Baby Carlson IVF Fund
Donation protected
I am writing this story on behalf of my sister Ashley and brother-in-law Matt, who have been through so much on their journey over the last 9 years to bring the love of a child into their lives.
Ashley and Matt met in August of 2005 on a blind date set up by Matt’s sister-in-law Erin Carlson. They quickly fell in love with each other’s spunk, humor and wit and were married June 2nd of 2006. They are literally the most amazing couple and couldn’t be more made for one another. They are both adventurous and smart and competitive. They even had a contest to see who could graduate with a higher GPA in their Master’s program when they graduated from Westminster together in 2010.
They spent the first couple years of their marriage getting to know one another, learning and building a life together. When it came time that they wanted to start trying to build their family, they quickly realized that it might not be as easy for them as it is for other couples. After a couple of years Ashley and Matt were never able to conceive naturally which prompted them to visit with an infertility specialist and see what their path would entail. After meeting with the specialist and going through extensive testing, it was determined that medically there SHOULD be NO reason as to why Ashley and Matt cannot conceive naturally, but that this happens to approximately 28 million couples in the United States and is known as Unexplained Infertility. This broke their heart, but after 3 years of being on their infertility journey they were determined to keep pressing forward and finding new ways that might work for them to start their little family.
In 2012, Ashley and Matt sought after more extensive treatment and went to the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine and tried their first IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). After 2 rounds of unsuccessful IUI Ashley and Matt decided to take a break from the grueling emotions and costs of failed infertility treatments. They were told that costs of IVF (In-vitro Fertilization) go up exponentially after the age of 35, due to women being considered “high risk” candidates, so they decided to wait until Ashley was 34 and if it still hadn’t happened naturally by then they would look into IVF.
Fast forward to 2017, 9 years after they began trying to conceive, they have now begun the process of IVF as of January. With that come EXTEREMELY high costs to make this dream happen. A one time IVF treatment can cost $9,000 with no guarantee that it will work. They were hesitant to spend such a large sum without any sense of security that it would pay off. They found out the U offers a guaranteed program, but with that peace of mind, comes a higher price tag by almost 3 times. They decided on the guarantee but with their student loan and living costs, there was no way they could afford to do it without placing everything on credit. They did what they had to do but are now having to find a way to pay their bills that would normally be paid on those cards some other way. This has led to many financial struggles, but as they overcome these trying challenges, time is of the essence as Ashley continues to age and is losing eggs and the possibility of having that bundle of joy in their home so it was now or never. They would make such wonderful parents as both work with kids in their community as Ashley teaches dance and Matt is a volleyball coach and would raise the most amazing, talented and hard working children. They are the last in both their families to not have kids and I know they would love to have cousins for all their nieces and nephews. Please consider donating to make their dream come true.
Ashley and Matt met in August of 2005 on a blind date set up by Matt’s sister-in-law Erin Carlson. They quickly fell in love with each other’s spunk, humor and wit and were married June 2nd of 2006. They are literally the most amazing couple and couldn’t be more made for one another. They are both adventurous and smart and competitive. They even had a contest to see who could graduate with a higher GPA in their Master’s program when they graduated from Westminster together in 2010.
They spent the first couple years of their marriage getting to know one another, learning and building a life together. When it came time that they wanted to start trying to build their family, they quickly realized that it might not be as easy for them as it is for other couples. After a couple of years Ashley and Matt were never able to conceive naturally which prompted them to visit with an infertility specialist and see what their path would entail. After meeting with the specialist and going through extensive testing, it was determined that medically there SHOULD be NO reason as to why Ashley and Matt cannot conceive naturally, but that this happens to approximately 28 million couples in the United States and is known as Unexplained Infertility. This broke their heart, but after 3 years of being on their infertility journey they were determined to keep pressing forward and finding new ways that might work for them to start their little family.
In 2012, Ashley and Matt sought after more extensive treatment and went to the University of Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine and tried their first IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). After 2 rounds of unsuccessful IUI Ashley and Matt decided to take a break from the grueling emotions and costs of failed infertility treatments. They were told that costs of IVF (In-vitro Fertilization) go up exponentially after the age of 35, due to women being considered “high risk” candidates, so they decided to wait until Ashley was 34 and if it still hadn’t happened naturally by then they would look into IVF.
Fast forward to 2017, 9 years after they began trying to conceive, they have now begun the process of IVF as of January. With that come EXTEREMELY high costs to make this dream happen. A one time IVF treatment can cost $9,000 with no guarantee that it will work. They were hesitant to spend such a large sum without any sense of security that it would pay off. They found out the U offers a guaranteed program, but with that peace of mind, comes a higher price tag by almost 3 times. They decided on the guarantee but with their student loan and living costs, there was no way they could afford to do it without placing everything on credit. They did what they had to do but are now having to find a way to pay their bills that would normally be paid on those cards some other way. This has led to many financial struggles, but as they overcome these trying challenges, time is of the essence as Ashley continues to age and is losing eggs and the possibility of having that bundle of joy in their home so it was now or never. They would make such wonderful parents as both work with kids in their community as Ashley teaches dance and Matt is a volleyball coach and would raise the most amazing, talented and hard working children. They are the last in both their families to not have kids and I know they would love to have cousins for all their nieces and nephews. Please consider donating to make their dream come true.
Organizer and beneficiary
Marissa Gardner-Taylor
Organizer
North Salt Lake, UT
Ashley Carlson
Beneficiary
