Campaign Story

Hi everyone!
My name is Christina and my wonderful husband is Ruben. To start we just wanted to thank anyone who is willing to take the time to read our story! Neither of us are the type of people to ask for handouts or air our personal struggles to everyone, but sometimes in life you just need to ask for help.

Ruben and I have been together for almost 7 years and we have been trying to start a family since 2018. It’s a big decision to start a family and I was frustrated that once we decided to try, we were having no luck at all. After trying for about 6 months, we made an appointment to see my OB-GYN. After lots of test I was diagnosed with PCOS. For people who don’t know what that is, its Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and it’s a hormonal disorder. This causes lots of other health issues and mainly infertility. I was devastated to hear how it was going to be difficult to get pregnant. I also learned I have Hashimoto’s Disease, which is a disorder which results in my thyroid not producing enough hormones for my body. This can also cause issues getting pregnant. I was put on different medications to help regulate my monthly period and help with ovulation. Nothing worked.

During this 2-year period my doctor changed about 4 times. So, each time I had to start over and I continued to be prescribed the same medication that wasn’t helping and complete the same test that were not showing much improvement. All of my doctors were nice, but having to start from scratch on our fertility journey each time was hard emotional and not to mention the financial cost to repeat test and ultrasounds. That is about the time COVID hit and flipped everyone’s lives upside down. We continued to try and hope for our future baby but unfortunately had no luck and we were unable to see my doctor as COVID put a halt on most things. Luckily, we were able to meet with my Doctor in June 2021 and got referred to a Fertility specialty. We learned a lot. So, my body is not able to ovulate at all. The medication Letrozole helps with ovulation, but even that was not enough.

The next fertility plan was to take the medication Letrozole during my period and do a 12-day Ultrasound. If the doctors see any follicles in my ovary’s that are larger enough to actually release an egg, then we will use a trigger shot called Ovidrel to help force ovulation. After months of trying and the heartbreak have getting a negative pregnancy test we went back to the doctor to discuss the next options.
That now brings us to IVF. Each round will cost about $6500 with the first initial round of treatment cost about $8000 due to some additional tests that most be completed. Since I have PCOS I am considered high risk and must take a few extra precautions. This means once we completed the IFV treatment I must freeze my embryos and let my body heal before implanting the embryos.
Both my husband and I are working full time and trying to save money to cover the cost of the fertility treatments, but since insurance does not cover things pertaining to infertility the resulting bills are very costly and add up quickly.

My husband and I would love nothing more than to become parents and start a family. It’s something we have wanted for so long and its heartbreaking when your own body won’t function the way it should. A child is truly a miracle and I hope one day we can experience that miracle too like so many others.

Thank you so much for your time and support!

XOXO

Christina and Ruben Herrera