Help The Perales' Make A Baby
Donation protected
After being married for nearly ten years, many people have asked when Tanya and I plan on starting a family. For years, this question has been frustrating at best, and painful at worst.
The truth is we have wanted children for most of our marriage. Since receiving my first job on a church staff in the summer of 2011, Tanya and I have hoped and prayed for the day when we would finally be able to welcome our first child into the world. Our first obstacle came through a potential genetic disease that Tanya had the potential to carry. Her younger brother, Brandon, has suffered from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) for most of his life and there was a significant chance Tanya could be a carrier for this debilitating disease. After spending several years trying to get a carrier testing for DMD, we finally discovered Duchenne Connect at Project Parent Muscular Dystrophy in 2017 and received the wonderful news that Tanya was not a carrier in May of that year.
To say we were excited would be an understatement. After years of wondering and praying for the best, we finally received the news we longed for and immediately started trying to conceive our first child. Month after month wore one and after about six months with no luck, we met with Tanya's OB/GYN to discuss what the problem might be. After undergoing a few tests, Tanya was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS) and began treatment we hoped would help us get pregnant. In February of 2018, after spending several months on her previous OB/GYN's treatment plan, we were referred to an infertility specialist.
Since our first meeting with our specialist over one year ago, we have both undergone various tests, especially Tanya, and have tried several different treatments. This led to a surgery Tanya underwent in August of 2018 that prepared us for our next treatment, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Our first IVF treatment was started in October of 2018 and our first embryos were brought into the world on November 5, 2018. After maturing for a few days, our doctor determined two of our embryos would be implanted in Tanya's uterus and the waiting started. After waiting for several days, we went in for a pregnancy test and received the news later that day that our babies did not make it. In addition to that heartbreaking news, we were also informed that our other embryos, which were continuing to mature and await freezing, also did not make it.
All the joy and expectation we were filled with at the onset of this process was now replaced with heartache, bitterness, and anger. We cried, we mourned, and we hurt. In truth, we still hurt. For us, we lost our children that day and we long for the day we get to see them again in Heaven. Yet, we continue to believe God has called us to be parents of children we will get to hold, watch, and parent. Under the guidance of our infertility specialist, we started our second round of IVF. This led to additional challenges and after a very painful egg retrieval for Tanya, which only led to two embryos being frozen, we decided to find a new infertility clinic to work with.
In the process of doing this, we have been faced with even greater costs, and, for those that do not know, IVF is already an incredibly expensive medical process. While our health insurance does cover us, our first round of IVF left us with very little savings and several thousand dollars of debt. Our second round of IVF has already cost us over $5000 and eaten into most of our remaining savings and we still need to pay the fees associated with getting our embryos transferred to our new doctor's office. Additionally, with so few embryos frozen, our new doctor has determined Tanya will have to undergo a third egg retrieval before we're able to look at having any embryos transferred.
We seriously debated on sharing all this information so publicly, but at the urging of some friends and family who have demonstrated a desire to help, we are now asking for that help. Thankfully, our new clinic is able to give us a much better idea of how much the process will cost, and we know that we will need somewhere around $8500 to cover those costs, along with the costs of transferring our two frozen embryos. For any that are interested, some average IVF costs are listed below, not adjusted for insurance, which again, we are so blessed to have.
Please know that there is no expectation from either of us that you will donate any money to help us. No donation, or lack thereof, will have any influence on how we treat any person, so please know that if you are not able to give, there is absolutely zero resentment. We covet your prayers as we continue in this process, and happily accept any financial assistance you are able to offer our family. Thank you so much for helping to make our dreams of parenthood a reality.
Robert & Tanya Perales
IVF Cost Estimates:
IVF Prescriptions: $3000
Additional Medications: $1000
IVF Egg Retrieval: $13,000
IVF Embryo Transfer: $6000
IVF Office Visits: $1000
Total Cost: Approx. $24,000
The truth is we have wanted children for most of our marriage. Since receiving my first job on a church staff in the summer of 2011, Tanya and I have hoped and prayed for the day when we would finally be able to welcome our first child into the world. Our first obstacle came through a potential genetic disease that Tanya had the potential to carry. Her younger brother, Brandon, has suffered from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) for most of his life and there was a significant chance Tanya could be a carrier for this debilitating disease. After spending several years trying to get a carrier testing for DMD, we finally discovered Duchenne Connect at Project Parent Muscular Dystrophy in 2017 and received the wonderful news that Tanya was not a carrier in May of that year.
To say we were excited would be an understatement. After years of wondering and praying for the best, we finally received the news we longed for and immediately started trying to conceive our first child. Month after month wore one and after about six months with no luck, we met with Tanya's OB/GYN to discuss what the problem might be. After undergoing a few tests, Tanya was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS) and began treatment we hoped would help us get pregnant. In February of 2018, after spending several months on her previous OB/GYN's treatment plan, we were referred to an infertility specialist.
Since our first meeting with our specialist over one year ago, we have both undergone various tests, especially Tanya, and have tried several different treatments. This led to a surgery Tanya underwent in August of 2018 that prepared us for our next treatment, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Our first IVF treatment was started in October of 2018 and our first embryos were brought into the world on November 5, 2018. After maturing for a few days, our doctor determined two of our embryos would be implanted in Tanya's uterus and the waiting started. After waiting for several days, we went in for a pregnancy test and received the news later that day that our babies did not make it. In addition to that heartbreaking news, we were also informed that our other embryos, which were continuing to mature and await freezing, also did not make it.
All the joy and expectation we were filled with at the onset of this process was now replaced with heartache, bitterness, and anger. We cried, we mourned, and we hurt. In truth, we still hurt. For us, we lost our children that day and we long for the day we get to see them again in Heaven. Yet, we continue to believe God has called us to be parents of children we will get to hold, watch, and parent. Under the guidance of our infertility specialist, we started our second round of IVF. This led to additional challenges and after a very painful egg retrieval for Tanya, which only led to two embryos being frozen, we decided to find a new infertility clinic to work with.
In the process of doing this, we have been faced with even greater costs, and, for those that do not know, IVF is already an incredibly expensive medical process. While our health insurance does cover us, our first round of IVF left us with very little savings and several thousand dollars of debt. Our second round of IVF has already cost us over $5000 and eaten into most of our remaining savings and we still need to pay the fees associated with getting our embryos transferred to our new doctor's office. Additionally, with so few embryos frozen, our new doctor has determined Tanya will have to undergo a third egg retrieval before we're able to look at having any embryos transferred.
We seriously debated on sharing all this information so publicly, but at the urging of some friends and family who have demonstrated a desire to help, we are now asking for that help. Thankfully, our new clinic is able to give us a much better idea of how much the process will cost, and we know that we will need somewhere around $8500 to cover those costs, along with the costs of transferring our two frozen embryos. For any that are interested, some average IVF costs are listed below, not adjusted for insurance, which again, we are so blessed to have.
Please know that there is no expectation from either of us that you will donate any money to help us. No donation, or lack thereof, will have any influence on how we treat any person, so please know that if you are not able to give, there is absolutely zero resentment. We covet your prayers as we continue in this process, and happily accept any financial assistance you are able to offer our family. Thank you so much for helping to make our dreams of parenthood a reality.
Robert & Tanya Perales
IVF Cost Estimates:
IVF Prescriptions: $3000
Additional Medications: $1000
IVF Egg Retrieval: $13,000
IVF Embryo Transfer: $6000
IVF Office Visits: $1000
Total Cost: Approx. $24,000
Organizer
Robert Aaron Perales
Organizer
McAllen, TX