Chris & Amanda's IVF Rainbow Baby

Chris and I were married in 2015 and soon after our wedding we started planning our future family. As the years passed we navigated questions from our friends and family about when we were starting our

family while hiding the pain of unsuccess. In 2018 we decided to meet with a doctor to discuss our fertility issues.

After a few tests and meetings with the doctor we were told our chance of having a child was low without medical assistance. After considering the cost of fertility treatments and listening to the stories of other couples dealing with infertility, we decided not to delve any further into our medical options. We instead chose to be content with our amazing pets and wonderful nieces and nephews.

As many infertile couples will tell you, though we showed the world we were content being a family of two, we never really felt that contentment in our hearts. In our house we kept pregnancy tests in stock, though they only brought disappointment. That was until April 2021, when I took a test and we finally

got our positive result. After six years I was finally pregnant and we were going to have a miracle baby.

Every appointment in the early weeks of our pregnancy was perfect. At our eight week appointment my bloodwork came back with perfect numbers and we got a beautiful ultrasound. Our ten week appointment was a discussion with the doctor about our family history, information on breastfeeding,

and early talks about the day I would deliver our baby. It was all so real and wonderful and it was finally happening to us. Five days following our ten week appointment I started cramping in the middle of the night. That was the start of an unexpected and traumatic miscarriage. It was a sad and terrifying day in the Women’s & Babies urgent care. We named, who should have been our future child, Ezra Jessie. We spend the rest of 2021 trying to heal from our loss.

Chris and I realized by the end of the year just how much we wanted a child of our own. In 2022 we decided to restart our fertility journey. We are now working with a great team of doctors and nurses. After months of tests, medications, and procedures we had a meeting with our doctor to discuss our first

step. Both Chris and I had medical obstacles and we were told if we continued to try naturally we only had a 1-5% chance of conceiving. It was recommended that we try IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) which was

supposed to have a 15-20% chance of success. Our goal was to try IUI three times before discussing IVF (in vitro fertilization). At our first IUI, we were given the news that our numbers were not where they would have liked for the procedure. We decided to go through with the IUI because there was still a chance of success (better than nothing). Two weeks later we were informed that the IUI wasn’t successful and our success rate with IUI had now dropped to 5-10%. IUI is no longer a viable option so we are moving forward with IVF.

In Pennsylvania fertility treatments and medications aren’t covered by insurance. The average cost of one round of IVF without medications is about $25,000. This leaves the full price of IVF burdened on the hopeful families. We have chosen to take on this debt so we can fulfill our dream of having a child of our own. We are sharing our story and starting this Go Fund Me only so those who want to help support our family journey have a way to donate towards the cost. Any help with our future family is greatly appreciated. Hopefully in 2023 there will be a third person to thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and assistance.