IVF Medicine

Who We Are

Hello, my name is Ashley and I am 30 years old. I grew up in Florida, Maine, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania. I come from a family with a big military background. I took my first teaching job in Arizona and most recently Virginia. I am currently a 2nd-grade teacher in southern Virginia. I chose to become a teacher because I truly enjoy watching my students progress throughout the year. Experiencing their gradual growth in knowledge and maturity and being able to be a part of the process is truly rewarding. I believe in continuous personal and professional growth and recently decided to go back to school to get my Associate’s degree in Cyber Security.

Hello, my name is Joey and I am 31 years old. I come from a big military family and have lived all over the US. I am a Marine Corps veteran who served for five years. After I completed my service, I decided to start my Associate’s degree in Engineering. While going to school, I also work full-time as a construction contractor.

Our Life and How We Met

Our story is rather unique because we met by both “swiping right.” At the time we weren’t sure what to expect but as faith would have it, we turned out to be a good “match.” After dating for a year and a half, Joey proposed to me at our favorite Mexican restaurant surrounded by family.

We are proud fur parents to five cats and two dogs, all of which keep us busy and bring us endless joy. In 2021 we purchased our first home with the intent to begin to start growing our family. We both come from big families and we have wanted nothing more than to grow a family of our own so we can experience the insane feeling of love that blossoms from having a child, the shared experience of learning to parent together, and the constant joy and surprise that a child would bring into our lives.

My Health Complications and Our Journey Through Infertility

Three years ago, I was experiencing intense pain and extensive bleeding during my periods. For a year I went to several doctors, undergoing various types of tests, to unfortunately receive no definitive diagnosis. During this time the symptoms continued to progress and worsen, so I went to another doctor. This doctor discovered what they thought at the time was a cyst on my right ovary. However, during surgery, the doctor discovered that the cyst was a teratoma tumor.

I was strongly advised to have the whole ovary removed because the doctors could not guarantee that by removing the tumor from my ovary that it would not return and with it an increase in the probability of it being cancerous. It was a really hard decision to make at the time, but ultimately, we decided that I should have the ovary removed. It was emotionally and mentally hard for me to accept removing my ovary. I still have days where I relapse emotionally and struggle with the fact that my body is unable to do what it was biologically made to do.

During this time, I took medicine to boost the health of my remaining ovary. After another year of being unable to conceive, we decided to see a fertility specialist. I recently went through various tests and biopsies and was informed my remaining ovary is currently being compromised by an endometrioma cyst, which is about 3 1/2 cm in size and still growing with every period I experience. My remaining ovary is also filled with a lot of endometrioses, which is causing the tissues that normally grow inside my uterus to go into my ovary and fallopian tube. This buildup of tissue is causing the cyst to grow which has not only damaged my remaining ovary, but it has completely damaged my remaining fallopian tube.

According to our fertility specialist, I need to start IVF, as soon as possible, to even have a chance to conceive a child. Our fertility specialist has given us a date of July 2023, during which time I will need to have the eggs that are in my remaining ovary removed. If we wait any longer, there is an extremely high percentage that my remaining ovary will be completely compromised and with it our chance of conceiving a child of our own.

I very recently found out that I have a few short months to be able to collect eggs from my last remaining ovary. Insurance does not cover this procedure, and with such an unexpected and recent diagnosis of this, I must move quickly. Time is not on our side. All the donations we receive will fund the egg retrieval surgery and IVF treatment, along with any medicine needed to start the process.

Remaining Hopeful About Our Next Steps

We have hit roadblock after roadblock throughout this journey and have had feelings of helplessness, despair, and even quitting but we are trying to remain hopeful. We do not want to give up on our dream of being able to conceive a child of our own. Since we know now that our only option to achieve our dream is through IVF, we have talked with our families to devise a plan. Currently, our biggest challenge is financing the IVF. Through much debate and quite honestly humility, we decided to start this page. Our hope is not only to be able to raise money to fund our IVF but to also raise awareness of infertility and to hopefully bring comfort to any other couples out there going through a similar journey.

To those couples, I say, “I know it is super easy to stress and be discouraged when struggling with infertility. It can cause you to question and doubt yourself and your marriage. When you are at your lowest, just remember, you are not alone.” The hardest part for me is talking about it – all of it. There is a part of me that is proud that I am writing this message and putting our infertility journey out there for the world to see. On the days that I struggle, I have to constantly remind myself of my support system and that talking about it is better than keeping it all bottled up inside.

Lastly, we want to thank you for reading our story and taking this journey with us. We truly, from the bottom of our hearts, appreciate any support that you can provide. Thank you and wish us luck!