The Journey to Parenthood
Donation protected
Who ever knew that the process to create a version of you and your mate would be such a journey!
Greetings Everyone, I hope that this finds you well and in the best of spirits. We are Curtis and Erika and we’re asking for your support (and prayers) to grow our family through fertility treatments.
For those of you who know me (and those who don’t) this is something that is hard for me. I am typically the type that is a “fix it,” and “make it happen” type. But as my friends say, you are NOT SUPERWOMAN!!! It is okay to ask for help… you never know who will bless you! So I am listening and opening up to share this journey.
Our story began when we met in 2007 and is full of a lot of grace, sacrifice, healing, and self-love. We were married in 2009, and from the beginning we knew that we wanted to be parents. For me, I have always been a nurturer, and I knew that I wanted to be a mother to a biological child of my own. After 2 year of trying and nothing, I decided to go to the doctor to get a fertility work up. Everything on my end was a go, but that was not the same for hubby. I felt so bad and discouraged…but I knew that God would not bring me this far to leave me!
Now, I am going to be honest we were both overweight, at my highest I was 314 and hubby was 500+. When Curtis went to the doctor he was told that all of his issues were due to his weight. The doctor said, “If you lose weight…You will be in better shape.” Not one time did they do any further examination other than a semen analysis.
So what did we do….We did the WORK!! So now here we are I have lost 100 lbs. and CURTIS….. Wait for it… has lost 300+ pounds! Let’s just give him a round of applause that is some dedication. ALL NATURAL WITH NO ASSISTANCE!!!
So now that you are “smaller” you get different treatment when you go to the doctor. I say this because when my GYN did a referral coincidentally he was sent back to the same urologist. Now it is a different story and the semen analysis results were the same. Well let’s schedule this ultrasound, biopsy, etc. to see what is going on. 10 YEARS LATER!!!! WHY DID IT TAKE 10 YEARS FOR YOU TO SHOW US ATTENTION?!?
So this leads us to NOW…Over the past year of trying to conceive naturally again (before we knew that there was something REALLY going on), the pain gradually started to come back again. Meaning the feeling of why is my body betraying me, self-doubt, anger, and sleepless nights to say the least. As a woman I internalized a lot, and I never bothered to ask my husband how he felt. Wow… men have those same feelings too!! We’ve been really blessed with an OBGYN who encouraged us to keep pushing, and that it is still possible.. Who would have thought that there are truly medical professionals who are not just about billing!
As of right now IVF is the only option for us! So what does that look like you may ask testing, medication, surgical procedure (both Curtis and I), SHOTS…SHOTS… SHOTS and the TRANSFER! Please know that this is a summary and each individual is different.
Just something that I learned recently about black woman/couples, Studies suggest that Black women/couples may be twice as likely as counterparts to have fertility problems, but are far less likely to seek or receive infertility treatment. We are not afraid to a do the work, go the process, and ask for YOUR financial assistance in helping our family grow! Our GOAL is to have this piece accomplished by August 2021, so that we can begin our first cycle in September!
Thank you for stopping by and we’ll continue to update you regularly on our journey to Jones+ whatever GOD Provides!!!
Greetings Everyone, I hope that this finds you well and in the best of spirits. We are Curtis and Erika and we’re asking for your support (and prayers) to grow our family through fertility treatments.
For those of you who know me (and those who don’t) this is something that is hard for me. I am typically the type that is a “fix it,” and “make it happen” type. But as my friends say, you are NOT SUPERWOMAN!!! It is okay to ask for help… you never know who will bless you! So I am listening and opening up to share this journey.
Our story began when we met in 2007 and is full of a lot of grace, sacrifice, healing, and self-love. We were married in 2009, and from the beginning we knew that we wanted to be parents. For me, I have always been a nurturer, and I knew that I wanted to be a mother to a biological child of my own. After 2 year of trying and nothing, I decided to go to the doctor to get a fertility work up. Everything on my end was a go, but that was not the same for hubby. I felt so bad and discouraged…but I knew that God would not bring me this far to leave me!
Now, I am going to be honest we were both overweight, at my highest I was 314 and hubby was 500+. When Curtis went to the doctor he was told that all of his issues were due to his weight. The doctor said, “If you lose weight…You will be in better shape.” Not one time did they do any further examination other than a semen analysis.
So what did we do….We did the WORK!! So now here we are I have lost 100 lbs. and CURTIS….. Wait for it… has lost 300+ pounds! Let’s just give him a round of applause that is some dedication. ALL NATURAL WITH NO ASSISTANCE!!!
So now that you are “smaller” you get different treatment when you go to the doctor. I say this because when my GYN did a referral coincidentally he was sent back to the same urologist. Now it is a different story and the semen analysis results were the same. Well let’s schedule this ultrasound, biopsy, etc. to see what is going on. 10 YEARS LATER!!!! WHY DID IT TAKE 10 YEARS FOR YOU TO SHOW US ATTENTION?!?
So this leads us to NOW…Over the past year of trying to conceive naturally again (before we knew that there was something REALLY going on), the pain gradually started to come back again. Meaning the feeling of why is my body betraying me, self-doubt, anger, and sleepless nights to say the least. As a woman I internalized a lot, and I never bothered to ask my husband how he felt. Wow… men have those same feelings too!! We’ve been really blessed with an OBGYN who encouraged us to keep pushing, and that it is still possible.. Who would have thought that there are truly medical professionals who are not just about billing!
As of right now IVF is the only option for us! So what does that look like you may ask testing, medication, surgical procedure (both Curtis and I), SHOTS…SHOTS… SHOTS and the TRANSFER! Please know that this is a summary and each individual is different.
Just something that I learned recently about black woman/couples, Studies suggest that Black women/couples may be twice as likely as counterparts to have fertility problems, but are far less likely to seek or receive infertility treatment. We are not afraid to a do the work, go the process, and ask for YOUR financial assistance in helping our family grow! Our GOAL is to have this piece accomplished by August 2021, so that we can begin our first cycle in September!
Thank you for stopping by and we’ll continue to update you regularly on our journey to Jones+ whatever GOD Provides!!!
Co-organizers (2)
EM Jones
Organizer
Charlotte, NC
Curtis Jones
Co-organizer