Surrogacy Fund for Eric and Courtney Kelley
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Eric and Courtney Kelley’s journey to create their family has been unfolding for almost seven years now. During this time, their attempt to conceive children was tragically interrupted multiple times with inexplicable loss and grief:
- Two ectopic pregnancies, resulting in the loss of both fallopian tubes
- The loss of their third child due to a ruptured uterus
- The loss of Courtney’s ability to carry their three remaining frozen embryos, due to a Hysterectomy after the ruptured uterus (that ultimately saved her life).
This GoFundMe has been created to help Eric and Courtney complete their family. Many of you reading this have walked with them and/or their immediate family members and close friends through all of the ups and downs, and they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today without all of your love, support and prayers. So, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.
For those of you who continue to ask how you can help, and/or for those who just stumbled upon this page and have the means to contribute, here is a brief history and explanation of their needs moving forward.
THEIR JOURNEY TO PARENTHOOD
By way of introduction, Eric and Courtney (Ambrose) Kelley are high school sweethearts who have been together for 18 years, been married for 11 years, and have two beautiful living children: Brody, age 5, and Aleah, age 3. They are also “loss parents” to Corbin, who was born on May 14, 2019 and passed away on May 19, 2019.
Eric and Courtney are fighters and survivors. Their journey to parenthood began with having to conquer multiple pregnancy losses and infertility. In 2014, Courtney suffered an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, losing one fallopian tube. That same year, she suffered another ectopic pregnancy, losing her other fallopian tube and her ability to conceive a child naturally. Ultimately, Eric and Courtney were able to undergo IVF treatment and the result, thankfully, was six embryos.
Eric and Courtney decided right away and committed to (eventually) transferring all six embryos. They knew that it would be a huge responsibility, but also an honor and blessing from God, to potentially be the parents of six children; They prepared accordingly, growing excited for the opportunity.
The first fertilized egg was transferred and Courtney had a healthy pregnancy carried to term, delivering their son Brody Paul Kelley. Two years later, the second fertilized embryo was transferred and resulted in another healthy full-term pregnancy, delivering their daughter Aleah Rose Kelley. Another two years later, the third fertilized embryo was transferred. This was their son Corbin Charles Kelley.
CORBIN’S BIRTH STORY
On May 14, 2019, Courtney went to the hospital to be induced at the end of an otherwise healthy pregnancy with no complications. A horrific incident occurred during Corbin’s birth and Courtney suffered a Uterine Rupture, causing Corbin to be without oxygen for an unknown amount of time. When Corbin was born via an emergency c-section, he was not breathing but was able to be resuscitated and was flown to D.C. Children’s Hospital. Ultimately, he suffered Severe Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (brain damage from lack of oxygen during birth), which in his case resulted in constant seizures and the inability to breathe or swallow without medical assistance, as well as irreversible severe brain damage. Corbin passed away at five days young, peacefully, in his daddy’s arms.
Eric had to hear and deal with all of this crushing news without his life partner Courtney at his side, as she lost a lot of blood during labor and was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, without a clue of what had happened to her or that her baby had not made it through. Courtney was flown to The University of Maryland Medical Center after exhausting all the blood supply and platelets that the original hospital could access from the tri-state area, where she remained in critical condition for over two weeks. During that time, Courtney had eight intensive surgeries in seven days, including open-heart surgery, and received transfusions to replace more than five times her body’s worth of blood (many thanks to generous blood donors).
At certain points it was very touch and go for Courtney, and Eric feared losing his wife in addition to his son. Thankfully, she is a strong fighter who pulled through, after almost a full month in the hospital, another week in a rehabilitation center and nearly a year of physical therapy and follow up treatment. One full year later, Courtney celebrated her release from Physical Therapy and was cleared to return to work as a Middle School Math Teacher, as Corbin also celebrated his first birthday in heaven.
It has been a long year of ups and downs, evolving emotions, reflection, learning and perseverance. In the end, Eric and Courtney have chosen to “count their blessings and choose joy during a time of misery,” as their precious son has taught them to love harder, believe greater, trust stronger, fight until the finish and to never give up.
MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AND MEMORIAL VIDEO
Eric shared his story with more detail through a letter last year after Corbin's passing. If you're interested in reading further, please click here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18xLNEaU_dshRpk7aOHs9FTeuvSSCAEJVrZp4a8tZmGs/edit?usp=sharing
Eric and Courtney's family also made a memorial video that was shared at Corbin's funeral. It is heartbreaking to watch but truly illustrates Corbin's birth story from beginning to end. If you're interested in watching, please click here:
HOPE
Throughout all of this, there was the looming question of the three remaining frozen embryos that Eric and Courtney had planned to transfer and carry full term. As noted above, one of Courtney’s many surgeries was a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding; without it, she would have lost too much blood and her life as well. She not only lost her third child but also her ability to carry any more children.
Eric and Courtney will forever grieve Corbin’s loss but feel called to still try to have their remaining three children, his younger siblings, as they had planned. They realize that this now means that an amazing woman will be giving them the gift of carrying their pregnancy for them through Surrogacy. This is where you come in, dear friends...
HOW YOU CAN HELP
As many of you may know, fertility procedures are an expensive (approximately $40,000 per embryo) and time consuming process that are rarely covered by health insurance, and almost everything is out of pocket. Therefore, any/all donations are greatly appreciated and will be put towards this process.
If you're taking the time to read this at all, it tells us that you deeply care about Eric and Courtney. They have felt so very loved and supported through this tragedy and our entire extended family is grateful for everyone’s thoughts, prayers, well wishes, gifts, and expressions of love. We also understand that giving financially is not an option for everyone, so they are also in great need of a lot of prayers and continued encouragement.
Please feel free to share their story with anyone who may be walking through infertility or anyone else who may want to support them. They want to continue to spread awareness and be an encouragement to others.
Thank you to everyone who reads this. You'll never know what kind of impact you all have truly had in their lives! God Bless You!
- Two ectopic pregnancies, resulting in the loss of both fallopian tubes
- The loss of their third child due to a ruptured uterus
- The loss of Courtney’s ability to carry their three remaining frozen embryos, due to a Hysterectomy after the ruptured uterus (that ultimately saved her life).
This GoFundMe has been created to help Eric and Courtney complete their family. Many of you reading this have walked with them and/or their immediate family members and close friends through all of the ups and downs, and they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today without all of your love, support and prayers. So, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.
For those of you who continue to ask how you can help, and/or for those who just stumbled upon this page and have the means to contribute, here is a brief history and explanation of their needs moving forward.
THEIR JOURNEY TO PARENTHOOD
By way of introduction, Eric and Courtney (Ambrose) Kelley are high school sweethearts who have been together for 18 years, been married for 11 years, and have two beautiful living children: Brody, age 5, and Aleah, age 3. They are also “loss parents” to Corbin, who was born on May 14, 2019 and passed away on May 19, 2019.
Eric and Courtney are fighters and survivors. Their journey to parenthood began with having to conquer multiple pregnancy losses and infertility. In 2014, Courtney suffered an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, losing one fallopian tube. That same year, she suffered another ectopic pregnancy, losing her other fallopian tube and her ability to conceive a child naturally. Ultimately, Eric and Courtney were able to undergo IVF treatment and the result, thankfully, was six embryos.
Eric and Courtney decided right away and committed to (eventually) transferring all six embryos. They knew that it would be a huge responsibility, but also an honor and blessing from God, to potentially be the parents of six children; They prepared accordingly, growing excited for the opportunity.
The first fertilized egg was transferred and Courtney had a healthy pregnancy carried to term, delivering their son Brody Paul Kelley. Two years later, the second fertilized embryo was transferred and resulted in another healthy full-term pregnancy, delivering their daughter Aleah Rose Kelley. Another two years later, the third fertilized embryo was transferred. This was their son Corbin Charles Kelley.
CORBIN’S BIRTH STORY
On May 14, 2019, Courtney went to the hospital to be induced at the end of an otherwise healthy pregnancy with no complications. A horrific incident occurred during Corbin’s birth and Courtney suffered a Uterine Rupture, causing Corbin to be without oxygen for an unknown amount of time. When Corbin was born via an emergency c-section, he was not breathing but was able to be resuscitated and was flown to D.C. Children’s Hospital. Ultimately, he suffered Severe Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (brain damage from lack of oxygen during birth), which in his case resulted in constant seizures and the inability to breathe or swallow without medical assistance, as well as irreversible severe brain damage. Corbin passed away at five days young, peacefully, in his daddy’s arms.
Eric had to hear and deal with all of this crushing news without his life partner Courtney at his side, as she lost a lot of blood during labor and was in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, without a clue of what had happened to her or that her baby had not made it through. Courtney was flown to The University of Maryland Medical Center after exhausting all the blood supply and platelets that the original hospital could access from the tri-state area, where she remained in critical condition for over two weeks. During that time, Courtney had eight intensive surgeries in seven days, including open-heart surgery, and received transfusions to replace more than five times her body’s worth of blood (many thanks to generous blood donors).
At certain points it was very touch and go for Courtney, and Eric feared losing his wife in addition to his son. Thankfully, she is a strong fighter who pulled through, after almost a full month in the hospital, another week in a rehabilitation center and nearly a year of physical therapy and follow up treatment. One full year later, Courtney celebrated her release from Physical Therapy and was cleared to return to work as a Middle School Math Teacher, as Corbin also celebrated his first birthday in heaven.
It has been a long year of ups and downs, evolving emotions, reflection, learning and perseverance. In the end, Eric and Courtney have chosen to “count their blessings and choose joy during a time of misery,” as their precious son has taught them to love harder, believe greater, trust stronger, fight until the finish and to never give up.
MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AND MEMORIAL VIDEO
Eric shared his story with more detail through a letter last year after Corbin's passing. If you're interested in reading further, please click here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18xLNEaU_dshRpk7aOHs9FTeuvSSCAEJVrZp4a8tZmGs/edit?usp=sharing
Eric and Courtney's family also made a memorial video that was shared at Corbin's funeral. It is heartbreaking to watch but truly illustrates Corbin's birth story from beginning to end. If you're interested in watching, please click here:
HOPE
Throughout all of this, there was the looming question of the three remaining frozen embryos that Eric and Courtney had planned to transfer and carry full term. As noted above, one of Courtney’s many surgeries was a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding; without it, she would have lost too much blood and her life as well. She not only lost her third child but also her ability to carry any more children.
Eric and Courtney will forever grieve Corbin’s loss but feel called to still try to have their remaining three children, his younger siblings, as they had planned. They realize that this now means that an amazing woman will be giving them the gift of carrying their pregnancy for them through Surrogacy. This is where you come in, dear friends...
HOW YOU CAN HELP
As many of you may know, fertility procedures are an expensive (approximately $40,000 per embryo) and time consuming process that are rarely covered by health insurance, and almost everything is out of pocket. Therefore, any/all donations are greatly appreciated and will be put towards this process.
If you're taking the time to read this at all, it tells us that you deeply care about Eric and Courtney. They have felt so very loved and supported through this tragedy and our entire extended family is grateful for everyone’s thoughts, prayers, well wishes, gifts, and expressions of love. We also understand that giving financially is not an option for everyone, so they are also in great need of a lot of prayers and continued encouragement.
Please feel free to share their story with anyone who may be walking through infertility or anyone else who may want to support them. They want to continue to spread awareness and be an encouragement to others.
Thank you to everyone who reads this. You'll never know what kind of impact you all have truly had in their lives! God Bless You!
Co-organizers (2)
Shannon Weary
Organizer
Carlisle, PA
Eric Kelley
Beneficiary
Anita Kelley Harris
Co-organizer