FET #1: Medications and a Miracle

We thought long and hard about whether or not we should post all the details surrounding our treatment process again.  In the end we decided that many of you have helped us get to this point, through donations or prayers or both, and we want you to take this journey with us.  We have witnessed so many miracles and have seen the Lord's hand throughout this process and this is a great way to share some of those experiences with you.  I hope that as you read you'll be able to relate to some of our experiences and emotions no matter what trial you are facing in your life right now.  I also hope that by reading our story you'll be able to gain empathy for couples who struggle with infertility, even if you've never struggled with it yourself.  These posts are like journal entries and are deeply personal, but we feel inspired to share them in this public setting.

I wrote all of these entries on the dates listed, but we weren't ready to post them until now.  If you know the outcome of our latest treatment, please don't give it away in the comments until after the "FET #6: Results!" post has been posted.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Today I ordered all the medications for our Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET).  They were only $400 this time instead of a couple thousand like last time.  A frozen embryo transfer is basically where they take frozen embryos from our IVF cycle in July, thaw them, and transfer them.  There is still quite a bit involved, but it's less expensive and I don't run the risk of getting OHSS like last time.

It's hard to believe that FIVE months have passed since our last cycle.  We never really wanted to wait that long.  After our last cycle failed we prayed and prayed about what to do next.  I remember telling Matt, I don't want to wait 5 months, but it feels right to me and I can't deny that.  We had done our part.  We studied it out in our minds calculating potential due dates and the possibility of twins that would come early.  We thought about how far along I'd be when we move in May and about Matt taking the bar exam in July.  We knew it would be stressful for him if we had a newborn baby right during exam crunch time.  Doing a transfer in January just made so. much. sense!  It was confirmed when we prayed about it and felt peaceful about the timing.  Of course there is always a part of you that wonders if you're interpreting the revelation accurately.  It's been amazing to see how everything has fallen into place since then.  Our decision is constantly reconfirmed.  I've realized time and time again that you often have to take a few steps into the dark before the pathway is lighted in before you.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Today we witnessed a miracle.  Here's the story.

In January 2012 I felt an overwhelming prompting that I needed to open up about our infertility.  It had already been 3 years and I felt pretty alone and discouraged.  I thought that maybe if I could help just one person who was also struggling that it would help me feel like there was a purpose for all this madness.

I had hoped I could help others in some small way, but I never imagined how much sharing our story would help us and how many miracles we would experience along the way.  If we hadn't made the decision to open up about this trial we wouldn't know many of the amazing people we have met who also struggle with infertility.  We wouldn't have been sponsored by Pound the Pavement for Parenthood.  And, we wouldn't have experienced this latest miracle.

Our first treatment was paid for by the funds raised through our race.  So many generous friends, strangers, and many of YOU sacrificed to help us become parents.  That cycle resulted in a negative pregnancy test, but we were blessed to have some additional embryos to use for our FET.  A FET is less expensive than traditional IVF, but we still didn't have a few thousand dollars lying around to pay for it.

A few months ago Jill Witt, Founder of Pound the Pavement for Parenthood (PPP), contacted me to ask how we were planning to pay for our next treatment.  I told her we were planning to go into debt for it.  She asked me if we might be interested in being sponsored by Sage and Harper.  They had created this bag and 100% of the proceeds would go to help us pay for our next treatment.  I was so humbled and grateful.  I couldn't believe the ways the Lord was blessing us.  Again and again.  In my mind I was thinking it would be incredible just to have a few hundred dollars to put toward our expenses.  I had no idea how big this would be.

Here is a picture of the bag they designed and sold for us!

Today we came him from work and checked the mail like usual.  Matt opened a Christmas card and said, "Do you know these people?"  I thought for a minute and it clicked, "That's the lady who owns Sage and Harper!"  The Christmas card was accompanied by an incredible letter and a check that was larger than we ever could have imagined.  It will cover our entire treatment cost.  It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.  We broke down.  How could these people we don't even know be so kind and generous.  Then this scripture came into my mind.  Surely the Lord is providing a way for us to obey His commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.  We have seen so many doors open.  We have witnessed so many miracles.  So many blessings have been laid at our feet.  Sometimes it feels like the Lord is parting the Red Sea right before our eyes.  We know the Lord has not forgotten us.  There must be some really special spirits waiting to come to our family because the Lord is moving mountains to get them here.

I hope you'll go and check out the Sage and Harper website--their bags are to die for.  I'm a big believer in supporting business like theirs and incredible people like them.