Gilbert woman born without uterus raising funds for surgery
Aug 15, 2017, 5:07 PM | Updated: Aug 16, 2017, 9:26 am
(Instagram Photo)
(Instagram Photo)
PHOENIX — A Gilbert woman who needs reconstructive surgery to create a uterus and other genitalia necessary for pregnancy has made international news with her quest.
Kaylee Moats and her family are trying to raise $15,000 through a GoFundMe drive to cover the costs.
Moats was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome, a congenital medical disorder that affects 1 in 4,500 newborn girls.
They are born without a vagina, a vaginal opening or uterus, but they do have ovaries. External genitalia appear normal.
The 22-year-old graphic designer told British media she was unaware she was in that rare group until she was 18 and still hadn’t had a period. After a doctor’s exam, Moats was told of her condition.
She also learned health insurance wouldn’t cover the surgery.
“They consider it a cosmetic surgery or a gender reassignment, which it’s not,” she said in a YouTube video.
Her family’s doctor, Deryl Lamb, said insurance didn’t consider the surgery life-saving.
Moats said she already owes thousands in student loans (she graduated from Northern Arizona University in May), which was hard on her family as well as herself.
“Women are supposed to be to carry children and create a family and have an intimate relationship and I can’t provide that.”
The young man she is dating, Robert Limmer, said, “When she told me, I already had grown to love this person, so it’s not going to make me love her any less.”
So far, the fundraising efforts have surpassed almost $7,000.
