Support Chelsea and James Surrogacy Journey  

Hello! Our names are Kera & Hailey, and we are organizing this crowdsource fundraiser for our best friend from school, Chelsea Johnson. We have been friends with Chelsea since middle school, and have gotten the chance to go through all of our adventures in life together. We both knew Chelsea had found her life long partner when we went out to dinner and she couldn’t stop talking about him. She was head over heels for him and we could see just how special he made her feel. We both had the opportunity to stand with Chelsea in her wedding to James and since then, it has been amazing to see their journey together. As a couple, their love towards each other is a testament in their commitment and how they hold each other up through their journey to parenthood. They appreciate you taking the time to read their story below, and hope you consider helping them. 

Chelsea and James have been trying to build a family for 7 years. In that time they have suffered 6 miscarriages and 1 infant death. They have experienced an overwhelming amount of heartbreak, loss, and pain. However, they won’t give up on having a family. 

Pregnancy has been a rough journey for Chelsea. She experienced extreme nausea and weight loss, resulting in three weekly infusion visits. Of Chelsea's 6 pregnancies, 3 have resulted in first trimester losses and 3 have resulted in second trimester losses. Their children lost in the second trimester were Ellie, lost at 14 weeks, born in October of 2019. Alexander, lost at 16 weeks, born in October of 2022. During her pregnancy with Levi, her vomiting was so severe she spent 3 days at Butterworth and ended up having a central line placed so she could administer home IV infusions daily. In April of 2025, Levi was born and lost at 17 weeks of gestation. 

After all this loss and heartache the thought of trying again is terrifying for many reasons. Chelsea is not sure if she has it in her to try again, but has always felt like she is meant to be a mother and knows how amazing of a father James will be. 

In March 2026, Chelsea found out she was pregnant for the 7th time with a girl, who they decided to name Oakley Jay Johnson. 

After meeting with maternal fetal medicine to discuss all her previous losses and concerns, they offered at 13 weeks to perform a cervical cerclage procedure; which means her cervix was stitched shut. According to the American Pregnancy Association the procedure has an 80-90% success rate. Unfortunately, that stitch placed failed at 20 weeks and 4 days when Chelsea woke up to bleeding. She was admitted to Butterworth and after much discussion with surgeons they agreed to move forward with a second cerclage surgery. The surgery was successful and Oakley was showing no signs of distress. At 24 weeks and 3 days Chelsea was sitting at her desk working when her water broke. She went straight to Gerber Hospital, who confirmed her water broke, and she was sent via ambulance to Butterworth Labor and Delivery. 

After 24 hours she was not having active signs of labor so she was moved to an antepartum room where she hoped to remain for 10 more weeks. Sadly that did not happen, as 3 days later she started experiencing back pain and shortly after contractions started. She was rushed back down to labor and delivery. While laboring, Oakley started showing signs of distress and Chelsea was rushed for an emergency C-section. 

Oakley was born August 15th 2026 at 10:26pm weighing 1lb 9oz and 13 inches. She had blonde hair, long fingers and toes, which she inherited from her dad. It was determined Chelsea had placental abruption and chorioamnionitis, an infection of the amniotic sac. The NICU team truly did everything they could but ultimately Oakley was septic, very premature, and just could not pull through. Oakley passed August 16th at 1:14am in Chelsea’s arms with James at her side. 

The weeks that followed felt unreal and time seemed to slow for both of them. After talking with OBGYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine, Chelsea could try again but her water breaking and placenta abruption happening early in her pregnancy means a higher risk in any future pregnancy.  After many long conversations they decided surrogacy was going to be the safest option for their family moving forward. 

After putting their story out on social media, multiple selfless people reached out and offered to be a surrogate for them. We are happy to share that a perfect match has been found, and now are in the early stages of their surrogacy journey. They are now at the fertility clinic and have started the process of making embryos to be implanted in their surrogate after significant genetic testing of the embryos & medical clearance of the surrogate. This process will be mentally, physically, and financially overwhelming for anyone. We are hoping to relieve some financial burden for the bills that they will have in the coming future. The costs they have to pay includes the IVF process, all of the surrogates medical bills, and lawyer fees. Michigan law states the surrogate must have a separate lawyer from the intended parents, so Chelsea and James must cover both lawyer fees for themselves and the surrogate. 

After talking with other parents that have been through similar situations, they are estimating to spend up to $75,000 or more for this journey. Hailey and Kera are looking to friends, family, community, and even strangers to donate and help our best friend and her amazing husband continue moving forward toward being parents. We know they are going to be amazing parents, and after all their heartbreak, they deserve the best opportunity to start their family.