro fertilization with a donor egg. As you can imagine, years of medical expenses (even with good insurance provided by Dennis’ employer) along with Andrea’s inability to work due to her treatments and disease, have left us in a position that we are grateful to still have our home and the ability to pay our own way for most everything. Our families have been wonderful through the years and have helped us tremendously, but they can only help so much.
The doctors have finally given us a green light to pursue our dreams of having a child to call our own and they believe Andrea will be able to carry a baby to term. We have been questioned by the experts and have searched our hearts and souls and know that we are choosing to do something that is right for us. We know the risks and challenges ahead and we are both fully committed to facing them head on and providing our baby with all the love and support they deserve. Not only will our child have our love, our baby will be surrounded by loving family and friends.
It’s an expensive dream that we cannot possibly achieve on our own. We are asking that you donate to our fund so that we can afford the donated egg in vitro fertilization treatment Andrea dreams of. Any amount you can send will be appreciated. We truly believe that by sharing our story with as many people as possible, we will achieve our goal. Miracles are possible! Thank you for your time and attention and most of all, your donation to help make our dream a reality (your prayers would also be greatly appreciated). Please share our story with as many people as you can.
Gratefully, Andrea Tolosa-Swanson and Dennis Swanson (Teo too - I love children!)
Hi, we’re Andrea Tolosa-Swanson and Dennis Swanson and we would like to share our story with you. In 2001 we met in California where we worked and we were soon a young couple in love. The following year we moved to Colorado to be closer to Andrea’s family. Luckily we were able to transfer with our company. Our story continued for a few years until 2006 when our lives began to change. We had our wedding planned for late July, in March we purchased our home and soon adopted a puppy we named Teo (he’s a loveable black Lab). Life was good except that Andrea soon could no longer hide the pain she was in. On Easter Sunday, in the emergency room, our lives were upended. We were told Andrea had some form of cancer and over the new few weeks the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was confirmed. Our dreams of a beautiful wedding and parenthood suddenly were not so beautiful. Treatment needed to begin promptly and while the idea was floated about of trying to preserve some of Andrea’s eggs, there wasn’t time to focus on it. In May Andrea began chemotherapy while we continued to plan our wedding. By the time of our wedding, Andrea had begun to lose her hair and was fighting an infection (receiving IV treatment both on our wedding day and the next several days) but she powered through on the most special day of our lives, at least so far, our first dream of a beautiful wedding was witnessed by our close friends and family - it was magical! All except the baby plans, which we had to put on hold.
Over the next months and then years, Andrea endured numerous treatments all of which we and the doctors thought would stop her cancer in its tracks. Unfortunately for us and most importantly for Andrea, her cancer continued to reappear. There were victories along the way and every now and then our hopes would be lifted and our dreams of having a child would rise to surface only to be stomped down by a recurrence. Several years ago we began to consult with fertility specialists and we held on to a glimmer of hope that Andrea might one day be able to conceive. We now know that she will never be able to conceive naturally due to the high doses of chemotherapy and radiation she had received so we began to look into in vitro fertilization with a donor egg. As you can imagine, years of medical expenses (even with good insurance provided by Dennis’ employer) along with Andrea’s inability to work due to her treatments and disease, have left us in a position that we are grateful to still have our home and the ability to pay our own way for most everything. Our families have been wonderful through the years and have helped us tremendously, but they can only help so much.
The doctors have finally given us a green light to pursue our dreams of having a child to call our own and they believe Andrea will be able to carry a baby to term. We have been questioned by the experts and have searched our hearts and souls and know that we are choosing to do something that is right for us. We know the risks and challenges ahead and we are both fully committed to facing them head on and providing our baby with all the love and support they deserve. Not only will our child have our love, our baby will be surrounded by loving family and friends.
It’s an expensive dream that we cannot possibly achieve on our own. We are asking that you donate to our fund so that we can afford the donated egg in vitro fertilization treatment Andrea dreams of. Any amount you can send will be appreciated. We truly believe that by sharing our story with as many people as possible, we will achieve our goal. Miracles are possible! Thank you for your time and attention and most of all, your donation to help make our dream a reality (your prayers would also be greatly appreciated). Please share our story with as many people as you can.
Gratefully, Andrea Tolosa-Swanson and Dennis Swanson (Teo too - I love children!)
Organizer
Andrea Tolosa-Swanson
Organizer
Aurora, CO
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