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

End of the Year?! Already!?

WHERE DID THE TIME GO!?
I mean really... I swear it was January a month ago. I though I would share a few things that, if you missed, have happened in the Downward life.
Welp here goes *gasps for air*
Met new family members
Went Snowboarding
Hiked, Hiked and Hiked again
Had our first Anniversary!
Went to Moab
Camped in the hot hot moab sun
Swam and Floated down Rivers
Went on four wheeler rides
Found hidden lakes
Rope Swing!
Went boating
Bit through my lip... Shocker. I got hurt
Caught some Fish
Bought a new puppy Tiny
searched and searched and searched for a home.
Bought a new home! Our first!
Had a family member join Heavenly Father again.
Was grateful for the knowledge that Families are together forever!
Had a Wedding! (Cory's sister)
Got a new Niece (Beckahm Evie Pena - Cory's sister)
Learned that yard work SUCKS.
Talked about babies... every single day.
Got addicted to Bodyrockers! (Workout routine)
Bought a new car!
Decided I am going into Art and Secondary Education! (Teaching High School Art)
Tore both quad muscles.
Gave up dancing for a new dream. Yet to be found.
Taught dances to a drill team in Idaho!
Made my own drill dance camp! SUCCESS!!
Cory decided he hasn't decided on school yet.
Worked and worked and worked.
Ran out of gas and had a cop assist us.
Cory took a ride in the back of a cop car. :) he he
Did a LOT of homework.
Had lots of fun on vacations, spending time with our families and loving each other.
We are excited to see what happens in 2013! We hope your Holidays and your year was one to remember. Love you all!!

PS... very sorry about not blogging for so long.. I had techincal difficulties, The darn blog wouldn't let me login!! :)

Exciting Things are Happening

Hello Everybody!

SO here is the new goal. Every first of the month me and Cory would like to post in our blog so everyone knows what we are up to. Also, we don't keep journals anymore and it might be nice to write a few things down!
So here is what we have been doing. We have some exciting things happening...
WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE!!!!

Yes... some of you may think it's crazy and some of you may think we can't do it but... we can, we are, and we are excited! It is located in West Jordan and we should close on it September 27th :)
We are also both going to school, which started last week. I am taking 19 credits, yup... I know. And Cory is taking a few and working full time. I work part time.
We have had a lot of fun in the past couple of months planning for school and a new house. It has been a lot of work and will continue to be so but we are grateful for the journey.
We are also thinking of getting Tank a friend... We may finally get TINY our new BIG dog haha. I shouldn't say that because we havent found him yet and we can't agree on what kind of dog Tiny should be but... I am excited for Tank to have a new "brother"
We also hit our One Year Mark and had pictures taken. It was so fun. I love Him. So much :)

I hope everyone is enjoying school, work and all your other journies.
We love ya and appreciate your support!
<3 Jess and Cory

Here's To Eternity!!

Cory and I are approaching our 1 year Anniversary! June 14th!

It has gone by so fast! Here are some things we have done!

Got sealed for time and all Eternity

Moved into a basement

New Jobs

One word, School.

Homework, homework and more homework

Sharing Laughs

Sharing tears

Sharing colds, the flu and stresses

LOTS of Surgeries.

We are a Apple household now. 

Bought our apartment

Bought our dog Tank

Passed College classes

Went swimming

Taught me how to fly fish

Watched fireworks, a lot!

ate and ate and ate and ATE!!

Gave up soda and then got back on soda :)

Tank peed

Tank Puked

Pick up poop

Baby-sit 

We want a baby, now we don't, we want one, now we don't.

Made new friends

Lots of hugs

Supported each others dreams

Rode Carnival Rides

Flushed a LIVE fish down the toilet (corrrryyyyy)

Sold the Lexus

Bought a piece of.... a 1987 Chevy truck

Bought a Subaru

Finally Washed the Focus!!

Went on Vacations

Went to the Drive-in, a lot.

Ran out of gas.

Became pretty good cooks!

Made a cookies every night. :)

Gained weight.

Started working out.

Lost weight.

River Rafting.

Had a blast! 

Gotten closer to each other.

Achieved everything we've wanted to in a year.

I love my husband so so much. He has been the greatest man in my life and I feel so blessed to have him by my side for all eternity.

I love you Cory! Can't wait to see what else happens in our lives!

Biological Blessing

Hello Everyone!!!
I have been EXTREMELY busy the past couple weeks and I apologize for not blogging. Cory and I just finished school today and I start up again in a week for the summer semester at SLCC. We've been busy with life, school, dance, sicknesses haha you know. The usual. But I have some important news I would like to share with everyone who is interested..

For those of you who don't know, which you all should, I am adopted and have always had interest in knowing more about my biological parents and if I ever had siblings. As I am very family oriented it has always been a cool thought to think I maybe someday could add to my family. Well.... It has happened!!

On January 3rd 2012 I was emailed by a woman named Carissa who said that she believed I was her biological little sister after looking at pictures of me. After discussing different facts about what I knew about my adoption it became clear that she was related to me. She showed me pictures of my biological father and there was no doubt in my mind that Carissa was my biological sister. That night she continued to email me about others in the family who are related to me. I would like to share with you some facts about my biological family. I hope no one is hurt or not understanding about this information. I just want to share what I know....

My fathers name is Anthony (Tony) Medina. He is 1/2 Hispanic and 49 years old. He currently lives in Tooele Utah and was recently married. He considers music to be a huge part of his life as he was in a band. He sounds like ACDC or any other big hair 80's singer. He just got a job working for Coca Cola. He is not very tall (which explains why I am a midget :) ) He has brown eyes and brown CURLY hair. He has a total of 4 daughters including me. Tony did have a rough life including drugs, alcohol and many marriages. He has turned his life around and has been on the right track for awhile now. We have not spoken. I don't feel quite ready yet.

My biological mother's name is Deirdre (dear-dra) and I actually am unsure of her current last name. She lives in Salt Lake City currently and I don't know what she does for a job. She is short also and has brown/redish hair. It is also curly. She also had a hard time with drugs and alcohol. I have been told she is also trying to be sober and clean. I have not talked to her either. She had 4 kids all together including me.

Now onto my biological siblings. Tony has 3 other daughters besides me (oldest to youngest) Carissa, Misty, Me and Samantha or Sunny D. Carissa and Misty have the same mother, Trudy. And Sunny and Me have different biological mothers. Carissa and Misty are married and have wonderful children who LOVE to snuggle. haha :) and I don't know much about Sunny D.
Deidre had 2 sons and a daughter. Aaron, Rich and Samantha.

I also have met my biological grandmother Donna and her husband Stan. They are wonderful. I am close with Carissa, Misty and Grandma Donna. I see them frequently and enjoy their company. My Mom has met them and loves them. Things have been hard. Obviously there are different opinions and some people are taking it hard. To me... This has been a HUGE blessing in my life and I feel so grateful to know these people. It has answered questions in my mind that I wanted answered. I feel like I know my whole self and it is a rewarding feeling.

I want everyone to know that these people are in addition to my amazing family. I want to thank my mom and dad and sisters for all their support in this journey and tell them that I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! I couldn't do this without you. and of course Cory... Who has been there every step of the way. You are my hero and best friend. I love you

I understand this is a lot to swallow but I want to share my story and let everyone know who these people are because they are important to me. I hope everyone understands and supports me in this.

I am so happy I was guided to these people.

 Misty and I first time meeting

 Carissa and I first time meeting

 Carissa, Me, Grandma Donna and Misty

Mason and Maddi Carissa's kiddos

Left to Right 

Chris (Carissa's Husband) Carissa, Me, Cory Misty, Jesse (Misty's husband) 

Bottom

Maddi, Mason and Cody. Misty had one more who wasn't in the picture. 

I hope you enjoyed this and if you have questions please don't be afraid to ask. This is a growing process and i understand people think differently. I love you all and appreciate your support!! :)

Things as of Late

Hi everyone!!
It's been awhile. sorry. School got crazy. Work got crazy. Blah Blah excuses excuses. I will be better.
Lately Cory has been working his tail off. I have been dancing my tail off and we are both still going to school.
We have been doing some fun things however. We went scuba diving with some friends which was fun. It was with like... cool fish or anything but it was a lot of fun. I had a hard time because of my asthma but I id it :)
My dance company at SLCC is having our year end show. I want to invite all of you who read to come. This performance is based on student choreography which makes the show really cool! I got to choreograph a dance that is in the show as well! It's called Simon Says and we act like little kids with a twist. Guess you have to come to see :)
I hope you all can come! It's on April 6th and 7th at 7:30pm at SLCC South City campus in the theater. If you bring 2 cans of food its $4 and its FUN!!! COME SEE ME DANCE!!!

Cory and I have also been looking for houses. Just to see what we like. We know how much we qualify for and right now its just finding one we like and waiting for our lease to be up.

Scuba Diving

Hunger games

I also got 2 of my art pieces in the SLCC art show! Woo Woo!! ANNNDDDDD Hungers games was AWESOME even if it was at 12:20 in the morning haha

We hope you are all doing good! I will be writing more I swear! Have a good week!!