Trent & Elise Wells: Starting a Family ❤️

I want to start by saying thank you for visiting this page. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Elise’s older sister, Erin, and am honored to host this donation opportunity for them.

Trent and Elise have been married for a little over three years and have been in their infertility journey for about the same amount of time. Shortly after becoming husband and wife they were excited to begin trying for a baby and start a family of their own. After a year a half of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant on their own, they made the decision to seek medical advice.

In July of 2020 they sought out a fertility clinic, which misdiagnosed Elise and started her on medications that were not best for her situation. This led to many failed attempts of Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) along the way. Elise felt there was something off and more to her diagnosis than what they were being told and treated for. Thankfully she listened to her body and they made the decision to change clinics.

Trent and Elise needed a mental break after the 4th failed IUI and decided to take 5 months off from the process. In May of 2021 they contacted a clinic in Colorado and had their initial phone consult. During that phone consult the provider told Elise that it would be extremely difficult to get pregnant naturally or with IUI’s based on the lab work she had previously had done. At that point they started the process of finding a facility to start IVF. After trying to communicate via email with the Colorado clinic for a month they decided it was too stressful to schedule and align all things IVF from over 10 hours away.

The third clinic is the current treatment facility that they began treatment with in June of 2021. The provider they met with finally gave them a little hope. She informed them that Elise was put on the wrong medication and wasn’t treated correctly for her specific needs. The provider was very hopeful that Elise could get pregnant doing IUI with a change of medications. During that initial consult Elise was given an official diagnosis of “raging” Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), as well as an autoimmune disorder called, Hashimoto's disease. Elise has been gluten and dairy free to help with those diagnoses and to help increase chance of pregnancy. PCOS is a hormonal disorder that isn’t well understood and effects each woman very differently, making each treatment unique and difficult. With the new information, Trent and Elise started the IUI process again. They did another 3 cycles with this clinic, which all failed and led to more heartbreak.

After discussing their options, they have decided to move forward with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The estimated cost is about $27,000 - not including the amount they have already spent throughout the entire process thus far or the three-hour commute to and from Iowa City for lab work, egg retrieval, and embryo transfer. Their medical insurance does not cover any infertility treatments, which leaves Trent and Elise to come up with that cost upfront prior to the clinic accepting them to begin IVF.

The world of infertility is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. This has been an overwhelming, stressful, and draining experience for the two of them. Trent and Elise are called to be parents and complete their family.

Many friends and family have asked how they can help – beyond your prayers, love, support and encouragement, their biggest need right now is financial. If you feel the desire to help in any way, it would be so incredibly appreciated. Funds will help them pay for medications, egg retrieval and transfer, ultrasounds, etc. If you are unable to donate, please continue to send them prayers and positive thoughts.

“We are so grateful and appreciative of all the prayers, support and kind words we have already received. Being a part of such a small and supportive community is such a blessing and we couldn’t imagine not being surrounded by our wonderful family and friends”

Trent and Elise