On February 16th our surrogate Brianna Bigelow delivered our beautiful baby girl, Hope Jean. Brianna soon left the hospital feeling great, but began feeling complications after returning home.

The morning of the 18th she began to feel chest congestion and shortness of breath. She went to Riverton Hospital but was soon taken via ambulance to Intermountain Medical Center's cardiology center where she was diagnosed with chronic cardiomyopathy and mitral valve regurgitation, hereditary conditions that make it hard for the heart to deliver blood to the body and can lead to heart failure.

Her tests show her heart functioning at 30%, when ideally it should be 70% or better. Though carrying and delivering Hope didn't cause the condition, it did bring to light a serious, life altering circumstance. Brianna will be in the hospital for the foreseeable future but her care team is confident in her road to recovery. Once she returns home though there will be many doctor appointments and necessary life changes to ensure her health and safety, all experienced as she heals from the delivery.

What began as Brianna's beautiful act of selflessness will end in unexpected medical costs and expenses associated with this new normal. We're asking friends, family, and empathetic strangers to exhibit similar generosity by helping her family navigate this process.

Any donations in excess of the Bigelow's needs will be paid forward to families in need or to fertility and cardiology-centric organizations.

We love you, Brianna!