Baby Bump Wanted.Our IVF Journey Begins.

Our story

My husband and I met in college while attending a birthday party for a friend. Apparently, according to my husband, we had met before while I was still in high school and he was a freshman in college. At the time we were seeing other people but as chance would have it at this party we were both single. We started talking and ended up on our first date a few days later. The two of us knew right then that this was something real, not like anything we had felt before. Within two years we were engaged and two years later married. I can't believe we will be celebrating our six year wedding anniversary this Spring! Ten years has flown by.

We decided that we would enjoy our first year together as a married couple and then start our family. We had it all planned out, four kids by the time I was 30. Keep them close in age but far enough apart to enjoy them growing up. Well apparently we dreamed a little too big. After two years of charting, temping, stressing, blood work and arguments we had nothing to show for it. Not one missed period, just 24 pregnancy tests all reminding us "not pregnant". So we changed doctors and started speaking with reproductive & fertility specialists. Through them we finally had a plan of action and the tests began. We  both went through extensive testing, surgeries, and other procedures for another 2.5 years and finally the results were in. We had less than a 1% chance to conceive a child naturally and IVF was our only option. 

We left the doctors office that day heartbroken. This was our biggest fear, the cost we knew was something that we could not afford on our own and in that moment I thought we would never be able to have this large family that we dreamed of. But thankfully I married the right man, who never gives up on my happiness. We talked it out and looked at all our options for making this affordable. After much debate and talking with our families we decided that Split Donor IVF was the perfect fit for us. I will be donating half of my eggs in one cycle to a woman that is in need of healthy eggs and keeping the other half for myself. This cuts the cost down a bit and we get to help a family just like us in need of a child. 

 

The Impact

Derrick and I have gone back and forth discussing if it was a "good idea" to post this information online and let the world into this personal and difficult journey we've been on. There are pros and cons that always come up. For starters, there is no guarantee for success. This procedure might not work. In addition, many people in our lives will be shocked to hear this has been going on for almost 5 years. We hope this will not change the way they treat us and that they will feel comfortable talking about this with us. We must prepare ourselves for the questions and comments that will come, many of which we have dodged by facing these difficulties with only a few close friends, coworkers and family members. All that to say, we CANNOT do this without you. The deeper we get into this, the harder it is to pretend like life is great. If we say no to dinner invites to save money, we want you to know why we are saving money. If my attitude is awful and I look sleep deprived, I want you to know it's the side effects of my fertility medicine. However, after much thought and prayer, we know the pros outweigh the cons. Sharing our story with you, could result in two things. With your help, we could become pregnant and have a child! I think I have to repeat that because that thought in itself is overwhelming for us. We could have a child! :) And secondly, if there are any couples reading this that are facing the challenges of infertility, we hope this gives them the courage to speak up, to reach out, to fight! Overall, this is a scary thing for us to admit and if there are others dealing with this too, we'd love to hear from you! If our story can help one other couple, we will have found our purpose in all of this.

What We Need:$10,629

We have set our fundraising goal to $5,000 although our need is much greater. We have included a detailed description of the prices.

Breakdown of Expenses for 1 IVF Treatment:

Psychologist- $350

Embryo Transfer $582

ICSI $1500

Facility Fee $1339

Embryology Fee $2358

Fertility Medication-$3000

Labwork $1500

Total Estimated Cost $10,629

** We will need 100% of the costs paid upfront before we can begin. Therefore, depending on how quickly we raise the money, we will have the treatment done Spring/Summer 2013.

Other Ways You Can Help

Finances are just one part of this journey. There will be good days and bad days, stress free days and days full of anxiety. We ask that you keep us in your prayers, support us, check on us. Share this site with your friends who may feel led to donate or those you know who are struggling with infertility. Although the outcome is uncertain and the journey may be difficult, we are inviting our friends, family, and those who feel to support us to be part of our "Baby Kopeck Journey!"

Photo Credit: To the amazing Katie Levith who did our 5 year wedding anniversary photo shoot for FREE! We love you and appreciate you so much.