Our IVF Journey
Donation protected
To be honest we aren't even sure where to start. Talking about this isn't necessarily the easiest thing to do and asking for money to do it is even harder than talking about it, but we have realized that this journey we are about to embark on can't be done alone. We are going to need a lot of help and a lot of support along the way.
It isn't a secret that I feel my true calling in life is to be a mother. I want nothing more than to have the full experience of being pregnant (the morning sickness, the swollen feet, all of it), having a baby (we all know what this entails), and then the best part of all watching them grow in amazing people, and I have finally found the person that I want to be on this journey with me. It also isn't a secret that Daniel was born with a pretty serious birth defect, Spina Bifida. A birth defect in which a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly, leaving his spinal cord and nerves exposed during birth. Due to the extensive nature of nerve damage that comes along with having Spina Bifida, we decided to start our family planning early, and seek out a fertility specialist. During all of our preliminary fertility test it came to our attention that have children in a "natural" way just wasn't going to be in the cards for us, and that we would need to go through the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
Which brings us to why we are here. IVF is essentially where embryologist combine the sperm and the egg outside of the body and then transfers the fertilized embryos back into the uterus. Sounds simple enough, but it is anything but simple. This process is going to be extremely taxing on me and my body, and at times will be a strain on our marriage and most of all major strain financially. One round of IVF will run us about $20,000. This includes numerous office visits, ultrasounds, egg retrieval, the actual fertilization of the egg, assisted hatching, IVF medication, and then transfer. And, because we live in the great state of Arizona, insurance covers NONE of this!
And to make matters even better we aren't guaranteed a baby after we complete the full cycle. We are looking at about a 50% odd that we will end up with a baby (or multiple babies)! If they cycle isn't a success then we will be looking at maybe having to do this all over again... But we'll face that bridge if and when we get to it. Daniel has had to overcome tremendous odds to be where he is today and together we have already overcome so much, so I know that as long as we have each other we can get through this too. In the end this will just bring us closer as a couple, and it will be worth every penny we spend on it. We hope to start a lot of this process as soon after the wedding is possible. So fingers crossed by December/ January we'll be pregnant! Knowing that we have any amazing support system in place is extremely reassuring in our time of need. We aren't expecting a lot but any help would mean the world to us. We could never thank you enough for helping us achieve our dreams
It isn't a secret that I feel my true calling in life is to be a mother. I want nothing more than to have the full experience of being pregnant (the morning sickness, the swollen feet, all of it), having a baby (we all know what this entails), and then the best part of all watching them grow in amazing people, and I have finally found the person that I want to be on this journey with me. It also isn't a secret that Daniel was born with a pretty serious birth defect, Spina Bifida. A birth defect in which a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly, leaving his spinal cord and nerves exposed during birth. Due to the extensive nature of nerve damage that comes along with having Spina Bifida, we decided to start our family planning early, and seek out a fertility specialist. During all of our preliminary fertility test it came to our attention that have children in a "natural" way just wasn't going to be in the cards for us, and that we would need to go through the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
Which brings us to why we are here. IVF is essentially where embryologist combine the sperm and the egg outside of the body and then transfers the fertilized embryos back into the uterus. Sounds simple enough, but it is anything but simple. This process is going to be extremely taxing on me and my body, and at times will be a strain on our marriage and most of all major strain financially. One round of IVF will run us about $20,000. This includes numerous office visits, ultrasounds, egg retrieval, the actual fertilization of the egg, assisted hatching, IVF medication, and then transfer. And, because we live in the great state of Arizona, insurance covers NONE of this!
And to make matters even better we aren't guaranteed a baby after we complete the full cycle. We are looking at about a 50% odd that we will end up with a baby (or multiple babies)! If they cycle isn't a success then we will be looking at maybe having to do this all over again... But we'll face that bridge if and when we get to it. Daniel has had to overcome tremendous odds to be where he is today and together we have already overcome so much, so I know that as long as we have each other we can get through this too. In the end this will just bring us closer as a couple, and it will be worth every penny we spend on it. We hope to start a lot of this process as soon after the wedding is possible. So fingers crossed by December/ January we'll be pregnant! Knowing that we have any amazing support system in place is extremely reassuring in our time of need. We aren't expecting a lot but any help would mean the world to us. We could never thank you enough for helping us achieve our dreams
Organizer
Breanna Mevoli
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ