Melissa and Andrew IVF Journey

Hi everyone! For those who might just be stumbling across this page, my name is Melissa, and my husband is Andrew. I am hesitant to even post this because the idea of asking for help really scares me, but after many conversations with friends and family, and many prayers, we have decided that this is what is best. So here is a bit of our story.

In 2020, when the world shut down, Andrew and I found ourselves filled with joy because we were pregnant!! We were over the moon excited to start this journey during a time when everything was so scary. Unfortunately for us, that journey was cut short. In May of 2020, when I was 8 weeks pregnant, and after severe pain and other issues, we found ourselves in the ER for the sixth time when I was told I needed emergency surgery. That is when we found out the pregnancy was ectopic, and my fallopian tube had ruptured. After the surgery, they had to remove my fallopian tube, which also resulted in us losing our first pregnancy. It was devastating.

Losing my fallopian tube cut my chances of getting pregnant in half, and this is when the hardships began. We went to many ob-gyn's and infertility specialists, and did many forms of medication, tests, and procedures including IUI, to no avail for almost 3 years. After getting so burnt out with all of the poking and prodding and medications, we decided to stop them. Shortly after, in December of 2022, we found ourselves scared and excited when we finally got another positive pregnancy test!

Sadly, after about a week of celebrating, we found ourselves in the same situation as my first pregnancy. This time I knew how to advocate, and I knew the symptoms, so we were able to quickly find out this pregnancy was also ectopic and would have to be terminated. We were devastated again. After this occurrence, I had an exploratory surgery to see if there were any indicators as to why this was happening, and as far as we know, my tubes have some sort of structural issues that are most likely causing a hard time for the egg to find the uterus.

Ectopic pregnancies are rare, and they are not viable. They can also become fatal very quickly. If we try to conceive naturally, my chances of having another ectopic pregnancy has gone up from 1 in 100, to 1 in 4.

With all of that said, we have found ourselves at a crossroads. Do we continue to keep trying on our own and risk another ectopic pregnancy, or do we go down the route of IVF? After speaking with 2 fertility specialists through the University of Michigan Hospital, they have both concluded that the best-case scenario for us is IVF. I was so saddened to hear that I don't have a good chance of a viable natural pregnancy, but I am thankful that we live in a world where we can still conceive with a bit of help.

The downside to this is the procedure for IVF is extremely expensive, and most major insurance companies do not pay for IVF. My current job does pay for a good portion of infertility benefits, including IVF, but with all of the tests, procedures, medications, and surgery, we have dwindled that amount down quite a bit. If I would have known my fate would come to this, I would've refused the other tests and procedures we did, but unfortunately I cannot go back and change that.

The material from the University of Michigan IVF resources shows that this procedure will cost around $20,000. This number does not reflect any additional testing that may or may not be covered by our insurance. This number includes the egg retrieval, fertilization, and 4 transfers. If all 4 transfers fail, then future transfer attempts will cost more money. But we only want to focus on the first treatment, and we pray that this one will be successful.

As you can imagine, $20,000 is a lot of money for us. And so, we are asking for your help. We're going to be fundraising in a variety of ways, but wanted to give an easy and straightforward way of giving for anyone who wants to contribute whatever they can. Any amount that you give will help!

Thank you for everyone who has supported us in prayer, and we thank you in advance for anyone who feels drawn to give financially. We know that God is good, and He always supplies our needs. Through our struggles, we know we are still blessed, and we feel blessed by anyone who wants to give, no matter the amount.