It was just 14 days ago that my sister set-up a GoFundMe page (http://www.gofundme.com/JourneytoBabyKnox) in an effort to raise money for us to start IVF. We have been humbled at the outpouring of kindness from some of our friends, some of our family and also by perfect strangers. We have reached 31% of our goal, and we are honestly amazed at the progress thus far. The best part of all of this has been the people who have reached out to us in support. Donations are extremely generous and honestly surprising, but the love and support from people has been what has lifted us up the most. We are firm believers that God will provide if this is the correct path for us and we have been working hard at trying to make this IVF happen. So far, everything is falling into place and we truly believe that this IVF is possible.
In the mean time, I've had a few phone appointments with our financial coordinator and with our patient care coordinator. I have had some more blood work done and am now working on what we can do to get ourselves (or the eggs and swimmers, rather) as healthy as possible before we start the process. Time is not on our side but we are following the advice that our RE has given us by implementing the necessary supplements and such. Thankfully our doctors are confident that we will be successful, so now we just have to be patient as we eagerly await the start of this exciting (and scary) process. There are quite a few steps to getting all of our ducks in a row before the actual process starts. At this point, there isn't anything else we can do until our fees are paid to the clinic in full. All fees are due 2 weeks before the start of my medications. Then at that point, there will be a lot more updates than what you are seeing now. There is still quite a gap in funds of what we need ($5,315 to be exact) to make this IVF happen, and
we pray that it can happen before my body says it's too late.
As for the fost/adopt process, this continues to be at a standstill. I have spent so much time over phone calls and sending emails and I continue to get the same answers, "I will check on that again" or "I will ask my Supervisor." Long story short, we are still waiting on our background checks. Since the State does not pay for childcare when you have a foster child in your home, I had put working on hold because we truly felt that God was leading us to do foster care. We figured God would provide and didn't think (at the time) that we needed to worry about being under such a rush to do IVF. Well, not only has this foster process come to a screeching halt, but we are now forced to face the fact that our fertility can no longer wait. Almost 4 months after we were told we would get our license and a foster baby any day, we are still waiting. We can no longer put life on hold and we are trying to follow God's lead every step of the way. At this point, we still want to be able to do foster care and (hopefully) adopt but for now it just isn't happening. Right now I have a strong lead for a job. This would help us be able to pay down on the mountain of medical bills that have stacked up against us from all of my surgeries, tests and doctor's visits along with hopefully helping us get closer to this IVF.
I want to be clear here, we are NOT giving up on the fost/adopt situation! I have called and emailed everyone we can and we have just realized that it is in God's hands and if this is meant to happen, He will open the doors for us in His perfect timing. We have done everything we needed to get licensed so it is out of our hands at this time. Maybe now just isn't the right time for this. Only God knows. We feel led to deal with our situation at hand (my health and preparing for IVF) and in the mean time, the nursery will remain ready and prepared for whatever baby God decides to bless us with. :-)
We will keep you all in the loop as our journey progresses. Please feel free to ask questions and/or send your word of encouragement our way. We truly appreciate those of you who have been there for us! There simply are not enough thanks in the world to express how much we really appreciate all of you!
Love, Juliana + Michael
P.S.
If you are struggling with infertility, please feel free to reach out! A big part of sharing our journey was the hope that I/we could be of help to anyone who is struggling with this heartbreak. It helps to know that you are not alone and to feel like you have someone in your corner who understands. We are definitely not experts, but we can empathize with you, be there for you and pray for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment