Our One Last Shot: IVF for Lindsay and Ernesto
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Our One Last Shot
We've always wanted a big family, children of our own to raise and nurture, a legacy of our love to live beyond our own time. At the start we never could have imagined ourselves at this juncture, so bereft of any other options that we would be forced to rely on the charity of others, but here we are. We need your help to make our one last shot at parenthood possible. If you are reading this we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to learn about our journey. It is our sincere hope, not only to start our family and realize our dreams, but also to increase awareness of infertility issues and the extreme financial burden placed upon those who want to start a family but face challenges. Around 10% of American couples experience difficulty conceiving and 1 in 5 couples in our age range will need to seek fertility treatment. Only 14 states mandate that insurers offer coverage for infertility treatments and the average cost can range from around $1,000 to $38,000 per procedure.
Our Story
We had been trying to start a family for a year and a half before we got our diagnosis, Diminished Ovarian Reserve. To put it into lay terms, we were running out of eggs and she was in danger of entering early menopause. The doctor recommended that we try IVF, in vitro fertilization, to conceive. The process was grueling, and expensive. Basically, the ordeal consists of hormone injections to over-stimulate the ovaries, surgically extracting whatever eggs are available, growing the embryos outside of the body, and then implanting embryos in the uterus, all while taking painful daily hormone injections. We were lucky to find a program at the University of Vermont that offered IVF at roughly half of the usual cost of $15k, but the two embryo transfers attempted were both unsuccessful. Costs being prohibitive as they are, we decided to attempt IUI next. Intrauterine insemination (IUI), where sperm are placed directly within the uterus, costs around a thousand dollars per cycle but is less effective than IVF. After two years of tests, trials, and procedures we had our first bit of good news. We were pregnant! When we went to the doctors office for the first ultrasound, we were expecting to to be able to hear the heartbeat, but there was no heartbeat to be found. The fetus had implanted in the Fallopian tube so the pregnancy was not viable. The doctors tried to save the tube by halting the pregnancy chemically but ultimately required surgery to save Lindsay from life threatening complications. During the surgery, the doctor found evidence of endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. As a result, she endured yet a second surgery to remove her appendix and whatever errant endometrium possible. We attempted more rounds of IUI but with the one Fallopian tube now missing, our chances were further cut in half. Now three years later, the doctor is extremely worried about our timeline. IUI is no longer an option. If we cant schedule another round of IVF soon there may not be any eggs left to retrieve and our journey will be over. We have saved and scraped, accepted gifts from family and taken out loans to get this far, but we don't have enough time to do it on our own.
Why are we asking for $15,000?
We are hoping to raise enough for 2 rounds of IVF egg retrieval at UVM before the end of the year. 15k would pay for two retrievals and one embryo transfer. At the very least, it would buy us some time to save up for future embryo transfers. Whether we reach our goal or not, whatever we raise will be our budget going forward.
It is extremely difficult to share something so personal and hurtful while also asking for help. We are so thankful for the support of our friends and family and hope that by sharing our story we can shed some light on the issue of infertility and advocate for Vermont and other states to mandate insurers cover fertility treatment as a disability. Obviously there are no guarantees, but it would mean the world to be able to get #ouronelastshot
Thanks,
Lindsay and Ernesto
We've always wanted a big family, children of our own to raise and nurture, a legacy of our love to live beyond our own time. At the start we never could have imagined ourselves at this juncture, so bereft of any other options that we would be forced to rely on the charity of others, but here we are. We need your help to make our one last shot at parenthood possible. If you are reading this we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to learn about our journey. It is our sincere hope, not only to start our family and realize our dreams, but also to increase awareness of infertility issues and the extreme financial burden placed upon those who want to start a family but face challenges. Around 10% of American couples experience difficulty conceiving and 1 in 5 couples in our age range will need to seek fertility treatment. Only 14 states mandate that insurers offer coverage for infertility treatments and the average cost can range from around $1,000 to $38,000 per procedure.
Our Story
We had been trying to start a family for a year and a half before we got our diagnosis, Diminished Ovarian Reserve. To put it into lay terms, we were running out of eggs and she was in danger of entering early menopause. The doctor recommended that we try IVF, in vitro fertilization, to conceive. The process was grueling, and expensive. Basically, the ordeal consists of hormone injections to over-stimulate the ovaries, surgically extracting whatever eggs are available, growing the embryos outside of the body, and then implanting embryos in the uterus, all while taking painful daily hormone injections. We were lucky to find a program at the University of Vermont that offered IVF at roughly half of the usual cost of $15k, but the two embryo transfers attempted were both unsuccessful. Costs being prohibitive as they are, we decided to attempt IUI next. Intrauterine insemination (IUI), where sperm are placed directly within the uterus, costs around a thousand dollars per cycle but is less effective than IVF. After two years of tests, trials, and procedures we had our first bit of good news. We were pregnant! When we went to the doctors office for the first ultrasound, we were expecting to to be able to hear the heartbeat, but there was no heartbeat to be found. The fetus had implanted in the Fallopian tube so the pregnancy was not viable. The doctors tried to save the tube by halting the pregnancy chemically but ultimately required surgery to save Lindsay from life threatening complications. During the surgery, the doctor found evidence of endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. As a result, she endured yet a second surgery to remove her appendix and whatever errant endometrium possible. We attempted more rounds of IUI but with the one Fallopian tube now missing, our chances were further cut in half. Now three years later, the doctor is extremely worried about our timeline. IUI is no longer an option. If we cant schedule another round of IVF soon there may not be any eggs left to retrieve and our journey will be over. We have saved and scraped, accepted gifts from family and taken out loans to get this far, but we don't have enough time to do it on our own.
Why are we asking for $15,000?
We are hoping to raise enough for 2 rounds of IVF egg retrieval at UVM before the end of the year. 15k would pay for two retrievals and one embryo transfer. At the very least, it would buy us some time to save up for future embryo transfers. Whether we reach our goal or not, whatever we raise will be our budget going forward.
It is extremely difficult to share something so personal and hurtful while also asking for help. We are so thankful for the support of our friends and family and hope that by sharing our story we can shed some light on the issue of infertility and advocate for Vermont and other states to mandate insurers cover fertility treatment as a disability. Obviously there are no guarantees, but it would mean the world to be able to get #ouronelastshot
Thanks,
Lindsay and Ernesto
Organizer and beneficiary
Ernesto Sanchez
Organizer
Brattleboro, VT
Lindsay Parise
Beneficiary