Chances are you know Michael and Melanie Stinnett. I am Melanie's sister. After about 2 years of asking to help create a GoFundMe for their story, she has finally agreed.
Not because she didn't want to, but if you know anything about my sister, she is never one to ask for help. She's always the type giving instead.
I'm here because I want to give her every opportunity to finally be able to start her family.
To make a long story short, after 9 years of infertility and multiple treatments, they are doing IVF this year. They have already spent $25,000 on treatments and even gave up buying a home to get a chance to start a family. Melanie and Michael both pay for health insurance, and neither of their insurances offer any form of infertility coverage. Melanie and Michael have taken every step and chance into trying. If you can think of an option, chances are they have already checked into that avenue.
My goal is to see if we can come together as a community and give them the opportunity of a lifetime. Most families don't have to decide between if they want to be able to have a child or a home; they get to have both because infertility is not an issue. If you know anything about them, then you know how deserving she is of this!
Before you decide, you must read their story and then you'll understand why I believe they are deserving of an opportunity such as this.
Buckle up, because it's one heck of a story!
Chances are you know Melanie or Michael personally. Maybe you know them through church functions. Maybe you know Melanie from teaching one of your children or showing up to the ballfields to watch your child play ball because she had your child in her room as a student. Chances are maybe she's even baked you a cake or volunteered her time to help assist you.
What you may not know is the challenges they have had to overcome in life and how far they have had to come!
I'm not going to get into too much of Melanie's story before infertility, except that she has been an exceptional overcomer. Life has given its fair share of challenges that most people would not have to face.
As a child, Melanie had to face being torn from her biological family, going through foster care, adoption, and struggling to find her way in life.
At the age of 18, she began working two full-time jobs just to afford paying for rent, bills, and life all on her own.
At 26, she decided to go to college to give other kids an opportunity to be loved, which was something she longed for as a kid. In 2020, she graduated and became an educator. She has been a faithful teacher now for 6 years, loving kids and being a light for them in their life. She did this on her own, paying her way through college.
Now, onto the infertility part:
Melanie has PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). When they first got married, they had no idea the challenges this would face when trying to start a family. After 4 years of not being able to have children naturally, they began fertility treatments.
Each month started out as an opportunity, but as the failed months came and went, that opportunity shrunk into disappointment. After 10 months of failed treatments, they desperately needed a break. They realized they were not responding to the medications.
During this time, they got a call about a baby. They were so excited because they were finally going to get the chance to be parents, even if it was going to be for a short time. They had the opportunity to foster a baby while the parents were going through rehab. Knowing they may not get the chance to adopt, they were still willing to go through with it. What the caseworker didn't realize is that the family also had an advocate fighting for the baby to be able to stay with the mother in rehab.
Heartbroken, they understood the importance of keeping a family together.
Melanie realized that if she was going to do anything to help herself, then she needed to get healthier. In order to prepare for trying again, Melanie began a weight loss journey. She lost 60 whopping pounds! She was determined to give herself every opportunity.
After a two-year break, they began treatments again through Rejoice Fertility. They LOVED this clinic and the kindness they gave. They immediately jumped into their first IUI, and surprisingly, they got pregnant. After 7 years, they were finally going to be parents.
However, after 8 1/2 weeks, they lost the baby in a miscarriage. They were heartbroken, and so was the community that backed them and prayed for them. One thing has always gotten them through the tough times: and that is faith.
Their faith enabled them to grieve and continue the process.
They jumped back into fertility treatments and kept trying. After 3 failed IUIs, they realized they were going to have to do IVF. Only one thing prevented them from going straight into it: They had already spent $25,000.
Determined, Melanie applied for multiple grants and got no answer. This didn't stop them from continuing.
They decided that their last chance was to do IVF. Michael is turning 40 and understands that time is not on their side anymore.
To continue preparing, Melanie kept the weight loss going and has officially lost almost 100 pounds.
Both have gone through all the necessary testing and have picked the IVF package. She understands the expense that comes with IVF and has chosen the cheapest possible way.
If she stayed at her fertility clinic, it would cost her $14,000-$20,000 to do IVF.
She found CNY Fertility, which offers IVF for half the price: $8,000. What this does not include are the ultrasounds, blood work, extra medications needed outside of the package, traveling expenses, and frozen embryo transfer.
She has already been advised by her doctor that due to her PCOS, she would need to do a frozen embryo transfer instead of fresh, which is an extra $1,000.
They declined PGT testing (testing for abnormalities) due to the cost.
They will be traveling to Florida to do the egg retrieval and then come back to do the transfer as CNY is not a local clinic.
I am ultimately setting a goal at $10,000 to give them everything they need to be successful!
This is a LONG, HARD, and EXPENSIVE process. Let's choose to give back and support someone who is always supporting everyone else.
If nothing else, just sharing and praying for this couple means everything to them!