Hi, my name is Lauren Kohnle, and I am starting this Go Fund Me on behalf of my sister and brother-in-law Sarah and Zack Surdam.

Sarah and Zack have started their journey of finding a gestational carrier to grow their family after the loss of their son Jackson.

Jackson Kenneth Surdam was born on 5/6/23. He was a beautiful, big boy weighing 7-3 and measuring 19 inches long. He was 5 weeks early. Jackson was delivered by emergency c-section after Sarah went into premature labor. Sarah recognized something was very wrong and called 911. While in the ambulance, her uterus ruptured, and baby Jackson was deprived of blood and oxygen. Jackson and Sarah both needed blood transfusions to be saved.

Sarah and her doctors had a plan in place because of complications with big sister Stella’s delivery. Jackson was supposed to be delivered in less than a week to prevent this from happening. It was a good plan but, Sarah went into premature labor, something nobody could anticipate. Sarah knew something was wrong and called 911 and she was rushed into the hospital. Sarah saved her life by calling 911 and getting to the hospital as quick as she could.

Ultimately, Jackson's injuries were worse than we thought, and he passed away just 6 days later in his mother's arms. Sarah was told that because of her ruptured uterus she is not able to carry a pregnancy safely anymore. Sarah and Zack were devastated by this news as they know they were not done having babies. The past couple of months have been hard for our family and Sarah told Jackson that she would have another baby in his honor before he passed away.

Sarah and Zack have already started the process of egg retrieval and have embryos frozen. They also have a gestational carrier as well. Sarah and Zack are looking for help to cover the cost of the gestational carrier and the medical expenses that go into the process. As you can imagine, this process is very costly, and any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

Lauren Kohnle