Supporting Baby Berg

Dear Wonderful Friends and Family,

Eric and I knew early on that we couldn’t wait to start a family together. We have had many talks about our dreams of raising a family that’s centered in Christ’s love and about all of the adventures we hope to someday share together with our children. I love watching how Eric interacts with kids and I long for the day when he gets to have children who call him dad. I’m excited for our friends and family to be a part of this dream someday as well. I’m so excited to have children who grow up surrounded by the love of our family, friends and church community.

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with Kallmann syndrome. My hypothalamus never developed and, because of this, my body has never been able to make the hormones needed for a menstrual cycle. I was told that it would still be possible to have children as long as I take certain hormones that would help my eggs grow and mature. In March of 2022, I met with an infertility doctor at the San Diego Fertility Center and began my journey of infertility treatment. Eric and I were so thankful to finally start the journey toward having children! Between August 2022 through January 2023, Eric and I went through four unsuccessful timed intercourse cycles. This involved a lot of hormone medications and abdominal injections every day. Eric was my biggest support and motivator during this process.

One of the biggest challenges of this journey has been finances. Unfortunately, our insurance doesn’t cover infertility treatment. Each cycle cost us $5,000 out of pocket. After our fourth unsuccessful cycle, our doctor encouraged us to pursue IVF. A full IVF cycle is $18,000, which includes all of the medication, appointments, egg retrieval surgery and the embryo transfer. Because of the incredible generosity from friends and family, we were able to start our IVF journey in February. It was humbling to see God’s provision in this and that He was still making a way for us to move forward. Our IVF journey involved a lot of patience and trusting in the Lord. From my egg retrieval surgery in March, God blessed us with two embryos that would stay frozen until I was ready for them to be transferred, which I hoped would be soon after. My doctor, however, noticed fluid near my fallopian tubes during the surgery and requested that I have tests done to determine if my fallopian tubes were healthy. The tests indicated that my fallopian tubes were blocked and that surgery to remove my tubes would be required before transferring our embryo. This surgery would actually increase my chances of having a healthy pregnancy. I had the surgery at the end of May and recovered very well from it.

In the middle of July, I started taking progesterone injections once a day for 2 weeks to build my uterus lining. Our embryo transfer date was finally scheduled for July 28. It was the most joyful day of our journey so far! I was in awe the entire time as Eric and I watched our embryo on a screen being transferred from a petri dish to my uterus. My doctor printed a picture of our little embryo, which I immediately hung on our refrigerator. I was in awe that a little life was now inside of me. My pregnancy test was scheduled for August 11. When the nurse called with the results, she said that I was indeed 4 ½ weeks pregnant, but my hcg(pregnancy hormone) levels were extremely low. The nurse said that there was a chance that our embryo just needed a little extra time, but also a chance that it wouldn’t make it. She scheduled for me to have another pregnancy test on the 15th. Eric and I spent those days in between praying over our little one fervently and encouraging it. Sadly, my second pregnancy test was negative. Our embryo had an abnormal chromosome which caused it to stop growing. My first positive pregnancy test ended in my first miscarriage. Eric and I have experienced many waves of sadness and disappointment since then. We loved our little one so much, even in the short time we had it. We're thankful that it never left God’s hands and now has a heavenly home. Eric and I still don’t want to give up on this journey. We decided to move forward with preparing to transfer our last embryo.

I’ve written to you to not only let you know about our journey, but also to let you know how you can support us. First, we would really appreciate your continued prayers. I am so thankful that Eric and I haven’t lost our hope. Although we’ve been disappointed many times throughout this journey, we know that God has a GOOD plan for us in His timing. He has helped us to stay steadfast through this process and has shown us many reminders of His care and love for us. God has had to constantly remind me to let go of control and trust in His goodness and faithfulness. Even though I say all of this, it’s really easy to forget. I feel worried that we only have one more embryo left and worried that we will lose it like we lost the first one. Our biggest prayer is that we would fully trust and keep our eyes on Jesus who is our hope, our peace, our strength, our provider and the one who knows our needs.

Secondly, we are asking for your help financially. Transferring our last embryo costs $5,612. Right now we are unable to afford this and won’t be able to move forward in the process until our payment is made. We would like to have our payment by September 20, if possible. If you are willing to support us financially, we would be grateful for any amount as it would bring us closer to my goal.

Whether your support is through finances or prayers, we are so grateful for you. It has meant so much to have you walk alongside us in this journey. One of the biggest ways that God has shown us His goodness and care for us has been through you. Your prayers, words of comfort, encouragement, your questions about our journey and how we’ve been throughout the process has given us so much strength and hope. Because of your love and support, Eric and I have never once felt like we’ve been going through this. However this journey ends, we can still praise God for having you in our lives.

Blessings,

Alex and Eric Berg

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well...Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" Psalm 139:14-16

Jesus is with us "to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" Isaiah 61:3