The Final Part of Our IVF Journey

 

Thursday July 22: 

We left for Birmingham around 8:15, and got to Brookwood around 9:35. We had to be at the ART clinic at 9:45. Right after we arrive they go ahead and take us back. I change into procedure attire, get my IV put in, and go over all paperwork, etc. 

Here is a picture of us while waiting! Our appointment was at 10:45, but I probably didn't go back until around 11:15ish. The last thing I remember was the doctor telling me he was going to take good care of me, and then I woke up in recovery! I woke up in recovery to find out that they retrieved 18, yes you read that right, 18 eggs! Brandon stops on the way home to get me chickfila, and I spend the rest of the afternoon/night napping on and off, and relaxing! Tomorrow we will find out how many of the eggs were mature and how many fertilized! I cannot wait to get the results! Our plan is still to transfer on Tuesday! 

Friday July 23: 

Dear God, 

I am in awe Lord! You continue to amaze us with your mighty power for each step of this process. We thank you Lord so much for the ability to make it through this process and for keeping your hand on us each step of the way! I pray that we have at least 50% back it to day 5, Lord! We can't wait to meet our precious child that you will gift us with one day! We love you, and again praise you for the good report because it was only possibly through you! AMEN 

10 eggs fertilized!! We won't know how many made it to day 5 until Tuesday when we go in for our fresh transfer! 

Tuesday, July 27:

Well, I turned 30 over the weekend, and to be honest I was miserable most of the time. Ever since the retrieval, I haven't felt like myself. I took two naps on my birthday, which tells you I didn't feel good. 

So we get to Birmingham at 10:00. Now, before we get there I was instructed to drink approximately 28-32oz of water, and NOT go to the bathroom. If you know me well, that was difficult. We get dressed in our attire, and ready for our update! The doctor shows us two embryos that are ready for transfer. He tells us that he is not sure if any of the others that fertilized will make it to be frozen. We had already discussed the possibility of transferring two embryos, so that's what we did! 

In 9 days, we will know if we are pregnant! And possibly with twins! 

Wednesday July 28: 

Today we learned that one embryo made it to be frozen! So after this pregnancy (we are claiming it in Jesus' name), we will have the option to have another if we'd like! We are so excited about that possibility! Brandon said we might need a bigger house, but we just moved 11 months ago! 

We are just in prayer that this is working for us as we speak! That these two embryos babies are growing! 

Sunday August 1: 

Today has not been the best mentally. I am all in my head over not having any type of symptoms to show that this transfer was successful. I have had a little cramping and that is it. When we left we were basically told that cramping, spotting, and a few other things might happen but that it was completely normal. Really none of that has happened, and I don't know whether it is a good a bad thing. It made me a little emotional at church while we were singing this song: 

Goodness of God

Then in the sermon, I felt some affirmation for sharing our journey and that is was for a purpose. We have been going through a series called Stages. In the last one today, it was about how we all die physically, and what are we doing now to finish the race that God has called us to start and finish. Pastor Daniel talked about how we should be sharing our testimonies and stories in order to help others through their tough times. We don't know what kind of impact we can make until we share! 

One of my favorite verses was shared: 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you. I have shared this statement many times because this note is written in my Bible right beside that verse: PRAYER EXCHANGES ANXIETY FOR PEACE!    

Dear God, 

I pray that you would take my anxiety right now. Just lift it from me because it is too heavy for me to carry right now! I can't handle it, and it makes me emotional thinking about all of this! We know you are the ultimate miracle worker Lord, and we pray that we see a miracle done in your name on Thursday Lord! That we would be able to see a positive, but if not Lord, help us to love you. Thank you for loving us when we fall short! Amen

Tuesday August 3: 

I thought Sunday was rough, but yesterday was a terrible day (really more of the afternoon). I had an absolute mental breakdown. I couldn't hold back the tears. I cried that morning, cried that afternoon, and balled after we got home from dinner. I told Brandon about a nightmare I had the previous night, regarding everything we are going through, and that I am just exhausted. I am tired. I am tired of taking medicine all the time. I am tired of the shots. I am tired of being strong when I am not. I'm tired of being let down over and over again. I am tired of having to be the one to tell Brandon news each and every time. I am tired of going to family events and being the only one without a kid to chase around. I am tired of feeling like I am the only one not pregnant. I am tired. And I know what most will say, Katey don't give up yet, God's timing is perfect. While, I believe God's timing is perfect, I don't understand why it couldn't have been all these past times! 

Every night, Brandon and I have been praying together. Trying our hardest to fight this in prayer. God knows the desires of our hearts and we continue to pray that this anxious feeling leaves us, and that this is God's plan and timing for this to happen in our lives. Brandon was so positive as I was having this breakdown yesterday! He knows all these feelings have just overwhelmed me over the past few days, and I am so thankful he continues to check on me, and is staying positive. Because in all honesty, I am having a hard time. 

Dear God, 

I pray again, just for all anxiety and negative thoughts to be taken away. They are not from you Lord, and I know you are in control. Help us to keep being positive as we await results day on Thursday. I pray for others that are in similar situations Lord. I pray that they can be strong. I pray they rely on you too. Thank you for the reminder that Your goodness is chasing after us daily! Help us to completely surrender! Amen

Thursday August 5; 

Today was beta day. Today was the worst day. Today my HCG was a 0 with no chance of rising. Today we officially lost our two embabies. We are heart broken. We have no exact plan of what is next. We just know we have an appointment on September 20th with the doctor for a follow-up and to discuss what's next. 

We don't understand why it was not in God's plan at this time. We don't understand why He provided the necessities for us to get through all of this, have great numbers, just for it to fail. We know there is a purpose, but we are honestly tired of trying to find it. 

I just ask that you continue to pray for us as we navigate through this pain. Please be in prayer as I return to school soon just to see every single day what we do not have. We want to thank you all for your love and support through our IVF journey, but this part has officially come to a close. This is not us giving up, but more of us just taking a break! God is good even during this hard time, I just pray the desires of our hearts will be met soon! 

Friday August 6; 

Brandon took the day off today so we could spend time together just the two of us! We ran errands, had a lunch date, and just were able to really talk over what had just happened. We talked about how this next month in a half really needed to be a rest period for us. This process took over my whole summer. We didn't plan a vacation or anything to really do because we knew we had all of this going on. So a break from the infertility world for the next month and half will hopefully be restful! 

Dear God, Please help us to find rest and peace in You. We do not understand why everything was provided for this process to work with no result. I pray that we would just be comforted by You. That you'd give us the strength to make it as our hearts desires have been delayed for some reason. We love you Lord, but it is just so hard to wrap our heads around everything. We lift up other couples that are having the same struggles, other couples that are in the same season, and pray that you'd be with them also. Amen 

Saturday August 7;

Friday and Saturday have been a little better. I haven't cried as much. 

Luckily, I was able to see my two best friends over these past two days! Friday night we went to a JoDee Messina concert in Birmingham and man, she took us to church. I loved her music growing up, but man she sang her hit songs, and Child of Love, My Jesus, and Reckless Love - it was so powerful! I was grateful for a night out with friends to get my mind off of things! 

As I write this, I am not sure when we will actually share this post. Do we share right away to go ahead and get the comments/questions over with? Do we give ourselves more time to process? Do we just hurt alone with the handful of people we've told? 

We've said all this, but I am going to type it again because this is what keeps going through my head: We aren't sure what God is up to in our story! From the beginning when we decided to go through IVF we thought it was what God wanted us to do. He made a way! Everything was provided. But what happened? I don't know that we will ever understand. 

Sunday August 8; 

This morning I had a coworker send me Praise You in the Storm and just remind me that we don't understand the WHY, but our prayers just delayed not denied. 

I was also reminded at church that even though our hurt seems lonely and so big right now, we are not the only ones going through hurt, disappointment, or trials, suffering. This makes me question if we have just been too selfish in our prayers throughout this journey. We have made the past 4 years a lot about our fertility journey instead of making it about our journey with God. So I think a new mindset will be in order for whatever part comes next! I am so thankful for our mentor groups at church that are about to kick off! I really believe it is going to make a great impact on our lives and walk with Christ. 

If you have a prayer request that you need prayer over, I would love to pray for y'all like you all have done for me and Brandon. Fill out this google form and I'll add you to my personal prayer list.  Prayer Request Form 

We decided to go ahead and share the blog today! I am not sure when the next blog will come, but don't worry we will keep all of you updated as we proceed in our journey with God, Infertility, and Life!  As always thank you for all the love and prayers! Love, Katey

IVF Diary Part 3

Saturday July 10th: 

Tonight is the first night of STIMS! We are so excited to finally get started with the process! We are continuing to pray for the follicles to grow and grow, and create many many eggs to retrieve! 

Wednesday July 14th: 

Today was my first follicle scan at the doctor's office.  I was excited to see what all the medicine had done over the past 4 nights. At the appointment they measured 9 follicles growing slowly. Now, growing slowly isn't bad because you don't want 1 or 2 to get bigger than all the rest. You want them to grow together. I was a little disappointed. I would have thought that there would have been more! As I was upset and talking with Brandon this morning, he gave me the best reminder, that it only takes 1 to make a miracle! We are praying our 1 or 2 may be in that 9! The nurse didn't call until 4:00 with bloodwork results, etc. So my medicine amount will stay the same, and I go back on Friday at 8:15.  

Dear God, 

I thank you for the follicles/eggs that we have growing Lord. Please forgive me for doubting that it may not be enough. I pray that we continue to look to you as we journey on through the IVF process! Help us to put our hope and trust in you with every step! We love you and pray for great results on Friday!  AMEN

Friday, July 16th:

Today was a  much better ultrasound! She measured 12 follicles total that were growing! All I can do is praise God for seeing even more follicles growing, and praying they continue to keep going! 

Dear God, 

We thank you for the follicles that are growing right now. We are just so thankful! I pray that everything continues to grow and that the medicine continues to work as we take it for many more days! AMEN 

Monday July 19th: 

Today was follicle check #3. I got to see all my follicles growing on the ultrasound as there were 14 on EACH SIDE! Now, not all of them are near the size they are supposed to be, but I thought it was pretty cool to watch the progression of them from when I had my first ultrasound to now. I have had some cramping still as I continue to take the medicine. And today I felt super bloated too. So I wait on the nurse to call me this afternoon. They finally call around 3:30, and she says I have to come back tomorrow for another check. After another check, we will decide if I will trigger Tuesday for a Thursday Retrieval or Wednesday for a Friday Retrieval. 

If I have a Wednesday trigger, I will have to take my STIM meds for one extra day. Now, we know these meds are expensive, but let me tell you what happen today with trying to order one extra day. So most of the Gonal-f or Follistim cost between 300-500 depending on dosage, etc. We sent to a different pharmacy than normal, and I had to call the doctor back to tell them that I couldn't do that. The pharmacist said it was going to be over $900. So I went back to my normal Fertility Pharmacy and got it for $450. The cool thing about the Fertility Pharmacies is that they will over night your medicine for free to you! The one we use happens to be in GA, and they have never missed a next day delivery. 

Now we wait to see what tomorrow brings! I am so ready to know for sure what day our retrieval will be! We continue to pray that it is super successful, with lots of eggs retrieved and lots of embryos made! 

Tuesday, July 20th: 

In being honest, I was super worried this morning! However, God has come through again and again showing his power! So, I didn't end up needing the extra meds I talked about yesterday! I also didn't end up needing one of the trigger shots either! 

Dear God, 

Thank you for your faithfulness Lord! We pray right now for a successful retrieval, fertilization, and transfer! We pray for our future child that is being made! That we will be able to see him or her in April of next year, Lord! We know all of this is possible through you and we just pray that you guide the doctors, and watch over us through this next week of exciting, but scary events! We thank you that we are able to do a fresh transfer! We thank you for the doctors who have already been there to help us so much! I am just in awe of all of this coming together! I thank you for sweet Brandon, and him being by my side every step of the way through countless shots, and medication! We love you and are so excited for what this next week may bring! In Jesus name, Amen. 

Retrieval Set: 07/22/21 @ 10:45 AM 

07/24/21- Katey turns 30! 

Transfer Set: 07/27/21 @ 12: 00 PM 

All in Birmingham at the ART Fertility Clinic! 

LET'S DO THIS! There will be a part 4, you probably won't see it until September! But all of this was too exciting not to share with you all! Please be in prayer for: Egg retrieval, fertilization, embryos, transfer, for my body to work as it should, and for Baby Owens to be healthy and make it 9 months so we can meet him or her! We love you all and are so thankful for your prayers! 

-Katey and Brandon 

IVF Diary Part 2

Monday, June 28th

There really hasn't been an update since the last blog. Tomorrow is my appointment with the IVF nurse from Birmingham. After the appointment I will be able to order my medicine that is needed, and just learn more about the specifics of the process. I pray that it goes well, and I'll update Part 2 of the blog tomorrow after the appointment at 9:00. 

Tuesday, June 29th

I had my appointment with IVF nurse. We talked on the phone for about 45 minutes going over my calendar, medicines, procedures, financial, and consents to sign. First was the calendar. We set up the suppression appointment for next Wednesday July 7th. At this appointment they will be doing blood work, and making sure the birth control did its job. However, this is the point in the process where many couples journey gets cancelled. So I ask that we pray for everything to go just as it should. As long as everything goes well, I will start STIMS on Saturday July 10th. All of my meds were ordered today and they should be here this Friday. 

We went over how to mix the medicines for the shots. And other medicines that I would potentially have to take during the process. We also went over all of the medicines I am currently taking to make sure nothing would counteract. Everything there was good. So now we just wait for next week and go from there! 

Monday, July 5th

Today is my last day on birth control! Wednesday is the big appointment that I have already explained in the last date of the diary. I am just feeling super nervous about it. My nerves have been way worse than normal. I am so thankful for my little prayer team that I have been sending out messages too. These women have been so encouraging, and prayerful on mine and Brandon's behalf! They have kept me uplifted over the past month and I am so grateful they are there for us! (INSERT: please don't be offended if you are not in this group and reading this. The blog is a great way to keep up with everything too! 

Prayer for Today

Lord, I pray that you would calm my anxious soul. Give us peace about our appointment on Wednesday! I pray that my levels be where they are supposed too, no cysts, and that the birth control did what it was supposed to do. Help us to stay positive and know that you are in control of this situation! We thank you that you have paved a way for this so far, and we can't wait to see what happens with the rest of our testimony. *AMEN*

Wednesday July 7th

As of 9:00, everything looks good. My ultrasound was perfect, and now we just wait on the bloodwork results. We are waiting to see what my estrogen level is. We are wanting it to be super super low! 

As of 2:00, we have the go ahead! STIMS START SATURDAY!!! 

Please be in prayer, that my follicles grow into many many eggs! I probably will not publish part 3 for a while! We just ask for your prayers! Thank you all for the prayers you've already said! 

Dear God, Thank you for letting your plan fall into place! We praise you for our numbers being good, and for my ultrasound being perfect! We could not have made it this far without our hope in you! We continue to trust in you throughout the process, and thank you for the others that are interceding for us! In Jesus Name, Amen. 

IVF Diary Part 1

 Thursday May 27, 2021: 

I finally finally started my cycle! Woohoo! 

Right away, I call to make an appointment at ART for our pre-IVF baseline. I'm just so excited one that I finally started, and two that my cycles weren't 50 days apart this time. I literally. When talking with a friend, I think the thyroid medicine might be helping regulate my cycle! Anyways, appointment was made for 7:45 on Friday! 

Friday May 28, 2021: 

Go into my appointment at 7:45. Blood work first, then ultrasound, and meeting with the nurse. We go over a few different things, I end up having to get blood drawn again. Everything on the ultrasound looks good, and now we waited on blood work to see if we would be able to start. We scheduled the next steps, which is a saline ultrasound and fasting blood work for me, and blood work and analysis for Brandon. 

Our biggest prayer was that my thyroid levels would come down and guess what? They did! We get the news to go ahead and start birth control/blood thinner shots for Saturday. While on the phone with the nurse, she also lets me know that she will have an approximate calendar for me.  This calendar will include dates of appointments, and approximate date for egg retrieval and transfer (Should be early July). 

I get my prescription for the birth control and take it to Adam's Drugs Millbrook. Well Millbrook calls, and they don't have it and would have to order it. I asked if they could see if Pine level or Montgomery had it, and luckily, Pine Level had it in stock! 

Saturday, May 29th

Thursday June 3, 2021: 

Today was saline ultrasound day! And as it was prayed: EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT! 

I also got our approximate calendar. I am going to have to take the birth control a little longer than expected. Then the approximate time for retrieval, etc is for mid-end of July! I am hoping and praying this will be the best birthday present EVER! Unfortunately, we thought that last year would be too, so it is difficult thinking that this is such a similar timeline to 2020 when our IUI was successful on my 29th birthday, and learned we miscarried the first day of school. We have to continue to focus on the positive! 

Friday June 4, 2021: 

Blood work was completed for both Brandon and myself! We will be waiting on results for a while because mine were sent to LabCorp. Hopefully Brandon's will come quicker! 

Saturday June 5, 2021: 

We are now on the second week of lovenox and birth control. So far, I have only had a few of the side effects including low grade fevers and stomach aches. Praying week 2 won't show any side effects. 

Monday June 7, 2021: 

So if you have been following our journey, months ago we had someone that donated around $3,000 worth of medication to us! This was such a huge blessing! Today, I get the quote for the medicine in my email, and it is only $1,800ish. Wow, this bill should have been around $5,000, but isn't, thanks to a wonderful family that wanted to pay it forward after they had gone through IVF too and a God that provides! 

Also on Monday, I got some of the bloodwork results from Friday, June 4th. It scared me to death when the nurse called. Most of my bloodwork was fine, but I had a few things that were higher than normal. First was something with my liver and second was my fasting sugar. Now, I have added another supplement to take; ovasitol. Now this is a powder that you mix and drink with any non-carbonated drink. Brandon's bloodwork came back good as well. 

Also, I spoke with a sorority sister today that is also going through this process. Crazy thing, is we almost have the exact same schedule! Literally, our retrievals are approximately the same week. I thought that was neat that we would be going through everything at similar times. 

Tuesday June 8, 2021: 

Brandon goes to south for an analysis. I leave for Kids Camp with our new church home, Journey. Journey has been such a blessing the past months. I have jumped into working in the children's ministry, and Brandon is getting everything going to be on the security team. 

Sunday June 13, 2021: 

Today is our 6th anniversary. I am just so overwhelmed today, thinking about the fact that we should have had a child by now. We should have had this little front room filled with nursery things, but it isn't. And it just breaks my heart. 

Also Brandon has been sick all weekend! Praying he gets to feeling better soon! 

And, I am pretty sure this Ovasitol is making my stomach super upset. It doesn't have a taste, but drinking it three times a day seems like a lot. 

We also begin week 3 of birth control and lovenox. This week, I only take it until Wednesday, take a break, and then start again at the beginning of next week. I am having to take it longer than the normal protocol. Still praying for side effects to not be bad. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 in a few weeks for another update**

Prayer Request for now: 

-Minimal side effects from medicines

-Strength, Faith, Hope

-Pre-Cycle appointment on June 29th to go well 

-Brandon 

What happens next: 

Continue meds

Pre-cycle appointment with IVF nurse on June 29th 

IVF Baseline once my cycle starts again

Money---check! (Just a quick update)

WE MADE IT!!! $17,000

I feel as if I am at a loss about what to share this week. I mean we are literally waiting for ONE thing to happen so that we can start our IVF process.  ONE THING! I am trying so hard to be patient about it! But I have also gained a little excitement for the process to start. 

We DID make it to our financial goal! ($17,000) Any extra that comes in now we will put aside for the Montgomery doctor visits. I also had someone else donate a little bit of medicine to us that I am supposed to be going to pick up this week or next week! We give glory to God, that through many many people He has made this journey possible for us! 

Thank you for all the prayers and support! 

When will we start IVF?

As we've been raising money for this journey, the most common question I have gotten is when will we actually start the process? Well, I mentioned in a previous post that I thought we'd have to wait until the summer, but it turns out we didn't. The second condition was that we had to wait until we had all the funds. 

Well in just 4 months, we are approximately at 95% now. Yep, 95%! This is us saving, donations, selling the crafts, and extra money from tutoring and Brandon's A & B jobs! God is INCREDIBLE!     

So when do we start? Sorry if it is TMI for some of you, but if you read this blog from the beginning it has been nothing but honesty and TMI through every procedure, struggle, and hope! So we start...when I start my cycle! Now, this could be anytime between end of February to end of March. Just depends on how that goes. The timeline after beginning goes for about 7 weeks. So by May we should know if there will be a baby Owens in Decemberish 2021/Januaryish 2022! This all depends on when we start the process. Praying for not only to get pregnant, but to be able to stay pregnant, and have a healthy baby or babies! (Yes, I just said that) 

Prayer Request for both of us:

1. Faith - Glorify God through the process

2. Strength 

3. Patience

4. To get pregnant & stay pregnant 

I wanted to show y'all one of my doctor appointment shirts! If you know of anyone going through this journey and would like to purchase them a shirt they are $20 for Bella Canvas and $16 for Gildan. #Jesusoverinfertility 

If you have 7 minutes, take it and listen to this song! He is our CHAMPION! 

 Champion by Maverick City Music

IVF Journey Update 01/20

    On Monday, we had our IVF consultation. For 2 months, we've been waiting for this appointment to get here! So, we have our video conference with the doctor from Birmingham. We tell him that we are 100% sure we've decided to go through the IVF process. He walks us through it each step, all the risks, the timeline of what it will be like, etc.

     First, I thought we would have to wait until the summer because of other testing that I have to get done. Turns out we don't!!! So basically we can start whenever we are financially ready to begin. Last week I shared that we had made a huge gain financially, and we have done it again this week too! Shout out to mine and Brandon's parents! They are helping us financially in a big way! In such a big way, that I put us at about 90% financially ready. Yes, I said 90%! 

      Second, so when do we start? Well, have to wait on the beginning of a new cycle. Whenever we are ready and that cycle day 1 hits, we call and go from there. I will have to have some extra test done, but that can all be done while I am in the first few weeks of IVF process. This might sound crazy, but they put you on birth control for the first three weeks. Then you proceed with everything else. 

     Third, I am really hoping to loose a little bit of weight before we start all this. If you have any tips to share please bring them on! 

      Fourth, I never thought that I would say I am ready to start this process. I mean, who wants to go through all this. Trust me, if you wanted a kid so bad and you were having trouble, you probably reevaluate your thoughts on it too, just like I did. 

      Lastly, I ask for your prayers. Prayers for strength, peace about the process, prayers for the IVF process to go all the way through without being cancelled, prayers for Brandon and he has to watch me go through all of this physical part of it, prayers for our family, prayers that IT IS SUCCESSFUL, and prayers that this is all part of God's timing and not ours! We've seen His love continue to pour out on us during this process through the actions of His people! 

(2 Random things) 1. I work for and with some great people. I mentioned to them about doing this during the school year...their response, "You have to do what's best for you. Family first. Go for it." I am so thankful for where I work! People always look at me weird when I tell them I work in Lowndes County, but I wouldn't change it for anything!  2. A HUGE THANK YOU to all that have supported us through prayers or finances! You will never know how much it means!