Operation Stacie and AJ need your help!
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Operation Stacie and AJ need your help!
Hello everyone, I would like to take a moment to write about Stacie and AJ who are two of our dearest friends and a concern that recently came to our attention.
To better understand reasons behind this letter I would like to provide a little bit of background information. I have been friends with AJ for nearly 25 years—and when he brought Stacie into my life they proved to be a source of unwavering support and unconditional love (as I am sure they have been for many others). For my wife, Jessica, and I they are considered family and Godparents to our first born. They have been there for me through some of the hardest times and helped me get my world in order. They have always been there for us. In good times and in bad. This is why we feel it is so important to be there for them during this trying period in their lives. As a side note, while Stacie and AJ are some of the strongest people I know, they are very private people. They would never ask for help on their own and I would never betray their trust, yet after discussing their current situation my wife and I decided to speak on their behalf—with their blessing, of course.
While other people were starting families, Stacie and AJ spent years of hard work to complete their educations earning their PhDs. Both have dedicated their lives to education, having taught at the college level for over five years. Their passion, dedication, and love of knowledge has translated into several students’ success including: the realization and attainment of their life goals, finding a career that works for them, helping students grow to be productive members of society, and encouraging them to continue in their education, not just in school, but in their own lives. Beyond all of that, they have counseled students who have dealt with problematic home lives, economic difficulties, mental and emotional stress—to the point of saving some lives.
Unfortunately, due to unexpected medical complications, starting a family will be more difficult than expected. According to specialists in the field, natural conception is not a viable option and this, expectedly, is devastating news. Stacie and AJ have spent years helping other people’s children become successful, and they deserve the opportunity to raise successful children of their own. They deserve the world, and we think, as we suspect all of you who know them think too, they would make amazing parents.
I write this letter out of love, in the hope that we, as a community of friends and family, may come together to raise funds for them in order to begin In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment.
IVF is extremely costly and in these very divisive times, most insurers consider this option an “elective” procedure. The cost of this process is crushing to any couple, let alone two individuals who work in academia (it is not like people go into education for the money). Our two beloved friends, family really, find themselves at a heartbreaking crossroads: try to pay for the opportunity to have a kid and go broke, or lose out on becoming parents. No one should be forced to walk away from having a family of their own strictly because of financial constraints, especially Stacie and AJ!
As you may already know these two would be exceptional parents and they have so much more love to give.
The long-term goal is to raise $30,000 in the next four months for a regimen of injections, procedures, and other treatments to get them on the road to have their own little one. Medications alone can cost upwards of $10,000. Out of respect for them I am intentionally limited in what I can say in this forum, however, feel free to reach out to us and we can provide information offline in a more private setting.
If there is any takeaway from this letter it is that there are two very good people in this world who truly need our help. Please do share this post with anyone you know who is willing to help. We need all hands in to support this cause.
Like they have done for so many others, let’s help Stacie and AJ.
Hello everyone, I would like to take a moment to write about Stacie and AJ who are two of our dearest friends and a concern that recently came to our attention.
To better understand reasons behind this letter I would like to provide a little bit of background information. I have been friends with AJ for nearly 25 years—and when he brought Stacie into my life they proved to be a source of unwavering support and unconditional love (as I am sure they have been for many others). For my wife, Jessica, and I they are considered family and Godparents to our first born. They have been there for me through some of the hardest times and helped me get my world in order. They have always been there for us. In good times and in bad. This is why we feel it is so important to be there for them during this trying period in their lives. As a side note, while Stacie and AJ are some of the strongest people I know, they are very private people. They would never ask for help on their own and I would never betray their trust, yet after discussing their current situation my wife and I decided to speak on their behalf—with their blessing, of course.
While other people were starting families, Stacie and AJ spent years of hard work to complete their educations earning their PhDs. Both have dedicated their lives to education, having taught at the college level for over five years. Their passion, dedication, and love of knowledge has translated into several students’ success including: the realization and attainment of their life goals, finding a career that works for them, helping students grow to be productive members of society, and encouraging them to continue in their education, not just in school, but in their own lives. Beyond all of that, they have counseled students who have dealt with problematic home lives, economic difficulties, mental and emotional stress—to the point of saving some lives.
Unfortunately, due to unexpected medical complications, starting a family will be more difficult than expected. According to specialists in the field, natural conception is not a viable option and this, expectedly, is devastating news. Stacie and AJ have spent years helping other people’s children become successful, and they deserve the opportunity to raise successful children of their own. They deserve the world, and we think, as we suspect all of you who know them think too, they would make amazing parents.
I write this letter out of love, in the hope that we, as a community of friends and family, may come together to raise funds for them in order to begin In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment.
IVF is extremely costly and in these very divisive times, most insurers consider this option an “elective” procedure. The cost of this process is crushing to any couple, let alone two individuals who work in academia (it is not like people go into education for the money). Our two beloved friends, family really, find themselves at a heartbreaking crossroads: try to pay for the opportunity to have a kid and go broke, or lose out on becoming parents. No one should be forced to walk away from having a family of their own strictly because of financial constraints, especially Stacie and AJ!
As you may already know these two would be exceptional parents and they have so much more love to give.
The long-term goal is to raise $30,000 in the next four months for a regimen of injections, procedures, and other treatments to get them on the road to have their own little one. Medications alone can cost upwards of $10,000. Out of respect for them I am intentionally limited in what I can say in this forum, however, feel free to reach out to us and we can provide information offline in a more private setting.
If there is any takeaway from this letter it is that there are two very good people in this world who truly need our help. Please do share this post with anyone you know who is willing to help. We need all hands in to support this cause.
Like they have done for so many others, let’s help Stacie and AJ.
Co-organizers (2)
Chris Cannefax
Organizer
Mishawaka, IN
Andrew Schmitz
Beneficiary
Stacie Merken
Co-organizer