Josh and Alisha: Sometimes emotional support and prayers are not enough. Our great friends, Beth and Sean, have been battling infertility for nearly 2 years. They are now faced with the financial burden of the IVF process after exhausting every other medical procedure available to them. If you can, please take a moment to read their story and if you find it in your heart to donate to two awesome people who would make the absolute best parents, any contribution amount would be greatly appreciated.

Our good friends, Josh and Alisha Clymer have asked that we start a GoFundMe. Although it's difficult and a little awkward, we've decided that we might as well give it a shot. Here's our journey:

In September of 2015 my wife, Beth, and I got married. We had planned for a year what this special day would look like and it was absolutely perfect. 

We had also spent a year planning what our life together would look like. A big part of this plan was directed toward what we felt was a calling to parenthood. Given that we had found each other in our early 30s, we had decided that we would be trying for children right away. As the months began to go by, however, our friends' assurances that we would have a honeymoon baby or at least a baby soon after had clearly not been accurate. But, after all, these things happen and it does sometimes take a little bit of time. We just needed to be patient.

With that patience, however, came some inkling that something was not right with Beth's health. She started having some odd pains in her stomach and so decided to go to the doctor to make sure that everything was alright. Her doctor felt that something was indeed wrong and referred us to a specialist at a fertility clinic. It was discovered Beth would need surgery given that her Fallopian tubes were blocked due to severe endometriosis, which obviously made conceiving near impossible. 

And so, we prayed. And our family and friends prayed. And we continued to meet with our doctor who became more and more convinced that he was more than likely going to have to remove both Fallopian tubes, which would make conception impossible without in vitro fertilization (IVF). We prayed together before she went into the surgery and, after about 2 hours of surgery, the doctor informed us that he only had to remove one tube and do some minor work on the other. It may take us a little longer but there should be no reason that we couldn't eventually get pregnant. We were overjoyed. And we were very, very thankful.

We tried on our own for a couple months. Next we started medication. We then moved on to inseminations (IUIs) - $1,000 each time, not including medication (which cost about $150). 

After 3 IUIs (about $3,500), our doctor again stepped us up to the next level, IUI with injections (the medications increased to about $450 each time). And still, every month, my wife goes into the bathroom with a pregnancy test sure that she and I were just a couple minutes away from frustration and tears.

And there is nothing that I can do. And there is nothing that Beth can do. And it is killing us.

We have one final step that we will be embarking upon in June. It is one that is fraught with all kinds of medical, ethical, and social complications. IVF is a step that we are taking after much discussion, prayer, and soul-searching. We have spent time talking to friends, family, and our priest. In so doing, we have worked with our doctor to map a plan through IVF that respects our moral commitments. This being said, it has been difficult. 

After spending about $8,000 on other treatments (without the help of insurance, since insurance does not cover infertility whatsoever), here's the breakdown of the finances that go into a single IVF cycle at the Institute for Reproductive Health:

Office Visits - $620
Ultrasounds/Follicle Scans - $920
Venipunctures - $60
LH Blood Tests - $220
Estradiol Blood Tests - $360
IV Starts - $31
IV Fluid - $40
IV Medications - $48
Conscious Sedation - $250
Follicle Puncture/Oocyte Retrieval - $1,500
Ultrasonic Guidance-Aspiration of Ova - $126
Oocyte Identication - $3,200
Sperm Washing - $1,300
Oocyte Inseminatin - $2,300
Embryo Culture - $3,500
Embryo transfer-Physician fees - $750
Embryo Transfer-Lab fees - $2,500
Observation - $110
Post Transfer Observation - $55

This totals $17,950/IVF cycle
With the self-pay discount each cycle would cost us $8,200.

This doesn't include the $2,000-$4,000 of medication for each round.

However, given our age and diagnosis, we are likely looking at multiple rounds. Because of this, we have decided to choose the Money Back IVF Guarantee Program. With this program we get up to 6 IVF cycles (3 fresh and 3 frozen) to have a successful pregnancy and if after 6 rounds we do not get pregnant we would get 70% of our money back to use for adoption.

This program costs $21,950 not including medications. To this end we have taken out a loan for $25,000.

It's a lot of money. It's a lot of medications. It's going to be difficult, especially for Beth. 

But we will never give up trying to become parents. It's the goal of our lives. We cannot set this aside. 

I love my wife. And not a day goes by that I don't thank God that she was willing to marry me. Despite everything, we have a wonderful marriage. But I don't know how to help. I don't know what to do. I don't know how long I will have to watch her leave for work in tears. And despite studying religion for 15 years and living a life of faith for almost 35, I can't understand it.

This is what infertility does. And while we understand the intent behind, "God has a plan," and "It'll happen when you least expect it," it doesn't help. "God's plan" leaves a lot of couples wishing for children permanently childless. And while our faiths remain intact, it has been unbelievably challenging.

If for whatever reason you feel that you are able to help, we sincerely thank you. One day, in some way, we will be parents and we absolutely cannot wait to share that moment with all of you.