A Bundle of Joy

In March of 2012 my husband and I decided we wanted to start a family. We tried for a while, but after almost a year, realized we needed help. We went to a fertility specialist in February 2013 and found out I suffer from PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome), a condition which, amongst other problems, causes weight gain and infertility. We were told to have no fear; with proper treatment we would be able to conceive a child. Since then we have been lucky enough (and incredibly blessed by family) to afford several forms of treatment including special diet, exercise, pills, injections and vitamin supplements. On October 7th of this year we sat with our doctor and she sadly told us that children were not possible through the treatments we have tried. My condition having been especially resistant to medications. She informed us that I have most likely only ovulated three times in my entire life, and that our chance of successfully having a child without treatment was about 3%. If we continued in our course of current treatment it would barely raise our chances, and recommended against it as she thought it would simply be unsuccessful. She told us our only options for children were IVF (in-vitro fertilization) or adoption. As you can imagine this was crushing to hear. Having been able to bounce back from three failed rounds of aggressive treatment, this news was devastating. IVF costs anywhere from $15,000 and upwards of $30,000. At my age, this round of treatment would give me a 70-80% chance of having a child. The bonus to this is it would also provide 2-4 additional embryos for additional children in the future at the comparatively low cost of $3,000 per attempt. Adoption starts at $10,000 and can go upwards of $25,000 per child. Me and Dana have decided to pursue IVF as it is the most promising option at the moment, as my 70-80% chance will start to drop after 27 and significantly after 30. The problem is, we simply cannot afford this. We were lucky enough to be enrolled in a center that will do our treatment for $6000. We are asking for help. We want to know if you know anyone who has gone through this and how they were able to pay for it. We would love suggestions and ideas on how to raise funds. Dana and I have so much. There is so much love we want to share, so much life we want to bring, and so much happiness we could give. There has been a hole in our hearts for almost three years. So many tears on Fathers Day and Mothers Day. So much pain at the end of each failed cycle. We have never felt jealous, or angry, or embittered towards our situation. It is simply a part of our lives. But it is a part we can change. We need support, emotionally and financially. If you have anything that could contribute to our cause to have a family, we would be hugely appreciative. Thank you for your time in reading this. We love you all. Please help us if you can. Share this message with everyone you know who could help.