Help Allison and Tom's Journey to Baby K

Hi everyone,

We’re Allison and Tom, although if you’re reading this, there's a good chance you already know that. About a year ago, after several years of trying to start a family, Tom and I learned the painful truth that we suffer from infertility. After many trips to the doctor's, and lots and lots of tests, we were devastated to learn that conceiving naturally would not be an option for us. Since learning this, we’ve subsequently undergone 2 hopeful rounds of IUI, both of which failed, and 2 hopeful rounds of IVF, the second of which just failed last month. It has been a tough year to get through.

Infertility is heartbreaking. There is no easy or graceful way to deal with the inability to conceive children, something we had pictured ourselves doing our entire lives. Though we are grateful to have had the ability to pursue fertility treatments, they are exhausting - emotionally, physically, and financially. We have had some small rays of hope over the span of our journey, but mostly lots and lots of disappointments.

However - we were over-the-moon THRILLED to find out recently that we would be great candidates for an egg-donor program through our fertility clinic. This program is very expensive but would allow us to conceive using donor eggs. After much thought and conversation about our future family, we feel in our hearts that this is right for us. We racked our brains to design a savings plan and explore ways to make extra money to cover the payment, but after the cost of the past year of treatments, we have realized we are going to have to rely on the generosity of others to help us in our journey to Baby K. Neither of us feels comfortable asking, but it feels far more devastating to envision our future without children.

The egg donor program is $44,000. Tom and I can cover $14,000, plus medication and appointment expenses. That leaves a $30,000 deficit.

Tom and I have purchased a white, 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. We are “selling” pieces for $30 each. When you “purchase” a piece, or multiple pieces, we will write your name on a puzzle piece(s). Our goal is to fill every piece of the puzzle with the name of someone who has helped us on our journey to Baby K. Once the puzzle is complete, we will frame it and hang it in Baby K’s future room. We can’t think of a better way to show them how very loved they were before they even came into the world.

We realize this is a large amount of money. It will take many donations, shares and prayers to get us to where we need to be. If there is one silver lining to have come out of this journey, it is the immense love, kindness and support we’ve felt from those around us. Please share this page with anyone and everyone you would like. We will be forever grateful for everyone who helps us bring Baby K into the world.