About Us.

Thank you for visiting our blog and for supporting us on our journey. We are Jeff and Megan, though I (Megan) do most of the writing you will read. We are ready to start our family, and that is why ourbirthstory was created. Our birth stories will not be “typical,” because we are going to adopt our children from Africa. We are in the process of adopting two little ones. Yes, we will fly to the Democratic Republic of Congo having been a “childless” couple, and will then fly home with two babies in our arms. This is a record of our children’s “births,” our version of pregnancy, and our story. Right now, this is all we know. I will update this blog often and would love your feedback and support!

Below is a letter written about Jeff and I. This was written by our good friend and neighbor, Jeremy Sartain (THANK YOU Jeremy!):

I sat down with Megan and Jeff on 12/9/11.  My wife and I invited them to our house, eager to help with their amazing endeavor of bringing children into the world in a rather non-traditional fashion.  Megan and Jeff plan to adopt siblings from Africa (either Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda) and have begun their journey to do so.  This is their  story – a powerful tale that we should all be characters in.  If it takes a village to raise a child, it will take all of us to help with this adventure.  This is the beginning of a story involving love, epilepsy, family ties to Africa and more…

 

Megan and Jeff were married in 2010.  How they met is a classic story really (in 2004); boy sees girl, girl sees boy… Actually, both were working at Buffalo Wild Wings in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  They both attended college in Eau Claire and met through work initially.  They hit it off immediately.  Jeff now works as a CPA and Megan as a Clinical Social Worker/Family Therapist.  The intricacies of their relationship and development thereof are best told by the couple themselves.  It’s great fun asking over some wine what their story is all about!

 

Jeff is a local Minnesota boy raised in Circle Pines.  Megan has a more complicated story.  Minnesotans have adopted Megan from Colorado via Wisconsin.  Megan grew up in Eaton, CO, a small town about 60 miles north of Denver.  Megan excelled in volleyball during her high school days and was working toward a collegiate scholarship her senior year.  This is perhaps where the story gets very interesting….

 

At 15 years of age Megan began to experience seizures.  The seizures persisted and she was quickly diagnosed with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (grand mal/complex-partial seizures).  All four years of high school were difficult for Megan (medically), but she continued to pursue her volleyball career. Her high school team was the Class 3A State Champions (GO REDS!) Megan’s junior year. After this season, Megan was working on a scholarship at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).  During a summer tournament game, Megan had a grand mal seizure on the court. This ultimately eliminated her chances of playing volleyball during her senior year, thus losing her chances at the scholarship.  But, and there is a huge but here, Megan would not be with Jeff via her transplantation from Colorado to Eau Claire, Wisconsin would it not have been for this happening.  There is so much more background to this story (including a full work up at Mayo clinic for brain surgery), but the bottom line is that with appropriate medication, a fantastic marriage and holistic lifestyle, Megan has not experienced any seizures since April of 2001. 

 

Epilepsy is sometimes not conducive to pregnancy.  There is a 30% increased possibility of seizure activity for pregnant women.  Birth defects and issues with pregnancy are incredibly high.  Megan visited with neurologists in February 2011 utilizing tools such as EEG to assess whether or not carrying a child was a smart decision.  Neurologists advised Megan that she could become pregnant (at her own risk), though various tests showed that Megan was having very mild seizures almost hourly.  Because of her medication, Megan does not experience the seizures physically. If she were to go off of her medication (or change to a more pregnancy-friendly medication), Megan would likely experience seizures again. The following is my interpretation:  Rather than becoming devastated or go into mourning, Megan and Jeff began to discuss options.  The high risk pregnancy was not worth risking Megan’s health. The one and only option they arrived at was international adoption.  You can see by now, Megan and Jeff WANT to be parents. 

 

So now the wine is flowing as we (my wife Jennie and I) are visiting and getting more confident in asking personal questions.  I had built up the confidence to ask the question I’m sure many of you are pondering.  “Why do you want an international adoption?”  The answers from Megan and Jeff were both objective and subjective.  For Megan it was her family ties to Africa.  She is the daughter of an American-born father and a mother who is French and Algerian.  For Jeff the decision is a combination of support for his wife and the desire to be a father.  For both Megan and Jeff, their global view of the world drives them to grow their family in this way.  My observation is that there is that little something that can’t be stated in words about their future plan – a gut feeling, desire, dream… all the same things that make any new parents just that; new parents.

 

This story isn’t finished.  Perhaps it’s one of those ‘choose your own adventure’ stories that we all get a say onto what page the story will be turned.  The beauty of this is that we all have the opportunity to turn the pages with Megan and Jeff.  Megan and Jeff are the best neighbors you could ask for.  They are incredible people.  They have a passion and goal for their family, as well as a need for our help.  This will be a difficult yet amazing journey for them, both financially and emotionally.  My wife and I plan to help in the capacity that we can.  If it takes a village to raise a child…

 

Jeremy Sartain

Friend, neighbor, supporter of the Megan and Jeff adventure!