Brian and Jamie’s IVF Funds

From Brian and Jamie:

 

We’ve dreamt about having a family of our own since we met. We didn’t know that the journey would be a long, painful one. We know we have a beautiful life together already, as newlyweds and with Devyn, Brian’s amazing daughter and Jamie’s new step-daughter. As a family, we are strong and there for each other, every step of the way. Though, we continue to dream about growing our family and raising a little one. We are hoping and praying for that chance soon.

 

Our journey to growing our family isn’t easy. It’s been a long one and will continue to be. Here’s our story.

 

I was first diagnosed with Endometriosis in high school. This meant having multiple surgeries over the years because of complications. Endometriosis is a disorder where basically tissue grows outside of the uterus, which is not usual. It can make getting and staying pregnant much harder, which is where we are at now.

 

This disorder is also what caused our first miscarriage in August of 2020. It was heartbreaking. The scar tissue had produced significantly and a third surgery in August of 2021 was necessary to correct it. These surgeries and infertility issues have taken a toll on us physically, mentally, and financially.

 

After this most recent surgery, the surgeon told us that if we were serious about having a family, our best chance would be with IVF right now. This news was given to us just weeks before our wedding, October 16, 2021. The longer we wait to start a family with the endometriosis condition, an auto-immune disease that will grow worse over time, the less chance for success.

 

We were petrified. But we were also hopeful. We knew that our family was not complete and that we had to take a chance. So, we started the first IVF cycle in October 2021 right after our wedding. Our first egg retrieval yielded three mature eggs! But, our dreams were shattered again when we learned that we needed six mature eggs to continue through the next phases for a successful embryo and potential pregnancy.

 

This means that we have to do the entire IVF procedures again, with the exact same costs, for just the CHANCE we can have an additional three healthy mature eggs to produce the six total we need. And time isn’t on our side.

 

The next round of IVF with egg retrieval will need to be this December 2021. We learned that we need to raise $10,000 for this next cycle, along with $1,500 for daily medications and injections, and $4,000 for the cost of the implantation of embryos.

 

We’ve spent $10,000 already on our first round of IVF out-of-pocket.

 

It’s been overwhelming and we could not have done even half of our journey without the support of our friends and family.

 

What makes this even harder is that Brian will be deployed early next year for six months, for his job as a Senior Master Sergeant Medic in the Air Force.

 

While we have sought out as much financial aid and guidance and worked in costs with Brian’s job and Jamie’s job as an Associate Principal Business Solutions Analyst for Mercy Epic, the financial cost for our family is significant and may not give us much financial opportunities for our family in the future.

 

Our biggest fear is not knowing if this will work, if our prayers will be answered. We have a very short window of less than six months before the Endometriosis starts growing again, with Brian deployed for most of this time. The hardest part of the journey will be having us separate for most of it.

 

It’s rough. The medications/injections to help yield follicles and eggs causes bloating, cramping, and ovarian pain. I was placed on bedrest during the last IVF cycle. After that one, I felt defeated. “Is it worth it? Should we quit now?” I said. Brian being the rock that he is said, “Babe, we are halfway there. If we quit now, it was all for nothing.”

 

He is absolutely right. Our dreams are too big to quit. So, we have decided to proceed with round two of IVF.

 

And we are hoping to turn to you for help, as we pursue the tough-but-worth-it journey into IVF again. Your support alone means the world to our family. And any financial support will help alleviate the financial burden, to give us a bit of room to breathe and focus on a healthy and hopefully fruitful pregnancy journey.

 

Our future dream is to eventually build our forever home in Festus. We would someday love to help foster and raise great danes there too. We would love to grow a family on a small farm. We would be forever grateful for the opportunity to have just one child together. Thank you for your support and please keep our family in your prayers.

 

We will keep you updated with our journey!

 

Love, Brian and Jamie

 

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Fertility services are not covered by either of our insurances. We have tallied and sought out all options we could to help us with these fertility costs. They must be out-of-pocket since we can't get funding elsewhere. The following is at-cost:

Expenses for our IVF Journey:

 

$10,000 - Full IVF Cycle

 

$1,500 - Medications/Injections

 

$4,000 - Implantation of Embryos

 

Total Needed: $15,500