Family has always played an important role in my life. I have always dreamt of one day having a family of my own. Brian shares that same dream. We never imagined that the possibility of a family would be such an emotional and financial struggle due to infertility.
Our infertility journey started over 2 years ago. After trying to get pregnant for a year, and having increased pain in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen, I decided to make an appointment with my gynecologist. They sent me for an ultrasound and hysterosalpingogram which determined that I would need to be referred to a fertility specialist with possible surgery. I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis, endometrial polyps and a cyst on my ovary. I was originally scheduled for surgery February 2020 but due to COVID shutdowns it was cancelled with no information of when I could reschedule. With each month the pain increased more and more. I was finally able to get the surgery I desperately needed in May 2020. When I woke up from the anesthesia, my surgeon told me that they got the polyps, cyst, and most of the damage the endometriosis caused. She continued to inform me that sadly she couldn’t save one of my Fallopian tubes due to all the damage that the endometriosis had caused and she wasn’t sure about the other but was hopeful that it was functional. After further testing it was confirmed that my remaining Fallopian tube wasn’t viable. That news changed my life, my inability to naturally bear children, IVF was our only option for me to carry a child.
Brian and I immediately spoke with the financial counselor to go over the pricing breakdown for IVF. Doctor visits, testing and the procedure was bundled in a cost of $10,000, then the medications are an additional $8,500. We have already spent thousands of dollars in this process already between doctor appointments, testing, and my surgery. Unfortunately, health insurance in Pennsylvania doesn’t cover any fertility treatments, it barely covers the testing. Even with both of us working full time jobs, trying to pay for IVF, on top of our everyday expenses has become more than overwhelming which is the reason we have turned to GoFundMe. IVF is a very long and expensive process, but we know that getting to have a family of our own one day will be worth it.
After much debate and prayer, Brian and I are now reaching out and hoping that this GoFundMe gets shared and spreads as far as possible. We are appreciative of any financial assistance you could provide to us and if you cannot support us financially, please just keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate you taking the time to read our story.
Thank you for all of the support and love you all have given us so far. We are so excited to see where this journey takes us.
Liz & Brian Cadd