Friday, February 1, 2013

First Appointment with New RE

We had our appointment a couple of days ago, sorry to keep you waiting but I've been trying to get our house cleaned up for family coming into town. Anyhow, we really liked the Dr. we saw, as well as all his staff. It was such a different experience from any of the other referrals and appointments we had had--it was very productive. Not only did we get our consult and run through our history, the Dr. had labs done on my husband as well as another SA, and he scheduled an appointment for us with a different urologist who he works frequently with that deals primarily with male fertility issues. He did an ultrasound on me and also ordered a whole set of labs to be drawn cycle day 2-3. It was sort of an emotional appointment for me because the reality of our options sank in and I'm PMSing to make matters worse. But...we got some wonderful news--my husband's SA that was done this time showed sperm! The Dr. said it was still not considered "normal", and would be able to tell us better after the analysis finished but he walked to the lab himself and they said they did see approx 1-1.5 million sperm in the sample. That is a huge difference from ZERO, it also means my husband probably won't be needing any surgery!!! However he did say that we would still not be candidates for IUI and that at this point IVF is our only option. I cried as the reality of that sank in because of course I want to jump at it with no question about it but the fact is that we are looking at potentially a $20,000 (depending on meds and other factors) procedure that may or may not end up in me being pregnant. The sweet nurse handed me a brochure for a company that does financing specifically for infertility procedures. At least it's an option to look into. This being said I'm going to get on my soap box for a minute....

Did you know that some states have health insurance (private or employer provided) that cover infertility costs, IVF included? Our state unfortunately is not one of them. Currently in our state, the state-funded or "welfare" insurance pays for over 75% of the pregnant population. This includes prenatal visits, birth costs, any and all pregnancy related trips to the hospital in between, and if they choose-- abortion. Can I just say that I think it is BULLSHIT that my tax money can help fund someone's abortion or pay for someone to have their 15th kid that they don't have custody of anyways but yet I get no help to have the baby I would give anything to have? Isn't this all backwards? 

I've been looking online the last couple of days for programs or grants that help pay for the costs of IVF. They are few and far between from what I can find. I know that I could never, ever put a price on having a baby of our own, but it's a lot to take in and how are we going to come up with that money in a few months? It has to be paid in full before the procedure. We have decided to start down the path of all the necessary labs and requirements to prepare for IVF and I am just praying that we figure out the financial part of it. From here, my husband visits the urologist in a few weeks and then from there it's my understanding that we schedule an appointment with this RE Doctor again. I cannot contain my excitement to know that we are at least finally getting somewhere and I just hope that within the next few months we will be able to do our IVF. I dreamt the last two nights of being pregnant and seeing our baby for the first time. In my dream she had my husband's eyes and nose and she was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. I know without a doubt I want this more than anything else in this world. Please friends, pray that the rest of this journey goes well for us and that we will find a way to deal with the financial side of the path we have chosen to take. I am praying that this will be the best year of our lives and that by the end of this year we will get to hold our little miracle in our arms and kiss his or her head for the first time.