The Baby Journals

We went to the clinic yesterday. I can’t say that all went as planned, or that it was news we wanted to hear. When we got there we discovered that the tests we were to have done that day did not cost the $800 Dr. W quoted at our first appointment. Turns out, my side of the testing would cost approximately $2000, and Jay’s side would cost about $675. That we were not prepared for. It took everything I had inside not to break down right there in the nurse’s office. So we pretty much just sat there with the IVF Nurse Coordinator, who was wonderful, and talked about our options. Here are a few:

1) Continue saving/raising money (we have almost $3000 in the bank) and just wait until we have enough money to continue. It would be nice to have the entire amount (about $14,000 now) when we start so we would have one less concern while we were going through the process.

2) Nurse E told us some companies that she knew had insurance benefits that covered IVF treatments, one being Ban.k of Americ.a. I could apply for a teller job, work it for the 3-6 month period before I have coverage and then go forward with the process.  I have already sent in my resume to two branches here in town that had part time openings.  If they call me for an interview, I will definitely be interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me.  I guess it’s a good time for change anyway!

3)  This option would be the most appealing to me, but it involves a bit of chance (favor!?).  There is an infertility awareness conference in Jacksonville on November 3rd.  To “give back” to the community, the clinics represented there are giving away 3 free IVF cycles to registered attendees.  I registered the minute I saw that!  I wonder if it’s ok to pray that I win one of them?  I guess it can’t hurt!  If that’s in the plans for me, then let it be!  Obviously, this would be awesome.  I could immediately go forward if this happened, and not only would the first cycle be free (except for the tests above), but if, God forbid, it didn’t work the first time, or I wanted to have another kid later, then the following cycles would be about 1/2 – 1/3 the cost of the first IVF because I would already have frozen embryos ready to transfer.

So, that’s the latest news.  I’d welcome any input or advice you may have to give!  I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

This is a picture of the cost sheet I got from the clinic. Add to that the testing that we’ll be having Wednesday – I’ve been told around $800-$1000. Most of the terms up there are Greek to me at this point, but I’m sure I’ll be quite familiar with them in the very near future. I just wanted to put this up for everyone to see. Sometimes I say how much it costs, and I can hardly believe it myself. I know some may be thinking that there’s no way that this could be so expensive (I know, I think that too sometimes), but here it is in black and white. Very real, very expensive. However, I know that when we have our baby(ies!) it will be worth every single penny.

I’d just ask that if you’re the praying type, please pray specifically that every area above that I need to spend money on will be covered somehow. Some of it already is thanks to our gracious family and friends who’ve invested in our future. I can’t say thanks enough. Also, if you have any creative ideas that we could use to raise funds, please share! Otherwise, we’ll be selling anything that’s not nailed down on eBay ! Anything it takes.

We’ll be traveling to Jacksonville for appointment number two next Wednesday (24th).  This appointment will be a doozie.  They told me on the phone to plan to be there for at least two hours.

This appointment will be filled with blood tests, sonograms, a certain “analysis”, and a consult with the IVF nurse coordinator.  Jay’s shaking in his boots about having to have blood drawn – I think I’m used to that part by now!

I haven’t updated about the insurance stuff lately, so here it is.  There are plans out there that will cover certain IVF medications and testing – just not for me.  Apparently I have what they call a pre-existing condition and the coverage I need and want is totally unavailable unless I want to wait another year.  I honestly can’t fathom sitting on my hands for another year while time ticks away.  So we will be paying for this out of pocket.  Thankfully, we’ve had wonderful people like you who’ve donated towards this cause – again we say thank you.  So this appointment is paid for, and we’ll just see where we go from there.

Keep praying…

~Brooke~

We went to Jacksonville yesterday for our first meeting with Dr. W.  I would say that it went very well.  He was very helpful with making plans, and very informative about the procedure itself.  It was sort of surreal to be sitting there and actually moving toward this long time dream of ours.  It still doesn’t quite feel real yet – I guess when I start having to jab myself with a needle to the stomach for 12-14 days straight, I will wish it didn’t feel so real!

Anyway, Dr. W suggested that we look into getting some type of insurance policy that would at least cover the doctor visits, and maybe the medications.  Believe it or not, if we can get that, it could save us as much as $3000 (the drug companies must be making billions).  Of course we’ll be paying a premium, but it could very well be worth it in the long run.  So, I’m looking into that ASAP so we can go back for our 2nd appointment.

When we go back, we’ll both be undergoing some testing.  He wants to make sure that there is no simple reason that I was losing the other 4 pregnancies before I get pregnant again.  He’ll do some chromosomal testing on us both, a test for clotting factors, and an x-ray to look at my uterus.  This is why he suggested insurance as well.  He was talking about how expensive these tests were, and that insurance would cover them all.  I was thinking in the thousands, so it made me feel good when he said they could be as much as $800!  I’m glad to know he thinks that is expensive.

Also on that visit, Jay will have to do the infamous semen analysis.  I’m sure you can imagine the jokes that were flying all the way home about that one.  My mom was with us and Jay was having too much fun trying to embarrass her!  I said that in the future I would have to put a **WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT** on this blog!  I guess that is the nature of reproductive science!

As soon as these tests are done, and we get the “all is well” we can start the IVF process.  It would be great if we could start it in January!  So, please pray that all the tests will come back with normal results, and that we can get a good insurance plan that doesn’t break the bank.  Also pray for the upcoming benefit concert that our friends are putting on for us.  It would be amazing to be able to pay for all of the procedure up front without finances being an extra burden on us.   Right now we’re looking at needing about $10,000.  We had about $1,200 saved up before we started this and we’ve cut into that to pay for yesterday’s appointment, and we’ll be using some of it to get an insurance plan started.

That’s about it – I’ll be sure to keep the updates coming.  Thanks for listening!

~Brooke~

Guess you’re probably wondering what the sausage is all about.  I promise you’ll get it in a minute.

So, I picked up my medical records yesterday for my appointment with Dr. W on the 25th.  This morning, while killing time before class, I pulled them out to read them. (These are the full records of my surgery from 2005 when I had a ruptured tube from an ectopic pregnancy) Granted, half of the words I didn’t understand – like, salpingectomy and hemoperitoneum.  However, I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read this:  “The left tube was dilated, looking like a swollen sausage”.  Parts of my organs have been compared to breakfast food.  Nice.  I slightly remember this being said while I was in the hospital back in 2005, but I was so drugged up that it was quite blurred.

Really, though, medical records are quite entertaining.  Get past the fact that I lost all chance of ever getting pregnant the natural way, and there’s actually some funny stuff in there.  He used words like “soft and boggy” to describe my uterus (sorry, is that TMI?) and listed under “General” says “The patient is a pale looking white female in distress (duh) laying on the exam table.  Ha!  I think distress is an understatement.  Try “inches from the edge” or “complete and total panic accompanied by severe, blinding pain”.  Either of those will suffice.  It’s much easier to joke about it now that it’s been two years.  Maybe that’s just the “infertile” way of coping.  Oh, and I’ve adopted a new condition…it’s called “Infertourrettes” and it’s something like regular Tourrettes, but you’re infertile and you just start spouting off TMI about everything fertility oriented.  The word was coined especially for women like me by Erin at The Vicious Cycle of Cycles.  I liked it.

I guess that’s it.  Just needed a bit of comic relief for the end of the week.   Enjoy your weekend!

~Brooke~