Link Adoption/ IVF Treatment
Donation protected
We have always wanted to become parents, and when we first talked about having children together we were immediately on the same page. We wanted kids and we wanted them with each other. We couldn't wait to get married so we could start our lives as husband and wife and begin trying to get pregnant. As those first months of try to conceive slid closer and closer to the year mark we started to think something could be wrong. We had done our research and knew it takes some couples longer but the feeling was there that this just wasn't going to be an easy road for us. The year mark came and still no baby so we booked an appointment for a checkup with our doctor just to be sure everything looked good.
Multiple tests followed for both of us and after every result came back as fine we were put into the "Unexplained Infertility" group. Nothing was medically wrong with either of us and yet we just could not seem to get pregnant. Ryan has haed d Type 1 diabetes for 17 years now and we thought maybe this could be hindering our attempts to get pregnant. We were told that his having this disease could affect our ability to get pregnant in the future but wasn't yet. We then started months of being on the fertility drug Chlomid, followed by a few more medical procedures and then one day a positive pregnancy test! The excitement was immediate, we told close family and a friend or two right away but wanted to wait a bit before sharing the news with everyone. Then at 7 weeks we found out that our dream was still not ready to become a reality, we had lost the baby. The days and weeks and months after that were hard. It has been 3 years since we lost the baby and we still think of it. Boy or girl? How old would it have been this past Christmas? What kind of a personality would it have had? A part of us will always wonder about our baby, I don't think that will ever change.
After 6 months had passed we decided to try again. More Chlomid, more tests, and this time actual fertility procedures. We had 3 IUI procedures done, and still nothing. At this point our only option left is IVF. The final step, the one with shots and pre-fertilized and multiple medical procedures. We are more than willing to do these things if it means we get to be parents. We left our meeting with the fertility doctors with mixed feelings. This could work, this final step could be what we needed to become parents.
We also felt almost hopeless. This could work, but how could we afford it? Even with our full time jobs and medical insurance we didn't know how we could afford this procedure. Our insurance will only cover $1,000 of a procedure that is expected to be at least $20,000. We were expecting the procedure to be expensive, we just weren't expecting this to be something we couldn't do based solely on financial reasons. We were torn on whether or not we want to complete the IVF procedure or pursue adoption. A cousin we were very close to was adopted into Christal's family when he was 5 months old and ever since that day adoption has always been something she wanted to do. Now with our fertility struggles we have thought more and more that this could be our road to becoming parents.
After nearly 5 years one thing is still the same, we want to be parents. We have had multiple conversations and we have finally decided it is time to ask for help. We are coming to you, our family, our friends and even strangers and asking for your help. We don't take this lightly, we know it is hard to give any amount of money you have worked for away. We just aren't ready to completely give up on our dream and that means we have to swallow some of our pride and ask anyway. We are hoping you think our cause will be worthwhile and that you will decide to donate to our fertility fund. Any amount, no matter how big or small, I can promise you will be greatly appreciated and never forgotten by us.
Thank you for taking the time to hear our story and thank you for whatever you can donate to help us turn our dream into a reality. "Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do ". - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Organizer
Ryan Link
Organizer
Rochester, MN
