Mary and Chris's IVF Adventure

Mary Hamilton is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hey there!! I'm Mary and my amazing husband is Chris. I am a lover of art and books and he is an avid car enthusiast.
Our first date was at Baskin Robin in 2008, we got married at our small local town city hall in 2014, and now we are coming up on 10 years together!

I love taking candid selfies of us in the car and it's not always the best method to photograph us since I catch him off guard 90% of the time as shown here lol.

We always knew we'd want to grow a family together. Visions of family road trips, picnics, and school activities.
For those who know me, you know I'd buy every form of arts and craft material to cultivate the artist and creative person inside our little one. I'd read them the most exciting adventures from every book I enjoyed growing up with.

For those who know Chris you know he would be the best father ever.
He is so determined, dedicated and when he loves something and someone, he loves ferociously. He's so compassionate and silly, always knowing the right things to say and how to BE there. I can already see him teaching our little one all about cars from every genre and teaching them about the scientific research on black holes.

We have been trying naturally for about 5 years and kept trying naturally with the help of medicine within the last year but nothing was working.
We set up an appointment with a fertility specialist (Dr. Mazur, who is an amazing doctor) and went through test after test to see if there was any infertility issues.

I found out that I have bilateral hydrosalpinx.
In short, this means that my Fallopian tubes are blocked off and filled with toxic fluid and will need to be removed surgically (Laparoscopic Bilateral Salpingectomy).
There will be no way for us to get pregnant naturally and our only option will be IVF.

I went home and cried. It sucks so much to find out that a vital piece of you is not working.

I'm so lucky to have Chris by my side. He's been so supportive and reminds me that I'm OK. We can remove the tubes and I'll be OK. We can still have the family we envisioned, just through another path.

I got all this information just last week and am still processing it.
We've talked to our doctor recently and he showed us what to expect when we go through the surgery to remove my Fallopian tubes and the IVF process.

We are planning the Laparoscopic Bilateral Salpingectomy (surgery) mid of this July.

My insurance doesn't cover any of this and payments are due in full at the time of scheduling. We've been paying out of pocket for all our tests and appointments and although they have been hitting us hard we've been managing. Those tests and appointments seem so trivial now compared to what we're about to face.

Cost breakdown
Laparoscopic Bilateral Salpingectomy (surgical removal of both Fallopian tubes): Physician fee: $5546
Hospital and Anesthesiologist fee: Estimated $9,000
IVF Cost: $13,650
Medication: $3,000
1 year storage of frozen embryos : $480

We are looking at possibly paying over $30,000 for the Fallopian tube surgery and IVF.

We truly need the help and support of everyone willing to go through this journey with us. It's so hard to ask for financial help but know that we have amazing friends and family and a community willing to help us with this new adventure of ours.

Anything you can offer will help Tremendously!
Even just $1 would help.
If we can share our story and get it to as many people as possible, those dollars will add up quickly!

We are so mentally and emotionally exhausted but are definitely optimistic and hopeful moving forward!