​My husband, Stephen, and I are taking the biggest step of our lives: we are preparing to welcome a baby into our hearts and home. Since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of becoming a mother—of giving a child a safe, loving, and secure upbringing. Stephen and I want nothing more than to grow our family together, but to give our baby the healthy start they deserve, we face a hurdle we cannot cross alone. ​I carry the gene for Marfan syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder that runs in my family. While I have been fortunate to only experience mild symptoms, I have watched loved ones endure heartbreaking, life-threatening complications—severe heart surgeries, vision loss, pulmonary issues, and painful skeletal deformities. Some did not survive them. ​There is a 50% chance I will pass Marfan syndrome to my child. After seeing the toll it has taken on my family, I refuse to knowingly pass this condition down to our son or daughter. ​With your help, we can break this cycle. ​Through modern medicine, we have a clear pathway to protect our future child: IVF paired with PGT-M genetic testing. This allows us to screen embryos before implantation, ensuring our baby is completely free from Marfan syndrome and giving them a healthy, worry-free start to life. ​We have already completed our consultation with The Reproductive Medicine Group right here in Brandon, Florida, and we are ready to move forward. But the financial cost of IVF, genetic testing, and the required medications is significant. While I have saved everything I can, time is a critical factor at 40, and saving the rest on our own would take years we simply do not have. ​Overcoming huge obstacles is something I know well. Having survived extreme trauma earlier in my life and rebuilt myself from the ground up, I earned my degree and now work as a case manager advocating for others. I have fought hard to reclaim my safety, dignity, and future. Now, Stephen and I are fighting together for our future child’s health. ​We are reaching out to ask our community, friends, and loved ones to join us on this journey. ​How Your Support Helps: All funds raised will go directly toward: ​Our IVF treatment cycle, ​PGT-M genetic testing to ensure a healthy embryo, ​Essential fertility medications and monitoring. ​Whether you are able to contribute financially, share our page with others, or keep us in your thoughts and prayers, you are helping us build our family and protect our future child. ​ Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of our story.