Be a Piece of Our IVF Puzzle

Hi! We're Kali and Ethan Russell :)

We met through a mutual friend in November of 2014 while Ethan was home visiting from Texas (where he had moved after college for work.) We immediately hit it off! I moved to Texas in August of 2015, and he was the best support system while I went to college, took a break to be a flight attendant, and then went back to college to finish my education degree.

Ethan proposed in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2019, and we got married on 10/10/2020 (and July 9, 2021 because.. pandemic.)

Our Journey

We want nothing more than to start a family, but unfortunately, that has been anything but easy for us. After 3 spontaneous miscarriages, we went to a genetic counselor who diagnosed us with a genetic disorder called a translocation: which essentially means the chromosomes don't always align the way they are supposed to- resulting in genetic abnormalities and causing miscarriage.

We then did IVF and had the embryos tested, but with the translocation, the amount of abnormal embryos far outweigh the normal. We transferred a normal, perfect little embryo in March, but unfortunately we lost that one, as well- and it ended in a very scary medical emergency/ER trip and a not so enjoyable stay in the hospital. We were left heartbroken and frustrated. We decided to take the summer off to allow my body, along with our hearts and minds, a break to heal.

What's Next

We are so ready to grow our family, and we recently went to a new doctor for a second opinion. After more labs, they have discovered another genetic issue that may have an easy fix that was missed in previous testing and will allow me to maintain the pregnancy, so we are feeling VERY hopeful!

We are looking to start another round of IVF very soon, but multiple rounds of IVF, plus medical bills from our previous losses is tough- not only mentally, but financially as well.

It is not an easy process (nor do I like to ask for help) but we would do anything for our family!

How You Can Help

We are going to be hosting a puzzle fundraiser to offset this next round. We have purchased a 500 piece puzzle, and are "selling" each piece for $10. You can purchase as many pieces as you’d like, and your name will be placed on the back of those pieces. Once complete, the puzzle will be hung in Baby Russell’s nursery. Our goal of this fundraiser is $5,000. Any additional funds will be used to cover the rest of the IVF process, medications, the required testing before beginning (labs, ultrasounds) as well as the embryo testing.

We would be so honored and humbled to have you as a part of our journey to Baby Russell!

Read more about our journey here: Baby Russell Fertility Blog Posts