From our GoFundMe:

Hi, my name is Kelly, and I’m writing this because my good friends Greg and Kendra are facing an overwhelming financial crisis while preparing to welcome the child they have fought nearly ten years to have. Asking for help like this does not come naturally to them — but watching them struggle in silence has been heartbreaking.

Greg and Kendra met in December of 2010 and built a life grounded in love, humor, and resilience. They married on Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 2015, already dreaming of starting a family shortly after.

What followed instead was years of medical trauma and impossible choices.

In 2014, Kendra was in a serious car accident that left her with lifelong spinal injuries. In the years that followed, she developed life-threatening liver lesions that required constant monitoring and specialist care. Eventually, doctors made the devastating determination that carrying a pregnancy would put her life at serious risk.

So they reshaped their dream — knowing it would come at an enormous emotional and financial cost.

In 2021, after years of saving, they began IVF and were fortunate to create four healthy embryos. In early 2025, they matched with an extraordinary surrogate, and in July 2025, the embryo transfer was successful.

That joy came with a crushing reality.

When Greg and Kendra placed their initial surrogacy deposit, the quoted total cost was approximately $89,000. By the time contracts were finalized, the cost had more than doubled, leaving them suddenly responsible for an additional $110,000 they never anticipated.

They had two choices:

1. Walk away and lose their chance at becoming parents (as well as tens of thousands of dollars)

2. Or move forward, take on overwhelming debt, and see their dream through

They chose their child.

To do that, they sold their home, took out a HELOC, borrowed against Greg’s 401(k), drained every savings account, maxed out credit cards, took personal loans, and even emptied the college fund they had already started for this baby.

And still, the bills keep coming.

Their property assessment doubled this year, creating a staggering increase to their taxes; their roof and basement were damaged in terrible rain storms; an AC unit caught fire in their bedroom; and then — as if they weren’t already drowning — Kendra recently discovered a tumor. Diagnostic imaging was not fully covered by insurance, and she is scheduled for a biopsy on December 26. These medical costs are piling thousands of dollars on top of an already impossible financial burden.

So much so that the cost of groceries and utilities have made basic living costs feel unmanageable.

All surrogacy-related medical care is rising and out-of-pocket. They are driving aging, unreliable cars because they cannot afford to replace them — even though they need a safe vehicle that can accommodate a growing family and three beloved dogs. They cannot afford to furnish a nursery, and they are welcoming a baby outside of yard-sale and hand-me-down season, with no cushion left.

Kendra is working three jobs, and she and Greg work together selling her art and his woodcrafting at vendor fairs, doing everything to bring in extra income.

It feels like a curse of bad luck after bad luck. But they persevere every time.

Greg and Kendra are not people who have ever asked for help throughout all of these years of hardship. It's time I do it for them. They deserve help. They deserve relief. For breathing room. For help surviving one of the hardest seasons of their lives while they prepare to welcome the child they have fought for for nearly ten years.

I'm asking for a Christmas miracle — not just for them, but for the baby they’ve already sacrificed everything to bring into this world.

If you are able to donate, share, or support them in any way, please know that your kindness is not taken lightly. It will go directly toward medical bills, basic living expenses, and helping this family start parenthood on something more stable than survival mode.

To be fully transparent: GoFundMe deducts over 10% in fees per donation. Contributions made directly via Venmo or PayPal do not incur fees and will allow more of your support to go straight toward medical bills and basic living expenses. Please consider using the QR code in the photos section to donate fee-free!