Campaign Story

To all of our wonderful family, friends, and supporters:

We are reaching out to ask for your help as we try to become parents through IVF.

Since we were married in December 2021, we have been trying, without success, to grow our family. With both of us being in our late-30s and possible fertility issues to contend with, we knew it was important to get started right away if we were going to have children. There have been many medical appointments, blood tests, procedures, referrals to specialists, and hard conversations that have occurred to get us to this point. Where we are now is that our only chance to have a biological child is through IVF.

Having children has always been so important to each of us. Melissa has spent most of her life working with children; from nannying, being an elementary teacher, spending time working with children in other countries, to now working as a social worker with children that have come to the United States as immigrants and refugees. Kevin has spent all of his adult life in the role of “Uncle” to the children of his closest friends and has always made his “nieces” and “nephews” a priority. We are the proud Aunt and Uncle of some of the most wonderful children, and spend time with them whenever we can! We have built our own little family (or menagerie, whichever way you want to look at it) with our 3 fur babies Rocky, Dutchess, and Darby, (and 2 fur babies that have passed on – Adrian and Bacon). However, we can’t imagine not having children to make our home and family complete.  

Melissa has known from the age of 14 that she had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and that it was likely that she would someday have fertility problems. Even with this awareness, it didn’t become real until going through the process to try to have a baby without success. What we didn’t know ahead of time was that Kevin also has fertility problems. Together, we have tried things, learned more, and now IVF has become the fertility option that we have.

IVF is a complicated, expensive, and difficult path to take, but one we hope will lead to us having a baby. The average cost for a cycle of IVF is $20,000. This includes all of the tests, blood work, monitoring, fertility medications, retrieval/embryology/transfer services, and so many other things that go along with the process. The majority of people have to do multiple cycles of IVF, which would continue to add to the cost.  

Both of us worked 2^nd jobs for the past 6-8 months (working 7 days a week); to set aside what savings we could in anticipation for finding out that we would need an expensive fertility treatment. We are now at the point, with what will be required of us for IVF, that it isn’t feasible to continue working 7 days a week. IVF often requires lots of time off work for both parents, and all the rest and stress reduction that you can manage. We anticipate many complicated and painful steps to the process; emotionally for both of us, and physically for Melissa. Our time and energy have to be dedicated to all of this and making sure we are doing what is in our power for IVF to be successful. However, along with fundraising, we are in the process of researching all available fertility grant opportunities to apply for and looking into other financial options to figure out how to cover the cost of IVF.

We are asking for your donation of any amount to assist us with the financial burden of having a baby through IVF. We know that we have a huge network of people that love and support us and have already asked for ways that they can help. At this time, financial assistance is the biggest need. Thank you for supporting us in becoming parents and for anything that you may decide to give.

We are grateful to everyone for your support and well wishes, whether it be contributing financially, offering words of encouragement, praying, or showing us love in countless other ways. We know that we likely have a rough road ahead. Having you all by our side will help us to hold on to hope as we try to bring our baby into the world!

With so much love and gratefulness to each and every one of you,

Kevin & Melissa Buck

(and our Fur Babies that can’t wait to have a human sibling!)