In 2018 I met the love of my life, Michael Walker. We dated briefly and then married in February of 2019. Later that year we decided to start building our family. We tried for 8 + plus to no avail. After a sperm analysis we were told IVF was the only option for starting a family. We were devastated, but started saving. In May 2020, we had raised enough money to try a cheap clinic in New York. We packed up the pups, dropped them off at my parents house, and spend 1 month in New York under going IVF treatment. We retrieve 8 eggs, 7 fertilized, and 2 made it to blastocyst. Based on our age, we transferred both eggs, and found out in June, the procedure had failed. We were devastated. 

Through an online support group we found a doctor much closer to home with better success rates. We did a fresh sperm analysis and were encouraged to try a few rounds of IUI. Since IUI is so much cheaper, we agreed. 4 months later, no success. 2 week ago I under went laparoscopic endometriosis surgery to figure out if there were other negative factors affecting us and got the news Monday that was not the case. The doctor said our only path forward is IVF. 

While the doctor feels confident he can get us pregnant through IVF, this is a financial strain for our family. Most insurance companies consider IVF an elective procedure and do not cover any medications or any of the procedure. We used our savings of $16,000 for the first round of IVF and the subsequent IUI tries. While we know everyone is strapped for cash during COVID-19 we are reaching out to our friends and family to help us raise the funds for 1 last round of IVF before we move to other avenues of family creation. Medications will cost us $2500 and the procedure itself will be $5500. We are hoping to raise enough money to cover the procedure.

Since we don't want to feel like we are asking for something with no return on investment, we invite you to play a game with us. Every $10 donated will count as a vote towards our "Name Baby Walker" game. Here is the outline:

Round 1 will run from today through 14 February 2021 
Round 2 will run from 15 February through 28 February 2021
Round 3 (the FINAL round) will run from 1 March through 15 March 2021

Round 1 will go from 8 girl names to 4 girl names and 8 boy names to 4 boy names. The pairings are:

Ada Renee vs. Victoria Elizabeth
Fionna Rhiannon vs. Olivia Anne
Celeste Astaria vs. Anastasia Marie
Clara Theordora vs. Genevieve Lana

Oliver Thomas vs. Henry William
William Theodore vs. Maxwell David
Sebastian Gallifrey vs. Hugo Alexander
Peter Winston vs. Simon Winchester

After you donate, please leave a comment with the names you are picking FROM EACH PAIRING. We will go live on 1 March and 16 March with the winners from each round announced.

Again, we understand everyone is financially strained and we hope the addition of the naming game will encourage you to play along and help support us in our journey. 

While struggling with infertility has been a strain on us emotionally I am so grateful to the many friends and family I have that allowed me to vent, cry, and laugh throughout the entire process. I am so grateful for the love and strength of those around me and for those numerous other fertility warriors out there who continue to fight for something that should be such a basic human right. We look forward to selecting a baby name with you and are hopeful that through your love and support we will be able to update in 10 months time and introduce you to the baby you helped make possible and name.