Hello, we are Josh and Alyssa Formicola and we are asking for support, in our journey, with IVF. Our story began when we met on the west coast in 2013 and began dating shortly afterwards. Josh was a United States Marine and I was a teacher at an early childhood facility. We knew the relationship wouldn’t be easy but we loved each other and knew we could do it. We married in May of 2016 after three years of long distance and only seeing each other every 3 months for 2-3 days. We always talked about our future together and having children was something we both definitely wanted. We planned on starting as soon as possible. However, Josh was assigned to his second deployment which left us separated yet again. That made it almost impossible to try and conceive. This heavily weighed on our decision in Josh leaving the Marine Corps, when his contract was up, so we can live a more stable life for our future family.

We decided that when we moved into our new place, it would be the right time to start a family. It took us two years to conceive naturally. WE WERE ECSTATIC, OVER THE MOON! We couldn’t believe it was finally OUR time. 10 weeks into the pregnancy we went for our first ultrasound to find our baby didn’t have a heartbeat. Hearing those words, but seeing your baby on the ultrasound was devastating. We ended up having to schedule a D&C because my body wasn’t registering I wasn’t pregnant anymore. We were both devastated. Anyone who knows my husband knows how hard this was for him but he was my support and my motivation to keep moving forward.

Six months later, PREGNANT AGAIN! Every time you see those double lines, you can’t help but want to shout from the rooftops. Unfortunately, it was early on when I could feel that something wasn’t right. That night, alone on my bathroom floor, I had my second miscarriage. Each time we had a loss it just broke our hearts into a million little pieces. It is emotionally, mentally, and physically depleting.

In 2020 , after a year of “taking a break” and “not trying” we were feeling energized and ready, yet again, to start our journey for baby Formicola. We went to 2 different fertility clinics and had multiple blood tests, ultrasounds, medications and procedures, all leading to unexplained infertility. Tired of waiting, we started doing IUI procedures. After many prayers and attempts, Josh and I were not able to achieve another positive pregnancy test through IUI.

Fast forward to 2021. Josh and I bought our first house together! He is now working his dream job which gives me the opportunity to step back from a stressful position to focus on my well-being and getting ready for this process. We made this decision to try and cut stressors out of our lives. We figured if we were going to get pregnant we needed to be healthy, and stress free. In June, we met with a new fertility doctor that studied every part of Josh and I. After our consultation with our new doctor we decided IVF was our next step. Instantly we had so much HOPE. But because of the price, this will be our last hope to conceive baby Formicola.

We reside in Pennsylvania which does not require insurance companies to provide coverage for the IVF procedure. Our insurance will not cover any of that cost. If you know anything about this process it is very expensive. The process is about $ 25-30,000 but could be more if there are any complications. Asking for help is not easy. The cost feels too big, impossible at times; but we are here trying to push past our pride and fight for a family we want more than anything.

We will keep you up to date on the progress and welcome any questions you may have. From the bottom of our hearts, we are most grateful for any support you can give and thank you for your prayers and donations! Any bit helps in making our dreams finally become a reality.

Love,

Josh & Alyssa xoxo