Campaign Story

A little over 8 years ago I (Angelena) met the love of my life Drew through mutual friends when our love story began. Little did we know within our first year of marriage, we would be faced with the struggle of fertility. After 3 years on our fertility journey and watching the ticking hands of time (my age) stare straight at us, we have decided to move forward with IVF treatment.

In my late 20’s I was given the diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and handed a pamphlet to improve my lifestyle habits and decrease my stress. I have always been conscious about my diet and exercise and despite my efforts I was missing periods and gaining weight. I was put on birth control to regulate my menstrual cycle and told to stay on it until we were ready to conceive. I did what I was told. Well as soon as we were ready to start trying, I was with a new doctor who began my fertility workup after a few months due to my “geriatric” age of 38.

We tried for a year with nothing and then moved forward with IUI treatments, the first one was unsuccessful, and the second one was successful with just the medication and natural conception. We were completely elated and nervous at the same time. I think I took a total of 20 pregnancy tests to make sure I was still pregnant before I made it into the doctor. We got to see the heartbeat at 6 weeks, and everything appeared normal. At 8 weeks, we still had a heartbeat, but our baby wasn’t growing, and we were told we would probably lose our baby. So, when we returned at 9 weeks, we were given the devastating news that we lost our baby’s heartbeat and was miscarrying. Through the grief of our loss, we remained hopeful.

The months after our loss was emotionally difficult for both of us, but we thought we could continue to try since we finally knew we could get pregnant. At our 2-year mark of trying, we found out we were pregnant for the 2nd time. Now, pregnancy after a loss has its baggage of anxiety but hope for a different outcome. Unfortunately, this time we didn’t get to see a heartbeat, it was an ectopic pregnancy where the pregnancy occurs outside the uterus and can be life threatening if not monitored closely.

We have spent the last 3 years trying everything possible to become parents naturally. At this point in our journey, we have managed my PCOS symptoms and male factor infertility, so we are left with the diagnosis of unexplained infertility. We’ve worked with various specialists outside of our primary doctors and fertility specialists including, genetic and chromosomal screenings, holistic health professionals, allergists, dieticians, cardiologists, endocrinologists, urologists, and acupuncturists. When I say we are doing it all, we are doing it all! This includes lifestyle choices, no alcohol, no caffeine, all organic foods, exercise, morning sunlight, daily walks, limiting environmental toxin exposures, fertility supplements, dietary changes, etc.

We are asking for your help as we approach this next chapter of our fertility journey. Our hopes and dreams of building our family may look a little different than we had imagined but we are navigating it the best we can. We have been very fortunate to have our insurance cover a lot of our diagnostic testing thus far, but the copays, coinsurance, testing, medications, supplements, and holistic approaches have started to add up. In addition, our insurance does not cover any part of IUI or IVF treatments. We have picked up extra hours at work and cut our spending/expenses the best we can in this economy.

Our estimated cost of our IVF plan moving forward is approximately $40, 000. We are seeking assistance with the financial burden of IVF and we would be honored if you could help. Even $10 would mean the world to us! We are seeking help to try for our miracle rainbow baby and build our little family. Thank you so much for your support!