Help the Franklins Have a Baby! – A story of heartache, courage and strength

I want to first start off by saying I have never met this family. Amy is the daughter of our pastor and we have many of the same friends, which is how I came across their story.

While reading it, tears were streaming down my face. So, you too might want to grab a tissue. What this family has endured is heart-breaking. But almost as equally encouraging as well.

Their story is below. It is one that I am sure some of you have similarities with, and thus know the heartache that goes along with it. For others, you may know just how deep that desire to have a child is, and thus completely understand their wishes and hopes.

From Amy:

“As many of you know, Zac and I have walked the road of infertility over the past 6 years. My body has some irregularities that even modern medicine can’t fix. And the Lord hasn’t decided to heal that part of my body yet. God graciously used our infertility to lead us to our two miracle boys. And for that, I am forever grateful. For that, I would never change my story. Ever.

Zac and I always knew we weren’t done having children and were called to pursue having more. We would love a big family. Due to my medical history and our hearts for adoption, we assumed we would adopt again. However, the doors have closed for that over the years. As our boys have continued to grow, the urgency to start having more kids also grew. This past summer much to my surprise, as we prayed, we felt very confidently the Lord leading us to IVF. As a woman, the desire to be pregnant has never gone away. Pursuing this was really exciting for me. I did a lot of research and found a doctor in Seattle that was able to work with me. We felt complete peace and knew that was our next step. We started working with him in October 2014.

I wish I was sharing better news. In fact I was recently hoping to share about our miracle baby and post our “We’re Pregnant” announcement, but that all came to a crashing halt. Our first transfer was over Thanksgiving. We lost two baby girls. Devastated and in shock, we processed, prayed and I dusted myself off and got ready for the next transfer – still wobbly and tender hearted from the loss. Our second transfer took place in February – one boy and one girl. It was with mixed emotions that we celebrated! One baby made it and one didn’t. As a momma, you can’t hope and pray for just one of your babies to make it. I deeply grieved the loss of the one. And yet celebrated the LIFE of the other. We were pregnant – a miracle! My doctors quickly put me on strict bed rest (only getting up to use the restroom) for the last 2.5 months. That’s where I’ve been hiding. My body was working perfectly. The baby was growing perfectly. All of my doctors and their staff were overjoyed and giving glowing reports. And then… Zac and I went in for another routine ultrasound (when you are considered high risk due to not getting pregnant easily, they monitor you often). I was so giddy. We were going to see our baby again. I was off the couch and with my man. And then I heard the words, “your baby didn’t make it”. My heart stopped. There were absolutely NO signs of something going wrong. My doctor was just as shocked as Zac and I. One day later I was in surgery having my baby removed. Losing a baby is never easy. But the added years of praying and dreaming for this, nearly $40,000 and 2.5 months of strict bed-rest later added to the blow. We obviously didn’t expect to be where we are today, mourning death rather than rejoicing over life. It all felt so final.

BUT GOD. I keep going back to this, to Him. I KNOW this isn’t the end of this story. God called us to do IVF. He is a God of LIFE and redemption bringing beauty from the ashes. I know he will redeem this and bring life. It does not take away the grief of losing our babies. But my HOPE remains strong. Both of our doctors are very confident in IVF working for us and encouraging us to not give up; to try again. There truly is no reason it shouldn’t work.

I’m humbly sharing with you our story – our story that’s not over yet and asking you to be a part of it. Zac and I are confident in two things: in our God of miracles and life, and that he is asking us to try IVF again. However, our window of opportunity to try again is short. Our goal is to start again in June. The one obstacle standing in our way is finances. Insurance doesn’t cover a cent, and it has to be paid upfront. We worked really hard and have made many sacrifices to do IVF. And we plan on doing that all over again. I’m applying for grants, taking on extra work, and selling things. However, with our limited time to try and the amount needed upfront, we simply can’t do it alone this second time around. It will take $26,000 to start this next round. I’m humbly asking you to consider joining us financially on this journey. This looks like an impossible feat to me, but for God it is nothing. It’s just money. He is behind me pushing me with a bulldozer prompting me to allow others in on this journey to more LIVES.

Along with financial support, we covet your prayers. Prayer is powerful and such a gift. A game-changer. Please join us in bold prayer as we continue this journey that we’ve been called to.

Thank you for sharing in this journey with us by simply taking the time to read. We are grateful for each one of you!

Amy and Zac Franklin”

Again, more tears!

I just feel like if this family can reach their financial goals, good things will happen. And I so badly want to see Amy pregnant with their miracle baby.

If you would like to help this family, please visit their page, HERE. 

THANK YOU for reading this. Their story just tugged real hard at my heart strings and I just had to share. 🙂