Donation protected
It's hard to ask for help sometimes, but here goes: please help give us a chance to have a baby through IVF. We've tried everything else we can, and have prayed along the way for guidance each time that we wondered, "What 's next?" We believe the answer is IVF, but we need a lot of help to make it happen, since it is not covered by our insurance.
Our Story
We started dating in 1998 while working at Toys R Us. After beginning our teaching careers in 2003 and getting married in 2004, we were finally able to buy a house in 2010. We assumed that we'd get pregnant once we stopped preventing, and were disappointed when it didn't happen in the first few months. We charted temperatures, tried ovulation kits, and tried not to get stressed about why it wasn't happening. We dreaded questions like, "When are you going to have kids?" or "Why don't you have kids yet?"
Six years later, we worked up the courage to ask about fertility testing. Everything was fine, so we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Our doctor recommended Clomid, a medication to help with ovulation, so we tried that for 6 months. Still nothing.
Next, we doubled the dose. In May 2017, we got our first positive pregnancy test ever. We were SO excited! That excitement lasted for a week, and then we miscarried at 7 weeks. Right before Mother's Day. We didn't tell many people at all, but took comfort in the fact that we COULD get pregnant, and continued the doubled dose of Clomid.
In August, we were pregnant again. We were excited, but definitely guarded. Our excitement grew with each ultrasound, and we shared our news at Thanksgiving to an overjoyed family and group of friends through Facebook. Christmas brought adorable baby gifts, plans for his nursery, first kick flutters, and registering for our shower.
On January 8th, 2018, the rug was pulled out from under us when our baby was born at 21 weeks. Much too early to be saved. In the blur after the delivery, we held him, shared him with a handful of family members, and said goodbye. We filled out a birth certificate... and a death certificate. We chose a name. We called a funeral home and arranged cremation. And then we left him there and went home alone and cried more than we ever had in our lives.
After a few months of healing, we felt ready to try again. We were still experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, and had a new question to dread: "Do you have any kids?" There was no easy answer.
We tried 8 more months of our doubled Clomid with no results. Our doctor switched us to a different medication and referred us to a specialist.
In March 2019, we saw the specialist, who recommended IVF and more testing. We decided to try IUI, since it was more within our budget. This involved several procedures, weeks of shots, trying to be optimistic without getting our hopes up too much, and more waiting. We tried IUI twice, and ended up with negative pregnancy tests both times. After spending over $4600 from April-June, we decided not to try another IUI. We looked into medical loans for IVF, but the payments would be almost as much as our mortgage. So we continued to pray for guidance.
What's Next?
Our friends and family have been a wonderful support system along the way. For the past few months, many of them have suggested that we reach out for support through this site. We're not sure what God's plan is for us, but we don't want a lack of money to be the reason we can't try IVF as our next step to help us bring home a baby to love. Thanks for letting us share our story with you.
Our Story
We started dating in 1998 while working at Toys R Us. After beginning our teaching careers in 2003 and getting married in 2004, we were finally able to buy a house in 2010. We assumed that we'd get pregnant once we stopped preventing, and were disappointed when it didn't happen in the first few months. We charted temperatures, tried ovulation kits, and tried not to get stressed about why it wasn't happening. We dreaded questions like, "When are you going to have kids?" or "Why don't you have kids yet?"Six years later, we worked up the courage to ask about fertility testing. Everything was fine, so we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Our doctor recommended Clomid, a medication to help with ovulation, so we tried that for 6 months. Still nothing.
Next, we doubled the dose. In May 2017, we got our first positive pregnancy test ever. We were SO excited! That excitement lasted for a week, and then we miscarried at 7 weeks. Right before Mother's Day. We didn't tell many people at all, but took comfort in the fact that we COULD get pregnant, and continued the doubled dose of Clomid.
In August, we were pregnant again. We were excited, but definitely guarded. Our excitement grew with each ultrasound, and we shared our news at Thanksgiving to an overjoyed family and group of friends through Facebook. Christmas brought adorable baby gifts, plans for his nursery, first kick flutters, and registering for our shower.
On January 8th, 2018, the rug was pulled out from under us when our baby was born at 21 weeks. Much too early to be saved. In the blur after the delivery, we held him, shared him with a handful of family members, and said goodbye. We filled out a birth certificate... and a death certificate. We chose a name. We called a funeral home and arranged cremation. And then we left him there and went home alone and cried more than we ever had in our lives.
After a few months of healing, we felt ready to try again. We were still experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, and had a new question to dread: "Do you have any kids?" There was no easy answer.
We tried 8 more months of our doubled Clomid with no results. Our doctor switched us to a different medication and referred us to a specialist.
In March 2019, we saw the specialist, who recommended IVF and more testing. We decided to try IUI, since it was more within our budget. This involved several procedures, weeks of shots, trying to be optimistic without getting our hopes up too much, and more waiting. We tried IUI twice, and ended up with negative pregnancy tests both times. After spending over $4600 from April-June, we decided not to try another IUI. We looked into medical loans for IVF, but the payments would be almost as much as our mortgage. So we continued to pray for guidance.
What's Next?
Our friends and family have been a wonderful support system along the way. For the past few months, many of them have suggested that we reach out for support through this site. We're not sure what God's plan is for us, but we don't want a lack of money to be the reason we can't try IVF as our next step to help us bring home a baby to love. Thanks for letting us share our story with you.
Co-organizers (2)
Sunshine Emery Hernandez
Organizer
Allen Park, MI
Shaun Hernandez
Co-organizer