Hey there! Welcome to our journey!

My name is Val and my husband is Joe. We have been together for 15 years, married for 5. We started trying to conceive shortly after getting married but had no success on our own. To date, we have seen a total of 4 reproductive doctors including a GYN oncologist. I was diagnosed with endometriosis, PCOS, atypical hyperplasia, and unexplained infertility. Ya, that’s a mouthful! 
Two years ago we decided along with our Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) at KU Med Center, we would start IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF (in vitro fertilization). After two failed IUIs, the hubs and I decided to move to IVF. It was a hard decision. The egg retrieval alone was $13,500 we also paid for genetic testing of our embryos which was an added $3,000. This did not include medications, injections, co-pay for doctor visits, gas to drive the 2 hours to doctor visits, ultrasounds, labs or actual embryo transfers. Each transfer was $2,500. Everything was upfront, and you guessed it...INSURANCE COVERED NOTHING! This is one of the hardest things about infertility is literally spending everything you have in order to grow your family. 



After using all our savings and still needing to take out a loan, we ended up with three perfect embabies! We were ecstatic! Total cloud nine! We scheduled our first transfer shortly after. After what seemed like the longest two week wait, this was it, I was sure of it, finally I was pregnant! Joe and I went in for our HCG lab and waited for the nurse to call us. Approximately two hours later, I got the call....beta results were low enough, this would result in an early miscarriage. Devastated, heart broken and completely shattered, we grieved our first lost embaby.
As sad as it was, I wasn’t going to give up. I’ve always known in my heart I was meant to be a mommy. I wanted to watch my belly grow and feel the tiny kicks. I wanted to give birth to our baby and watch my husband look into his child’s eyes and know, we did it, this was our baby. 
Because we had normal embryos and perfect lining checks, my RE suggested we do more testing prior to any other transfers. I did what is called ERA testing (another $800 out of pocket) which came back that I needed treatment for my endometriosis and also needed extra progesterone to improve implantation. 
After two months we did another transfer...same results. I expected it, at this point I was losing hope, and control of my emotions. I told my husband I needed time to heal. I needed time to throw everything we possibly had at our final embryo in hopes this would work.
We waited for another three months, did another ERA test, and this time started Lovenox injections to help with inflammation. Let me tell you how not fun this was! 
So on December 17th, 2018 we went in for our final frozen embryo transfer, our last embaby, a boy, my last hope, my final puzzle piece to our dream, MY baby. Our transfer went beautifully, no discomfort. We drove the two hours home and rested. Our test date was set for December 31st, my husband’s birthday, the beginning of a new year. We layed in bed for hours, talking about the if’s this worked, what would his name be, what he would look like, if he would have my husband’s blue eyes, or my smile. We spent the next two weeks loving every minute that we had with our potential baby. And when the time came to test, we prayed our hardest prayers, and told each other no matter what we would be a family. I got a call shortly after arriving home. This time instead of a nurse calling it was my actual doctor. I’ll never in my life forget her words “Val, honey..I have no good news, I honestly didn’t want to make this call. You are not pregnant. The transfer didn’t work, I can’t explain why. I’m sorry.” That was it. All three of my babies, gone just like that. Some part of me felt like I died that day. I cried until there was nothing left. 
The new year came and no baby. Our dream of having a family was cut short. It wasn’t fair. 

A week later we met with my RE who was also shocked that none of our transfers worked. We discussed our options and what she thought was best. We could do another egg retrieval and try transfers again, do more IUIs, or....we could try a gestational carrier. 
This is where our journey is currently at. One of our amazing friends, who at this time will remain anonymous, has offered to be our surrogate. She is so brave and selfless. There is absolutely no way we could ever repay her or her family. So this is where you come in. Joe and I are not ones to ask for help. In fact, it took forever and a lot of hard talks before we decided to start this account. But, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby, to grow our family. So, we need help. In order to try surrogacy we need to have at least $15,000 to help pay for another egg retrieval, transfers, medical costs, attorney fees, and medication.

We don’t have anything to offer in return except our deepest appreciation for anyone who donates, shares, or even reads our journey. Anything helps. Joe and I are so thankful that we have the family and friends in our life that have offered help of any kind. This is why we share. We want others to know, we have not given up. Thank you from Joe, Val and Gus

Even if you don’t donate, you can keep up with our journey by following me on Instagram @val_raygoza0531