IVF Journey - UPDATE

There has always been a lot of secrecy about having infertility, both female AND male. It seems almost taboo that people mention anything to do with sex and having a baby when in reality this is one of the most amazing things our bodies do!
Infertility is a subject a lot of people feel to be private, scary, emotional, etc. AND IT IS! However, I feel the more people that educated in the subject, the more support people can offer. I hope this isn't "TMI" for you people reading but know, this is a touchy and exciting subject.

Infertility was never ever something I thought I would have to deal with. I always thought that it was for couples that had major medical issues, older than what like 40 years old?... Boy, was it a slap to the face to hear that not only was I struggling with infertility but my husband was too. It makes you extremely humble when experiences like this happen to you. It was just like when I had our miscarriage. I knew that losing a child was hard, I have had multiple siblings lose a child. But I had NO idea how much it can effect not only you but your spouse, siblings, to-be grandparents, etc. It just makes you realize that judging someone's life too quick makes you look like an insensitive idiot.

So, before I give you all the scoop on what is happening, an UPDATE if you will, in my own journey of infertiliy I want to give a warning to those of you who think talking about this stuff is too hard or "gross"
-WARNING- -WARNING- WARNING-
THE FOLLOWING WILL CONTAIN INFORMATION RELATED TO STARTING A FAMILY!

Cory and I, as many of you read in our last blog post, both suffer from pretty substantial problems in getting pregnant. Our journey has led us to IVF In-Virtro Fertilization. "Test tube babies". It is an amazing and tolling process to go through and this post was to educate those of you who would like to know what we have been doing and why we are promoting a GOFUNDME account and facebook posts, etc.
I was first put on Birth Control to regulate my cycle, after about 12 days on BC I was told to get off of the pill to start a cycle (a period).
The next stage was injections, yikes. Totally scary and unbelievably expensive. We recieved many different medications, via injections, there are no pills to this process. :)
The injections I have been taking are to strengthen and grow the lining of my uterus, while also increasing my follicle size dramatically. Follicles are where your eggs are located. I take an injection every night in my belly full of 6 different medications, 1 being HCG your pregnancy hormone. Having pregnancy hormones and not being pregnant is WEIRD ps.
Today I start a new medication after finding out that our follicles on my right side are HUGE! Well... not huge huge but big enough and ready for our surgery. I still continue my 6 medications through injection and add 1 more shot with the new meds tonight. Both located in the stomach. Can't wait! (insert sarcasm here)
Sunday we get another ultrasound and blood work, I've been going in every other day for vaginal ultrasounds and blood work; you could say I have lost all sense of my dignity sense about 8 different people have see my lady bits. It's fun going through IVF!!

On Sunday we are hoping to see bigger follicles and hopefully hear I can take my "Trigger Shot", this is a different injection taken at a specific time on March 31st and surgery April 1st!!!!
Things have been going pretty great in this whole process. We have had amazing support and love surrounding us and the prayers are felt. This has been a huge learning process and will continue to be. Education is key. Infertility isn't and AGE related thing. It can effect anyone. Be loving in your words to those who are trying to start their family.
I hope that Infertility can be a topic that isn't hush hush. It sucks that insurance doesn't cover any of these costs. It literally ruins people. I hope one day it can be seen an a medical expense and that other fmailies can get help.

We are still doing a family and friends fast on April 1st, if you would like to join that would be wonderful.
If you would like to see pictures of our process, I promise nothing yucky is on there, follow us on our Facebook page The Downwards IVF Journey and if you can donate to our cause we are on GOFUNDME under the same name, we could use the help.
We also are hosting a HUGE YARD SALE and selling hotdogs and drinks on April 25th from 8am-4pm at 9477 Jene Drive Sandy UT if you can come by that would rock!

And thanks for allowing me to vent and share this extremely personal part of mine and Cory's life with anyone willing to listen. We love you all and we can't wait to make a baby!!

Infertility and Hope

Cory and I on our "Due Date" for our lost little one.
 We sent balloons off  and had some closure.

Family and Friends,

Many of you know from social media or the grape vine that Cory and I have been trying to start our family for the past 16 months. We successfully got pregnant May 2014. Unfortunately we lost the pregnancy July 2014. It was devastating news to receive. It tested our love, testimonies and patience. We decided to go see if we could get some help for our trying to conceive journey. We were brought to the Reproductive Care Center (RCC) in Sandy. After a few months of testing we found out that there were some pretty major complications. I had been diagnosed earlier, about 18 years old, with Endometriosis, a medical problem that can cause infertility. The RCC confirmed that although I had my endometriosis cauterized during a previous surgery, it had come back in full force. This time I was told I had grown and Endometrial cyst around my left ovary causing my egg quality and count to be low in count and not good in quality. I also was told 2 hormones I have, one is too low and one is too high, can cause major problems conceiving while also giving us thousand dollar premiums in our next step to get pregnant. Our doctor told us that we are looking at 1 maybe 2 children and then surgery to take out my uterus. This was a huge shocker for me as we had decided to have 4 children. Endometriosis grows back and gets worse, hence the major surgery. Cory was diagnosed with Morphology, which is when the semen are shaped incorrectly, which causes miscarriage. The doctor then told us it was a miracle we got pregnant in the first place. He gave us a 3% chance of pregnancy on our own and then suggested that we move on to the next step to get pregnant. Our next step is IVF, In-vitro Fertilization. The procedure is upwards of $30,000…

We are seeking grants, selling things, and saving up as much money as possible. We luckily had the opportunity to sell our house and get some money from that, but it is still too low to pay fully for the IVF treatment. We could use some prayers from our family and friends. We are going to be doing a garage/yard sale sometime this spring. If anyone has any donations of things we could sell, we would appreciate it. We are also doing a 5K run in August and for each person that registers in our name, we get 1 entry into a $5,000 grant drawing. We could use as many people there or as many people to buy an entry to the drawing as we can get. If you want to be apart of that I will send out an email with more info later in the year. Give me your contact info and I will send you more details later.

We will also be doing a family fast for the day of our “Egg Retrieval”. It is on April 1 2015 and the fast is for my surgery I must undergo to retrieve the eggs and fertilize them.

This has been such a trying time for Cory and I. I personally have never felt more embarrassed and broken in my whole life. However, we know that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with one child and is taking care of him/her until we can see him/her again. We also know the he has a bigger picture and a better plan for Cory and I. We are so thankful families are forever and we appreciate the love and support that is constantly surrounding us. We thank you for any help, love, participation, etc. for us. It truly means the world.

Cory and Jess

“Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying”

Romans 12:12