Baby Dusing - IVF Fund
Donation protected
Dear family and friends:
Infertility is not something we ever thought we would be facing. Asking for your help is not easy for us, and posting this leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable and exposed.
We have been trying to start our family for over a year now. This week we got devastating news that I am in ovarian failure. This news shocked us to our core and left me feeling like I was suffocating. We were absolutely crushed. Something that is so simple for so many will not only be very expensive, but also has a very small time limit of possibility.
I've wanted children for as long as I can remember. It wasn't far into our relationship that Brad and I talked about our love for the kids in our life and how we couldn't wait until we could start our family. Last November we began the journey of trying to start our family. Something we thought would happen quickly and easily, didn't. We waited 10 months, every single month ending in heartbreak and disappointment. We began fertility testing with a Reproductive Endocrinologist ("RE") in September. After finishing the majority of expensive testing and only finding a small issue on Brad's side (low morphology) we were told we were great candidates for a medicated/IUI cycle (intrauterine insemination).
I picked up the medication and we were ready to start this cycle on 11/12/14. We were hopeful and excited that we would finally be starting our family. That morning I had to go in for bloodwork to check 3 hormone levels before we started the IUI process (this was cycle day specific blood work). That afternoon I got the results that my FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) was 22.5. Anything over 10 is considered high. The doctor cancelled our IUI cycle and had me begin a Clomid Challenge Test. From cycle days 5-9 I took 100mg of clomiphene citrate each day. On the 10th day (11/19) I went in for a repeat FSH blood test. Late that morning I got the call that crushed our world. My level had raised to over 37 which meant I had not responded to the medication. The next morning we went in for an appointment to meet with our RE. He went over the results and also did an ultrasound to see how my body reacted to the medication. I had 1 egg on each side, measuring 1mm in size. This was a very poor response. Our RE believes I am in ovarian failure. I have a 2% chance of getting pregnant and only a couple of months to try. My hormone levels will continue to get worse.
Asking for help is not something Brad or I am any good at doing. We never thought we would be in the position that we are in. Not only do we have to spend an incredible amount to try to have our baby, but we only have a couple of months to try. If we had been told IVF would be our only hope, but that we had more than enough time, we would never ask anyone for help. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time to save money and finance this in a good way for ourselves. We had saved some money to use as a downpayment on land we were hoping to purchase (to someday build our dream home on), but now we will be using that money towards IVF.
Because of our chances and time limit, we are probably going to be using the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. This clinic has incredible statistics (which is why it is so expensive). Their statistics with patients in my situation are good. Brad and I are not willing to give up on the chance to have OUR baby yet. We will have 1 chance to have our baby and try IVF, so we are going to give it all we can. My brother and his family live near Denver so we will have a place to stay for free, and can also get cheap flights on Frontier Airlines.
We don't expect to get our IVF journey covered completely, heck, we don't even expect much as far as donations go.....but we had to put this out there and try. We are sorry for even having to ask, but we truly need your help.
Brad and I are meant to be parents. While this is not the way we thought we would be starting our family, we are hopeful to start this journey and bring home our baby.
We could use all of your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this scary journey.
With love,
Amy and Brad
Infertility is not something we ever thought we would be facing. Asking for your help is not easy for us, and posting this leaves me feeling incredibly vulnerable and exposed.
We have been trying to start our family for over a year now. This week we got devastating news that I am in ovarian failure. This news shocked us to our core and left me feeling like I was suffocating. We were absolutely crushed. Something that is so simple for so many will not only be very expensive, but also has a very small time limit of possibility.
I've wanted children for as long as I can remember. It wasn't far into our relationship that Brad and I talked about our love for the kids in our life and how we couldn't wait until we could start our family. Last November we began the journey of trying to start our family. Something we thought would happen quickly and easily, didn't. We waited 10 months, every single month ending in heartbreak and disappointment. We began fertility testing with a Reproductive Endocrinologist ("RE") in September. After finishing the majority of expensive testing and only finding a small issue on Brad's side (low morphology) we were told we were great candidates for a medicated/IUI cycle (intrauterine insemination).
I picked up the medication and we were ready to start this cycle on 11/12/14. We were hopeful and excited that we would finally be starting our family. That morning I had to go in for bloodwork to check 3 hormone levels before we started the IUI process (this was cycle day specific blood work). That afternoon I got the results that my FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) was 22.5. Anything over 10 is considered high. The doctor cancelled our IUI cycle and had me begin a Clomid Challenge Test. From cycle days 5-9 I took 100mg of clomiphene citrate each day. On the 10th day (11/19) I went in for a repeat FSH blood test. Late that morning I got the call that crushed our world. My level had raised to over 37 which meant I had not responded to the medication. The next morning we went in for an appointment to meet with our RE. He went over the results and also did an ultrasound to see how my body reacted to the medication. I had 1 egg on each side, measuring 1mm in size. This was a very poor response. Our RE believes I am in ovarian failure. I have a 2% chance of getting pregnant and only a couple of months to try. My hormone levels will continue to get worse.
Asking for help is not something Brad or I am any good at doing. We never thought we would be in the position that we are in. Not only do we have to spend an incredible amount to try to have our baby, but we only have a couple of months to try. If we had been told IVF would be our only hope, but that we had more than enough time, we would never ask anyone for help. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time to save money and finance this in a good way for ourselves. We had saved some money to use as a downpayment on land we were hoping to purchase (to someday build our dream home on), but now we will be using that money towards IVF.
Because of our chances and time limit, we are probably going to be using the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. This clinic has incredible statistics (which is why it is so expensive). Their statistics with patients in my situation are good. Brad and I are not willing to give up on the chance to have OUR baby yet. We will have 1 chance to have our baby and try IVF, so we are going to give it all we can. My brother and his family live near Denver so we will have a place to stay for free, and can also get cheap flights on Frontier Airlines.
We don't expect to get our IVF journey covered completely, heck, we don't even expect much as far as donations go.....but we had to put this out there and try. We are sorry for even having to ask, but we truly need your help.
Brad and I are meant to be parents. While this is not the way we thought we would be starting our family, we are hopeful to start this journey and bring home our baby.
We could use all of your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this scary journey.
With love,
Amy and Brad
Organizer
Amy Carpenter Dusing
Organizer
Lexington, KY
