Baby Appleton's IVF with ICSI Fund

My name is Kayla Appleton and I am a Registered Nurse.  My husband is SSgt Mark Appleton of the United States Marine Corps.  I have always wanted to be a nurse as my Aunt Sherri has Cerebral Palsy and MR.  I had a strong interest in her care as well as the care of other family members and friends during periods of illness.  I graduated from ECU on May 9, 2014 and began my career with Vidant Health where I have had the privilege of working for the last 3 years.  My husband joined the Marine Corps in May of 2006.  He is currently stationed at Camp Geiger in Jacksonville, NC as a Combat Instructor with SOI-East.  We started dating October 31, 2014 after taking his nieces trick-or-treating.  We became engaged on February 25, 2016 during a trip to Gatlinburg, TN and we were happily married on October 22, 2016 at Emerald Isle, NC!  

As we were dating, Mark indicated that we may run into some trouble with fertility.  Mark had previously been married and had undergone some testing, but was unsure of the exact cause of infertility.  With faith, the mindset of "love conquers all," and my medical background, I did not think twice about it.  After a few months of being married, Mark and I took the steps towards our life-long goal of becoming parents.  

Mark's physician at Camp Geiger immediately referred us to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.  Our first appointment was on April 11th with Dr. Dean where we found out that Mark was born without Vas Deferens, also called Congenital Bilateral Absence of Vas Deferens.  This accounts for 1-2% of all infertility in males.  Dr. Dean indicated that our only option to have children of our own was IVF with ICSI.  After several lab tests, we found out that Mark is a carrier of the Cystic Fibrosis gene Delta F508 and his Vas Deferens never formed in utero.  If I am also a carrier of the CF gene, our children may be carriers or suffer from this respiratory illness.  This will require extensive genetic screening and intervention.  I have had several labs drawn in order to find out if I am also a carrier and the results are currently still pending.  On May 8th, Mark underwent a MESA procedure with Dr. Dean and we were able to harvest 9 vials of motile sperm!  Per Dr. Dean: "This is the best sample we've had in years!"  This was definitely a step in the right direction towards our pleads and prayers!

Unfortunately, seen as an elective procedure, IVF is not covered by Tricare.  For that matter, any financial assistance (to include food, gas, and lodging) from the government or other organizations like the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, is non-existent.  Thus far, roughly $2,189.71 has been spent towards our IVF journey.  We are looking at spending another $12,232 to include 2 more trips to Bethesda, MD for a Saline Sonogram and IVF orientation class, as well as a 2 week stay during August 9th-September 1st for embryo transfer.  Our family and friends have truly been supportive of us during this process and we are asking for your continued support in hopes that Mark and I will become parents of a child of our own!  This is something that we have both dreamed and longed after for as long as we can remember.

Total Spent Thus Far:
2 Trips to MD (Food, Gas, and Lodging): $1,187.71 
MESA Procedure (Identification of sperm from MESA/TESE/Single sperm freezing $652.00, Sperm cryopreservation $350.00): $1,002
Grand Total: $2,189.71

Estimated Future Cost (Food, Gas, and Lodging):

Food ($215.91 spent from April 10th-April 11th and May 7th-May 9th).  This is an estimated cost for 2 more trips to MD to include a 2 week stay:  ~$700.00

Gas ($106.15 spent from April 10th-April 11th and May 7th-May 9th).  This is an estimated cost for 2 more trips to MD to include a 2 week stay: ~$250.00

Lodging ($865.65 spent from April 10th-April 11th and May 7th-May 9th).  The cheapest hotel we can find is ~$151.00/night and is < 1 mile from WRNMMC. $151.00/night does not include parking, sales tax or occupancy tax. This is an estimated cost for 2 more trips to MD to include a 2 week stay: ~$3,300

Grand Total (Food, Gas, and Lodging): ~$4,250.00

Estimated Future Cost (IVF with ICSI):

Nonrefundable Deposit/Administrative Fee: $350.00
Basic IVF with ICSI: $6,274.00
Cryopreservation of Embryos: $568.00
Storage of Cryopreserved Embryos: $395.00
Storage of Cryopreserved Sperm: $395.00

Grand Total (IVF with ICSI): $7,982.00