My name is Jaylen, and together with my fiancé Destry, we’re raising our beautiful baby boy, Daymon. Both Destry and I grew up in foster care after surviving abusive and neglectful homes. Our early years were filled with adversity—struggles with mental health, trauma, poverty, and feeling like outsiders. When we met, we were both at our lowest: homeless, battling addiction, and in failing health. But everything changed when I became pregnant. We made a promise to turn our lives around for our son.
During my pregnancy, I faced severe anemia and had to quit my job as my health declined. Destry lost his seasonal work, and we moved in with his biological mother, who has been unstable and often threatens to kick us out. In my third trimester, I was diagnosed with choleostasis and had to be induced early. After a long labor and emergency c-section, we finally met Daymon, but I suffered a life-threatening hemorrhage and needed emergency surgery. Recovery was brutal, and I struggled with postpartum depression, chronic pain, and ongoing health issues. Destry couldn’t return to work because I was unable to care for our newborn alone.
Just two months after giving birth, I unexpectedly became pregnant again despite using protection. My doctor recommended termination due to my health risks, and I followed their advice. Ten days after taking the at-home abortion pill, I began bleeding heavily. Destry rushed me to the hospital, where I waited for an hour in the waiting room, losing so much blood that a puddle formed under my chair. When I was finally seen, I was rushed into emergency surgery and received blood transfusions. The doctor told Destry that if I had waited another half hour, I wouldn’t have survived. I was diagnosed with hemorrhagic shock, retained products of conception, and endometritis. After two life-threatening hemorrhages in just a few months, my body collapsed. I still haven’t recovered, and this was over a year ago.
Despite everything, we’ve stayed strong as a family. We’re now over a year sober, and I’m working with a therapist to heal from trauma. I started college to study psychology, hoping to help others, but had to withdraw due to lack of childcare, transportation, and the demands of our unstable living situation. We’re currently homeless, relying on limited benefits, and under constant stress. Destry is unable to work until we find childcare, and I just want to be healthy and know my baby isn’t going to lose his mommy because survival needs have to come before my health. We need help to secure stable housing, furnish a home, get a working car, cover childcare, and pay off school debts so I can return to college. We want to break the cycle we grew up in and build a loving, secure home for Daymon—something neither of us had. Your support will help us get back on our feet and give our son the future he deserves.
If you feel moved to help, we’d be incredibly grateful. We’re trying to break the generational patterns we grew up in and build a steady, loving home for our son — something neither of us had when we were young. Your support also gives me the time I need to work with my doctors and get my health back on track, so I can feel like a 23-year-old again instead of someone twice my age. Every bit of help brings us closer to the life we’re trying to build, not just for ourselves, but for our little boy. And as I continue my volunteer work and work toward my psychology degree, my hope is to pass that change forward to others too.
During my pregnancy, I faced severe anemia and had to quit my job as my health declined. Destry lost his seasonal work, and we moved in with his biological mother, who has been unstable and often threatens to kick us out. In my third trimester, I was diagnosed with choleostasis and had to be induced early. After a long labor and emergency c-section, we finally met Daymon, but I suffered a life-threatening hemorrhage and needed emergency surgery. Recovery was brutal, and I struggled with postpartum depression, chronic pain, and ongoing health issues. Destry couldn’t return to work because I was unable to care for our newborn alone.
Just two months after giving birth, I unexpectedly became pregnant again despite using protection. My doctor recommended termination due to my health risks, and I followed their advice. Ten days after taking the at-home abortion pill, I began bleeding heavily. Destry rushed me to the hospital, where I waited for an hour in the waiting room, losing so much blood that a puddle formed under my chair. When I was finally seen, I was rushed into emergency surgery and received blood transfusions. The doctor told Destry that if I had waited another half hour, I wouldn’t have survived. I was diagnosed with hemorrhagic shock, retained products of conception, and endometritis. After two life-threatening hemorrhages in just a few months, my body collapsed. I still haven’t recovered, and this was over a year ago.
Despite everything, we’ve stayed strong as a family. We’re now over a year sober, and I’m working with a therapist to heal from trauma. I started college to study psychology, hoping to help others, but had to withdraw due to lack of childcare, transportation, and the demands of our unstable living situation. We’re currently homeless, relying on limited benefits, and under constant stress. Destry is unable to work until we find childcare, and I just want to be healthy and know my baby isn’t going to lose his mommy because survival needs have to come before my health. We need help to secure stable housing, furnish a home, get a working car, cover childcare, and pay off school debts so I can return to college. We want to break the cycle we grew up in and build a loving, secure home for Daymon—something neither of us had. Your support will help us get back on our feet and give our son the future he deserves.
If you feel moved to help, we’d be incredibly grateful. We’re trying to break the generational patterns we grew up in and build a steady, loving home for our son — something neither of us had when we were young. Your support also gives me the time I need to work with my doctors and get my health back on track, so I can feel like a 23-year-old again instead of someone twice my age. Every bit of help brings us closer to the life we’re trying to build, not just for ourselves, but for our little boy. And as I continue my volunteer work and work toward my psychology degree, my hope is to pass that change forward to others too.
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