Winooski, Vermont. On Courtney’s touching GoFundMe post, titled “Bryan Family, Party of Three,” she shares her fateful path to motherhood and her life as a single mom.
Courtney didn’t find family; her family found her. By fostering Mae from the time she was a newborn, Courtney officially became her mom in June of 2020.
As someone who grew up in a loving and lively home, Courtney wants to give her daughter a sibling and add even more love to her blossoming family.
A single round of IUI costs $2,000, but after her first failure, her chances of success grew higher with each try.
She took an assortment of vitamins, underwent extensive testing, and even tried acupuncture and crystals—nothing seemed to be helping.
After seven tries with IUI, Courtney needed time to heal and rethink her approach to getting pregnant.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Courtney with her daughter Mae
Following a few months of emotional and physical recovery, Courtney’s doctor recommended IVF, a procedure that would cost over $10,000.
Despite IVF’s invasive nature and high cost, the higher pregnancy success rate convinced Courtney that this was her best chance at growing her family.
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As a public school kindergarten teacher, Courtney had to turn to creative forms of fundraising and applied for grants, and went to extraordinary lengths to achieve her goals, including taking on “extra jobs at school” and “budgeting like a madwoman.”
In brainstorming how to fundraise for this next step, Courtney’s sisters reminded her, “it takes a village.”
She chose to reflect this in a beautiful handmade quilt decorated with colorful homes representing a village.
GoFundMe; pictured above are the materials Courtney bought to start making her quilt
Courtney invited her community and beyond to sponsor a share of the blanket, divided into “unique houses” composed of five parts.
Sponsoring a piece for $15, or a whole house for $50, will put that donor’s name on the back of the quilt, so the family can remember the village of friends who helped her family come to be.
Courtney hopes to begin IVF in January, and if you would like to donate to her GoFundMe and help Mae become a big sister, you can do that here.