IVF- for the James family

Venmo : @Amy-Ruth-James
CashApp: $buddyjames07


Hey, we are the James family! — You probably already know us, but you may NOT know our infertility story.

HERE'S THE STORY: 
After trying to conceive naturally for 5 years “the good old fashioned way”, we decided we needed to seek medical help. Amy was also experiencing a debilitating health issue and was later diagnosed with a painful disease called Endometriosis. This is what was causing the infertility issues all these years.

WHAT WE LEARNED:
We learned of two types of fertility treatments that could help us get pregnant: IUI and/or IVF. (Definitions explained below)
We chose the cheaper procedure (IUI) and gave birth to our miracle baby in San Francisco and named her Aurora. Since we already knew we wanted to have more kids, we tried naturally and planned another round of IUI fertility treatment.
But month after month, round after round, we were not getting pregnant through IUI. Amys Endometriosis was getting worse and we we're feeling completely disheartened and depressed. 

WHERE WE ARE NOW:
After 5 failed rounds of IUI (about $5,000 each, not covered by insurance) the doctors told us that we need to remove her left tube - (Hydrosalpinx -more info below) and recommended that IVF be our next step. We have scheduled these procedures and are actively taking the next steps (timeline below). 

THE TRUTH ABOUT US:
Our infertility story has been hard to say the least— and it is not yet over. This has taken a toll on us mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. We’ve done the math, and we can not start enough side hustles, work enough hours, sell enough cookies or artwork to be able to afford this treatment. 

SIMPLY PUT:
We are desperate to grow our family. — With this treatment and with YOUR help, we can afford it and grow our family. 
—We are absolutely ready for a miracle, whether from God or through a doctors hand.
But we can't do it without you.

HELP US CHANGE OUR STORY:
You can help us by giving financially to make the dream of growing our family a reality.

Thank you so much for being a part, it means the world to us. We appreciate it so much more than we can say.


Love,
The James Family

________________More info on IVF + Cost Breakdowns Below __________________________________________________________


Cost Breakdown:

Laparoscopic Salpingectomy : $5000

IVF Cycle #1 (egg retrevial) - $10,900

Embryo cryopreservation - $950

Egg Transfer -$1,850.00

Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) - $3000-$4000

Medication costs range from $4,000-$6000

Travel (our clinic is out of town and need to stay up to a month at a time over the course of 4 months) - $3000-$7000

TOTAL: $28,700 -$35700

This is also not including bloodwork, vitals and other ultrasounds leading up to the IVF cycle #1 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Endometriosis - A disorder in which the cells and tissue from the lining of your womb (uterus) grow in other areas of your body. This can cause pain, cysts, heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, and  infertility. With endometriosis, the tissue can be found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes or the intestines.


Hydrosalpinx - is the blockage of a woman's fallopian tube caused by a fluid buildup and dilation of the tube at its end. Hydrosalpinges is a very severe form of tubal damage and pregnancy is usually only achieved with In Vitro Fertilization.


Laparoscopic salpingectomy - is surgery to remove one or both fallopian tubes. This type of surgery uses small incisions. Eggs will no longer be able to travel through the removed tubes. Future pregnancy may be more difficult


IUI (intrauterine insemination )- a type of fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus close to the fallopian tubes in order to increase the chances of conceiving.


IVF- In vitro fertilization is a process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro (out of the body). The process involves monitoring and stimulating a person's ovulatory process (lots of shots), removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a culture medium in a laboratory.

FET (frozen egg transfer) - is the process of using a frozen embryo from a previous IVF cycle. It’s gaining popularity due to its safety and pregnancy success rates. During this procedure, a woman undergoes the standard IVF procedure, but instead of transferring the embryos back into the uterus in the same cycle, they are frozen for use in a future cycle. A woman can freeze her own eggs or choose to use donor eggs. The eggs are transferred in a later cycle to help the woman recover from her current IVF cycle and reduce the effect of desynchronization.



5 BASIC STEPS OF IVF:

Step 1: Stimulation, also called super ovulation
-Medicines, called fertility drugs, are given to the woman to boost egg production.
-During this step, the woman will have an ultrasound to examine the ovaries and blood tests to check hormone levels.

Step 2: Egg retrieval

-A minor surgery, called follicular aspiration, is done to remove the eggs from the woman's body.
The procedure is repeated for both ovaries.

Step 3: Insemination and Fertilization

-The man's sperm is placed together with the best quality eggs.
-Eggs and sperm are then stored in an environmentally controlled chamber. 


Step 4: Embryo culture

-When the fertilized egg divides, it becomes an embryo. Laboratory staff will regularly check the embryo to make sure it is growing properly.  Within about 5 days, a normal embryo has several cells that are actively dividing.


Step 5: Embryo transfer

-Embryos are placed into the woman's womb 3 to 5 days after egg retrieval and fertilization OR incase of an FET they are frozen for use in a future cycle .


After the Procedure

About 12 to 14 days after the embryo transfer, the woman will return to the clinic so that a pregnancy test can be done.


** This treatment is time sensitive -- The longer it takes us to conceive, the longer we wait to treat the disease.
We can’t treat the endometriosis until after we’re done baring children but it does affect Amys daily life and our family. It has become a vicious cycle and we are starting the IVF process immediately.  

TIMELINE: 

SEPTEMBER 20th - Laparoscopic salpingectomy surgery to treat Hydrosalpinx and remove any endometrioma .

OCTOBER 2021 - Start birth control to baseline hormones for 3 weeks. 

NOVEMBER 2021 - Stimulation month - two weeks of  daily visits & shots, followed by egg retrieval

DECEMBER 2021 - Rest month - Helps with success rate - Doctor visits to check on health of Uterus 

JANUARY 2022 - Transfer embryo month! FET & Meds 

FEB 2022 - Positive Pregnancy!