#ProjectBabyRussell Looks Ahead
Our story is always evolving, as is our long-term plan of care.
I am currently undergoing treatments thanks to Starbucks insurance - each round is going to cost roughly $2,000 - $3,000 as we now have to pay for the medications out of pocket after reaching our insurance maximum for specialty medication (we still have about 21.5k of treatment left).
We have decided to get as many rounds as possible, as quickly as possible, at our current clinic. We are comfortable with Dr. M’s treatment plans and knowledge.
Once we have maxed out our treatment allotment with insurance we plan to travel to CCRM in Colorado for a second opinion. This is a leading clinic across the country and they have pioneered research in treatments that help overcome male factor infertility (including ICSI itself).
We *would* go forward with this now but they do not accept my insurance carrier so doing so would require going back to out of pocket payments, which we cannot afford. But hopefully by the time we have used up our insurance we will have paid off our IVF loans and can borrow again.
Depending what CCRM says we may continue with IVF along with whatever changes in protocol and treatment they suggest -OR- we will begin seeking embryo donors.
With an embryo donation those who have extra embryos can opt to donate their unused embryos to couples in need. To date we have never found any evidence that I cannot successfully carry a pregnancy. We simply cannot conceive.
By using an embryo donor we would bypass our eggs and sperm to utilize a frozen embryo from another couple. During our own treatment we have never had an embryo strong enough to freeze. These embryos being frozen would show that they’re already stronger than our own!
With embryo donation we may have a closed or open donation. We may have known donors or anonymous donors. It opens up a world of options and changes. It also would likely require travel... which equals extra expense.
All of this will require lots of time and financial expense. One round of IVF used roughly 3.5k of our maximum... meaning we should have a good amount of rounds left! It could take a few years at Starbucks before we move onto the next steps.
But all of this could change at any time. With every new cycle we learn new information about our condition and odds. Depending what we find we may swap to embryo donation, or sperm donors, earlier than we expect.
So - where DOES #ProjectBabyRussell go next? And when?
We are taking this one cycle at a time.
Our next IVF round will come once COVID has passed and I have lost 30 pounds.
If we don’t find success with that round we will gather any new information we find and use that to make an educated decision about when we can begin our next round.
If trying again isn’t advised we are prepared to begin searching out embryo or sperm donors. That’s a process that would take time and careful planning.
The big takeaway is that time is on our side. I’m only 26/27 years old and there is no rush.
One round at a time. One change at a time.
We are prepared to try out all of our options to build our family, it’s just going to be a little bit longer.
We hope you’re willing and excited to stick by our sides, no matter how long it takes, so that Baby Russell will be loved and supported whenever they arrive!
