My name is Sharon Harris and I am 38 years old. My husband Mark and I live in Charleston SC. We have been married for 16 years. We love each other so much, no words that can describe it. As much love as we have for each other we would love nothing more that to be able to share our love with our own child. I thought our dream had come true when I found out in the summer of 1996 that we would have a brand new baby in March of the following year! Unknown to us and our physician I had conceived an ectopic pregnancy and as I was entering the 2nd trimester when my worst nightmare was began to come true. Towards the end of my workday at the daycare I started to have some pain in my lower stomach. Trying to hold on to my doctor’s voice telling me that some growing pains and cramps are normal I tried to push my fears to the back of my mind. As time passed the pain grew worse and worse and I knew something was wrong. By the time I made it to the emergency room I was in the most horrible pain of my life; after a beyond painful internal sonogram, they told us that our growing baby was about to rupture my tube. I had to have to have emergency surgery to remove my baby and I also lost my whole tube. The recovery was long and both physically and mentally painful for not just Mark and me, but our whole family felt our loss. About a year later after giving my body some time to heal, we decided to try again to conceive. We knew since I only had one tube left, it would be more difficult but we wanted to start family so much, we just had to try. My OBGYN wanted to perform a hysterosalpingogram to be on the safe side and make sure the other tube was viable. The results were not promising and once again I went in for a laser surgery and ended up losing 1/2 of the other tube due. I can't help but become overwhelmed with tearful emotions as I reflect on these events in our lives. Since then, we have spoken to infertility specialists, had tests, been counseled but it always boils down to IVF and the cost of the procedure. We just don’t have the $13,000-$15,000 our fertility specialists need to perform the procedure and our health insurance does not cover infertility treatments. I feel as though winning the lottery is our only option at this point. We are self employed and just don’t have the resources to such a large sum of money. We have saved for 2 years but with the economy and cutbacks we have only been able to put aside $2,136.27. I’m now 38 and running out of time. Leaving us discouraged, we just prayed that God would show us mercy and give us the miracle that we so desperately wanted. We have a wonderful life; we have a happy home and a family that is loving and supportive on both sides. Both of our parents have been married for a combined 88 years and they have taught us to cherish family. Our hearts ache for the chance to contribute to such a long legacy. I have watched the years go by one day at a time, and each and every day I have dreamed about my own baby. My baby would have been 14 years this past March. I wonder if he or she would have had Marks beautiful brown eyes and my nose. Please help us with this miracle. Thank you.
