LesLee and Ryan's Story
Adoption has been on my heart for a long time. Before Ryan and I got married we discussed the possibility of adoption. He was on the fence about it, and we both wanted to have a few children of our own first. However, we both felt that God had blessed us with the means to care for multiple children and that we had a safe and loving home to offer to those in need. We figured adoption or foster care might be apart of our story at some point, we just didn’t think it would be first.
I don’t think most couples hoping to start a family thinks they are going to deal with infertility issues. For many, this time is marked by hope and joy. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all, and many couples do struggle with infertility issues. Our plans to start a family began almost 2 years ago. We didn’t expect to get pregnant right away, but we were hopeful that it wouldn’t take too long. My mom struggled with infertility issues, and I had always worried that this could be a struggle for me. At the beginning of our journey to parenthood, I got checked out and received a clean bill of health, nothing to suggest anything amiss. The months went by. Every month I went through a roller coaster of emotions, and every month I had a negative pregnancy test. Most physicians will not do infertility testing until you have been actively trying for a year, and so we kept trying, unsuccessfully. Then, in June of this past year, I developed severe bladder and pelvic floor issues. It’s taken months of seeing specialists to figure out that I have pelvic floor dysfunction which primarily affects my bladder. I struggle daily with this condition and I am often in a lot of pain. I am currently doing physical therapy and receiving treatments to help with this condition. Thankfully, I have an amazing team of healthcare professionals, and I am making progress towards pain management, but this is a condition I most likely will be dealing with for the rest of my life, if not at least managing for the next several years. In addition to these health issues, we found out I was struggling with some fertility issues and would need to be on medications to try to get pregnant. Even then, there is no guarantees.
We decided that with my health issues it would not be wise for me to pursue infertility treatments and pregnancy at this time, and so we reopened the discussion of adoption. We feel this is God’s plan for our lives, and all the difficult things we have been through the past 2 years have been leading us towards making this decision. We firmly believe that God can use the difficult and hard circumstances we’ve been through for good. Our deepest desire is to have children, and to provide a loving, safe, and supportive home for a child. We are leaving the details up to God, knowing that His hand is on our lives and on the life of the child He will eventually bring to us. We do not know the gender and racial/ethnic background, or physical, medical, emotional, or psychological needs this child may have, but we are trusting that God will prepare us to take care of the child He brings into our lives. We are trusting that God will provide the support from family and friends to come around us as we embark on this journey. We are trusting that God will provide the financial means to make this adoption possible.
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. Adoption can be very expensive, and costs differ depending on the agency being used and the type of adoption being pursued. Our overall adoption costs are around $37,000. This is why we have set a goal of $25,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child as he/she grows up.
