Hi everyone,

I always had the thought in the back of my head that I would meet someone, fall in love, get married and have kids, but as I reached my late 30s I decided that I couldn't wait any longer to build the family I wanted, and started looking into other options.

I'd looked into options on and off for several years, but finally in 2020 I started the process. Early on, I decided along with my doctor that I would try IUI - the less expensive and less invasive method. As far as we knew, my health was good and the only potential barrier was my age (geriatric, just what every woman wants to be called!). I started visiting the doctor's office early in the mornings every 2-3 days for bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring. I learned how to and eventually got comfortable with giving myself injections every night. I dealt with the side effects from the medications. Finally, my third try was successful and it was confirmed that I was pregnant.

I was excited and nervous to go to my 7-week ultrasound, where I would be able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Unfortunately, that morning I received devastating news, and was told I should go to the emergency room as the pregnancy was ectopic. I was quickly scheduled for surgery, and told that after healing I could try again in a couple of months.

Unfortunately, after the surgery I received more bad news. One of my fallopian tubes was too damaged to save and had to be removed, and the surgeon discovered that I have stage IV endometriosis. My doctor went over my options. He felt that my only real option was to proceed with IVF. At this point I had spent thousands of dollars already and tapped out my savings - IVF would be an additional $12,000, in addition to the $4,000 for genetic testing that my doctor felt was needed (I don't have a lot of time to do this, so using an embryo that they know is viable is best). I felt like I needed to make the decision, and I decided to go ahead with the IVF.

After healing from my surgery, I started monitoring again and then it was time for the egg retrieval. I was very successful - I had responded so well to the medication that they were able to retrieve 38 eggs. I have several perfect embryos that have been frozen while I take a few months to have an additional surgery to remove some of the endometrial tissue and hopefully give me the best chance at a successful pregnancy.

At this point, I've come to terms with the physical barriers that have popped up for me, but the financial ones are a different story. I knew going in that doing this on a single income would be tough, but honestly IVF wasn't really the plan initially so I wasn't prepared for just how bad it would get. I am still working full time, doing my small business on the side, and am working on selling what I can to raise some extra cash. Those who are close to me know that I hate to ask for help. It was suggested to me that I try a GoFundMe and honestly the idea made me cringe a bit. But as a very wise co-worker told me, I can't let pride get in the way. So. If you are able to chip in a few dollars I would very much appreciate it - and if you can't, or just prefer not to, I still love and appreciate you! Thank you all so much for reading this far.

xo, Melanie