- C
Dear Friends and Family,
As many of you know, Karlee and I have struggled with infertility for the last four years. This struggle has been difficult for us emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially. We had a consultation with our infertility doctors a few months ago, it turned out the cost of doing another In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) would be much higher than we originally expected. Karlee had a negative reaction to the medication during our first failed IVF that reduced the chances of success. If we attempted another IVF it would require different and more expensive medicine. Karlee was heart-broken to hear of how much the cost rose and that we could not afford to try one more time.
Many friends and family have told us that they would love to help with the costs so we can attempt another IVF. My pride has stood in the way of ever doing something like this. But this Christmas, I would like to surprise Karlee with the opportunity to try IVF one more time. She has been so strong through this journey and I know we all want to help her dream of being a mother come true. She has no idea that I am reaching out to all of you and that I have set this up. I have setup a Go Fund Me account where anyone can contribute to this cause.
I will be surprising Karlee on Christmas morning so please do not let her know. Please forward this link to anyone that may be interested but please do not share on social media as she may catch wind of it.
Thank you all for your love and prayers,
Curtis
Our Journey:
This journey began for us four years ago in December 2011, when we decided we were ready to start having children. Karlee had always wanted to have children and after three years of marriage I finally gave in. Karlee’s dream job was to be a stay-at-home mom. We were both overjoyed and thankful to God when we became pregnant our very first month of trying. We were both so excited and immediately began combing through possible baby names. Karlee tried hard to wait to make any purchases but it seemed like every other day she saw something she just couldn’t pass up and needed for our baby. Seeing our baby’s ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat was one of the happiest days of our lives.
We decided to let family and close friends know about the pregnancy but had decided to wait until she was at 13 weeks to announce it publicly. When Karlee was 12 weeks and 6 days pregnant, it took us a little longer to fall asleep that night. We kept discussing the fun ways we would announce to our coworkers the next morning and the Facebook post for extended family and friends to see. Unfortunately, a few hours later, Karlee woke me up due to some excruciating pain she was experiencing and we rushed to the nearest hospital. I have never seen someone as strong as Karlee was that night, knowing that she was having a miscarriage she endured both the physical and emotional pain. We had many friends visit us in the hospital and Karlee’s mom flew out to be with her while she recovered. Our church family surrounded us that following week and showered us with God’s love and comfort. We got through that week, knowing that God had a plan and a purpose.
We thought since we had gotten pregnant our first month of trying, it would only take a few months to get pregnant after Karlee’s recovery. The months went by and each month we were disappointed, but tried to remain positive. The months turned into years and we decided to reach out to infertility specialists to see if the miscarriage had caused any damage that may be hindering our ability to conceive. After multiple months of tests, we praised God that there was nothing wrong with either Karlee or myself. The doctors prescribed some medication that would enhance the ability to conceive. Karlee was on this for multiple months and endured the negative effects of extreme hormonal imbalance. When this did not work, the doctor’s recommended a procedure called IUI. After 3 failed and costly attempts at IUI, our doctors told us that for two healthy individuals, with “unexplained infertility” and had been trying for multiple years; the next step was In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We had never imagined coming to this point in our journey to become parents. After much prayer, we decided to go through with the procedure and emptied our savings. During the process, Karlee had a negative reaction to one of the medications. The reaction countered many of the other drugs Karlee was taking and the chances of this IVF being successful dropped significantly. Per the doctor’s advice, we continued through the entire procedure but a month afterward received the negative results that it had failed. Karlee was both physically and emotionally drained, so we decided to take a step back from the medical route.
We constantly struggled with the question of “why us” and what God’s purpose was. When we moved up to Redding, we saw a huge need in the community for foster parents. We had never dreamed of being foster parents and knew it would be out of our comfort zone. However, we felt maybe God was pushing us in this direction and that we could turn something positive out of our infertility struggles. It took much longer than we expected to become certified and the foster agents we worked with were some of the most difficult people I have ever encountered. We finally started to receive placement calls but instead of the 0-3 age range we had requested, we kept getting difficult calls (like 3 kids under the age of 3 or 10 year olds with behavioral issues). We knew as first-time foster parents, these types of placements would not be healthy for Karlee and I or for the children. After months of these types of placement calls and the emotionally ups and downs, we decided we need to take a step back from the fostering route also.
December marks the end of the fourth year of trying to conceive and one year since our failed IVF. Karlee and I both feel that we will become pregnant if we did another IVF without using the medicine that Karlee’s body had a negative reaction to. A few months ago, we came up with a plan on how to save and pay for another IVF procedure that we thought would be around $10,000. However, after our consultation with our doctor and realizing the amount of the special medication needed it turned out the entire process would cost $18,000. Karlee was heart-broken as we both knew that this was not financial feasibility for us to do.
After telling some family and close friends, many said they would love to help. A few suggested setting up a Go Fund Me account. My pride has stood in the way of doing something like this. I have always seen a major role in our marriage to be provide everything my wife needs and wants. Karlee’s number one desire has been to have a child to love and care for and this is something out of my ability to provide. God has really humbled me through this infertility journey. Karlee and I have grown extremely close through all the ups and downs and God has strengthened our marriage. We both rely much more on God to provide our every need and we both strive to focus on the positives this journey has provided rather than dwell on the negatives. We still don’t know if this journey will lead us to becoming parents naturally, through IVF, through adoption or through fostering. What we do know is that God knows the desires of our heart and he has a plan for us.
As you all know, Karlee has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Through all of these ups and downs she has remained the positive, happy person we all love to be around. When she walks in the room, she is the life of the party and she brightens everyone’s day. She is constantly volunteering to take care of everyone’s kids and she loves to spoil the kids in our lives. I thought that this Christmas, would be an amazing opportunity to shower her with love and provide her with one more opportunity to be a mother. I set up this Go Fund Me account for all of our friends and family that have been a part of this journey and would like to help make this possibility a reality.
My hope is to surprise her Christmas morning with this Go Fund Me account and the chance to do one more IFV. Please feel free to distribute this story and link via email but please do not do so on social media. I am trying to keep this as much of a secret and surprise for her.
Thanks you so much for all of your love and support the last couple years and please continue to keep us in your prayers.
As many of you know, Karlee and I have struggled with infertility for the last four years. This struggle has been difficult for us emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially. We had a consultation with our infertility doctors a few months ago, it turned out the cost of doing another In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) would be much higher than we originally expected. Karlee had a negative reaction to the medication during our first failed IVF that reduced the chances of success. If we attempted another IVF it would require different and more expensive medicine. Karlee was heart-broken to hear of how much the cost rose and that we could not afford to try one more time.
Many friends and family have told us that they would love to help with the costs so we can attempt another IVF. My pride has stood in the way of ever doing something like this. But this Christmas, I would like to surprise Karlee with the opportunity to try IVF one more time. She has been so strong through this journey and I know we all want to help her dream of being a mother come true. She has no idea that I am reaching out to all of you and that I have set this up. I have setup a Go Fund Me account where anyone can contribute to this cause.
I will be surprising Karlee on Christmas morning so please do not let her know. Please forward this link to anyone that may be interested but please do not share on social media as she may catch wind of it.
Thank you all for your love and prayers,
Curtis
Our Journey:
This journey began for us four years ago in December 2011, when we decided we were ready to start having children. Karlee had always wanted to have children and after three years of marriage I finally gave in. Karlee’s dream job was to be a stay-at-home mom. We were both overjoyed and thankful to God when we became pregnant our very first month of trying. We were both so excited and immediately began combing through possible baby names. Karlee tried hard to wait to make any purchases but it seemed like every other day she saw something she just couldn’t pass up and needed for our baby. Seeing our baby’s ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat was one of the happiest days of our lives.
We decided to let family and close friends know about the pregnancy but had decided to wait until she was at 13 weeks to announce it publicly. When Karlee was 12 weeks and 6 days pregnant, it took us a little longer to fall asleep that night. We kept discussing the fun ways we would announce to our coworkers the next morning and the Facebook post for extended family and friends to see. Unfortunately, a few hours later, Karlee woke me up due to some excruciating pain she was experiencing and we rushed to the nearest hospital. I have never seen someone as strong as Karlee was that night, knowing that she was having a miscarriage she endured both the physical and emotional pain. We had many friends visit us in the hospital and Karlee’s mom flew out to be with her while she recovered. Our church family surrounded us that following week and showered us with God’s love and comfort. We got through that week, knowing that God had a plan and a purpose.
We thought since we had gotten pregnant our first month of trying, it would only take a few months to get pregnant after Karlee’s recovery. The months went by and each month we were disappointed, but tried to remain positive. The months turned into years and we decided to reach out to infertility specialists to see if the miscarriage had caused any damage that may be hindering our ability to conceive. After multiple months of tests, we praised God that there was nothing wrong with either Karlee or myself. The doctors prescribed some medication that would enhance the ability to conceive. Karlee was on this for multiple months and endured the negative effects of extreme hormonal imbalance. When this did not work, the doctor’s recommended a procedure called IUI. After 3 failed and costly attempts at IUI, our doctors told us that for two healthy individuals, with “unexplained infertility” and had been trying for multiple years; the next step was In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). We had never imagined coming to this point in our journey to become parents. After much prayer, we decided to go through with the procedure and emptied our savings. During the process, Karlee had a negative reaction to one of the medications. The reaction countered many of the other drugs Karlee was taking and the chances of this IVF being successful dropped significantly. Per the doctor’s advice, we continued through the entire procedure but a month afterward received the negative results that it had failed. Karlee was both physically and emotionally drained, so we decided to take a step back from the medical route.
We constantly struggled with the question of “why us” and what God’s purpose was. When we moved up to Redding, we saw a huge need in the community for foster parents. We had never dreamed of being foster parents and knew it would be out of our comfort zone. However, we felt maybe God was pushing us in this direction and that we could turn something positive out of our infertility struggles. It took much longer than we expected to become certified and the foster agents we worked with were some of the most difficult people I have ever encountered. We finally started to receive placement calls but instead of the 0-3 age range we had requested, we kept getting difficult calls (like 3 kids under the age of 3 or 10 year olds with behavioral issues). We knew as first-time foster parents, these types of placements would not be healthy for Karlee and I or for the children. After months of these types of placement calls and the emotionally ups and downs, we decided we need to take a step back from the fostering route also.
December marks the end of the fourth year of trying to conceive and one year since our failed IVF. Karlee and I both feel that we will become pregnant if we did another IVF without using the medicine that Karlee’s body had a negative reaction to. A few months ago, we came up with a plan on how to save and pay for another IVF procedure that we thought would be around $10,000. However, after our consultation with our doctor and realizing the amount of the special medication needed it turned out the entire process would cost $18,000. Karlee was heart-broken as we both knew that this was not financial feasibility for us to do.
After telling some family and close friends, many said they would love to help. A few suggested setting up a Go Fund Me account. My pride has stood in the way of doing something like this. I have always seen a major role in our marriage to be provide everything my wife needs and wants. Karlee’s number one desire has been to have a child to love and care for and this is something out of my ability to provide. God has really humbled me through this infertility journey. Karlee and I have grown extremely close through all the ups and downs and God has strengthened our marriage. We both rely much more on God to provide our every need and we both strive to focus on the positives this journey has provided rather than dwell on the negatives. We still don’t know if this journey will lead us to becoming parents naturally, through IVF, through adoption or through fostering. What we do know is that God knows the desires of our heart and he has a plan for us.
As you all know, Karlee has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Through all of these ups and downs she has remained the positive, happy person we all love to be around. When she walks in the room, she is the life of the party and she brightens everyone’s day. She is constantly volunteering to take care of everyone’s kids and she loves to spoil the kids in our lives. I thought that this Christmas, would be an amazing opportunity to shower her with love and provide her with one more opportunity to be a mother. I set up this Go Fund Me account for all of our friends and family that have been a part of this journey and would like to help make this possibility a reality.
My hope is to surprise her Christmas morning with this Go Fund Me account and the chance to do one more IFV. Please feel free to distribute this story and link via email but please do not do so on social media. I am trying to keep this as much of a secret and surprise for her.
Thanks you so much for all of your love and support the last couple years and please continue to keep us in your prayers.