Our First Appointment with the IVF Coordinator

We had our plan of care appointment May 25th  and met with our IVF coordinator for the first time. We we're super nervous because we didn't know what to expect, but as always as we walked through the door of our clinic we felt so much love and support from our amazing team of  healthcare providers who are all working so hard to help us achieve our main goal of having a baby.

We sat in the waiting room for 15 mins and then our coordinator came out to greet us and took us back to her office. We sat down in the office, on the desk there was a white folder. She sat down and opened the folder we started with the consent forms.

• Consent for In-Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer-

 -We went over what will happen, she went on to explain the procedure and all the medications I would need to be on from Oral meds to Injections (oh my to many to count). We discussed that there will be tons of blood work, ultrasounds that will be preformed almost on a daily bases when the medications are started. How the egg retrieval will happen and when they will be fertilized with the sperm. We talked about ICSI- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection- The process of inserting a single sperm into a mature egg, to optimize its ability to fertilize an egg.
-We also went over what might not happen which range from the development of eggs, that no eggs will be obtained (less than 1% probability), that once an embryo is transferred back into the uterus that it could fail to implant which no pregnancy will occur.
-That there could be complications like bad reactions to medications, problems during retrieval, if I get pregnant I could miscarry (20% of pregnancies) as with any normal pregnancy, and risk of more than one gestation's.

• Consent for Cryopreservation (Freezing) of Embryo(S) 
• Consent for injection of sperm into human egg (ICSI) its risks and benefits
• Consent to Cyropreservation (Freezing) of the Sperm - for back up sperm 
• Consent to administration of Gonadotropins*, HCG*, or Clominphene 

Just saying we understand that in the course of our infertility therapy, ovulation inducing drugs will be prescribed in order to stimulate the growth and maturation of eggs and follicles. That we understand the side effects of the medications from abdominal discomfort, production of very large numbers of follicles, that with Gonadotropins there is a 20-25% chance of multiple pregnancy, mood swings, and pain at the injection site.

• Consent for Administration of Lupron which stops premature ovulation. They don't want me ovulating early because of the mulitple eggs/follicles it will ruin the whole cycle and they need complete control of the cycle 
• Consent for low dose Aspirin
• Consent for Administration of Birth Control  

After all the consent forms we talked about how our plan of care would go once we started treatment. We went over an example calendar from start to finish. We're looking at about two/three months of meds and doctors appointments.

I found out that my egg reserve is high mine is around a 8 where most women my age are between 1-3 meaning I have a lot of eggs to grow, Its possible we could end up with 20-30 eggs which not all will fertilize, out of the ones that do fertilized they will grow them in the lab for 5 days. The day after retrieval we will get a fertilization report letting us know how many lived past day one and what their status is. Two days after that we will get a day 3 assessment of the embryos by this day (about 60% will have died off) then by day 5 we will get another report (about 40% more will have died off) and the rest will go in for freezing.

We are doing IVF w/ICSI and a Freeze all cycle- Meaning normally we would do the transfer of an embryo on day 5-6 after fertilization but since my high number of egg reserve and high chance of estrogen levels there is a possibility that I may get (OHSS) Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome which can be really serious. (I'll post a link below about this) So after day five of growing we are freezing all the embryos that survived and will do a transfer 4-6 weeks after CD1 of my next cycle which will include more injections to get my body ready for transfer day. After the transfer its a waiting game to see if the embryos will implant and stick.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007294.htm

So where do we go from here, we are planning to start our treatment late August first of September and are shooting for the transfer late October beginning of November. All of our funds will be due on the day of our baseline ultrasound which will be around the first of September. We are really looking forward to doing this treatment to have our first baby but we are still a long ways away from having enough money for this procedure. We are looking at $7000 for the procedure $4,500 for Meds and $2000 for the freeze all and transfer. We have sold so many tamales and are so thankful to everyone who helped in with the fundraiser. We are also doing a Yard sale to raise money but even with doing all we have done already that barley covers the cost of the medications. So we are asking from the bottom of our hearts that if anyone can please help and donate to our Go Fund Me fundraiser or to our Mountain America Donation account even in just a small amount it will help out tremendously. Our medical insurance doesn't cover any of the treatment. Jeremy and I work full time with Jeremy getting a part-time job on top of his full-time in hopes of getting a little extra money for treatment.

We are eternally grateful to everyone. Our families, friends, and even strangers who have helped and has kept us in your thoughts and prayers. We love all of you so very much can can't wait to one day share our miracle baby with all of you who believed in us and helped us have him/her.

Thank You with Love - Jeremy & Shalamar Graham

Small Update

We have our first appointment with the IVF coordinator coming up Wednesday the 25th. We're super excited, we'll be finally finding out what medications I'll be on and get a plan of care from here on out. 


TAMALE FUNDRAISER:
We're now taking orders
minimum $12.00 a dozen 
Pork with California red chili 
they are mild so everyone can enjoy them


YARD SALE: we are doing a yard sale June 11, 2016 
If you have done some spring cleaning or just find that you have treasures you no longer want would you please consider donating them to our cause. We will be more than happy to come pick up anything you might want to donate.

If you'd like to donate for the yard sale or get some Tamales 

Please call or text 

Shalamar 385-313-4365 

Jeremy 385-242-5219

Tamale IVF Fundraiser

Ready! Set! Finally More Homemade Tamales!!!

If your new to our fundraiser here is a little about us... 
We are raising money to help with the medical and medication cost of IVF. We have been trying to have a child for 6 years now and In-vitro Fertilization is our last option in having a child of our own. You can read our full journey on this blog.

Our Tamale Fundraiser is getting ready for its second round of orders. We will be making them within the week and they will be available this weekend 5-20-2016 for delivery or pick-up. 

We've had nothing but great reviews!! 

We hope if you haven't try'd them yet, that you'll get to this time.
If you have try'd them and enjoyed them and want to order more this is your chance.

• Tamales are sold by the dozen 
• Minimum $12.00 a dozen 
• there is no limit to how many dozens you can order
• They will be on a first come first serve bases, If we run out we will put you on a waiting list and you'll be contacted as soon as the next batch is done.
• When you order you will set up a pick up or delivery date
• Orders will be held up to 24 hours after scheduled pick up or delivery date after that we will message you to see if you still want your order, if not or we can't get ahold of you the order will go to the next person in line. Please if you change your mind just let us know that way we can get take your order off the list.
• You can also pre-order by putting your name on the list now and we will contact you as soon as your order is ready. We will give you 24 hours to reply back if you still want your order then it will go to the next person on the list. 
• Don't worry... If your order gets pushed for a reason stated above you can always reorder.

Here's how to order

Text or email is the fastest way to order

Shalamar 385-313-4365

Jeremy 385-242-5219

ivfbabygraham@gmail.com

you can also Facebook message us we have our messaging set to receive messages from people not on our friends list.
Shalamar Delgado-Graham
Jeremy J. Graham

We are also doing a IVF Fundraiser Yard Sale on June 11, 2016 
We are asking if you have any treasures you don't want any longer and want to donate them please would you consider donating to our cause. We are willing to come pick up or meet up to take them off your hands you can contact us with the information above.

Thank you everyone who has supported our cause by donating, ordering tamales, and donated items for our yard sale. As well to everyone who continues to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are externally grateful for all your love, support, and kindness.

All proceeds are solely going towards the 

IVF procedure and medication costs

Love The Graham Family 

Childless Mother's Day

Mother's Day for myself and other infertile one day mommy's can be really hard. I'm not one to be saddened on a day like this, I usually make it through this day without jealousy but this year it was hard. As I scrolled through my Facebook wall, I saw many wonderful mothers getting Mothers day wishes and I myself have sent some out. But not once did anyone wish me a happy mothers day and it's probably because no one wanted to offend me or think because I haven't had a child of my own that I'm not a mother.

I'd like to say that even though I may not be a mother in the sence of the word, that I haven't given birth or been pregnant. I became a step-mom in 2010 and remained a legal parent up until 2014, when we made a decision that was in the best interest of the children but in my heart I still love our kids and always will, Just because we can't see them doesn't make our love any less valid. I'm also a mother in my heart to my future children. I have dreamed, wished, prayed, and longed for my child everyday for 6 1/2 years. Many people have told us "not try so hard that it will come naturally" "that if it is in Gods plans for us we will be parents" Or maybe "It's not just meant to be".

Let me ask you this, say your child was never born, say you never became pregnant. Would you have just given up on trying? Could you imagine not having your child? What if you heard over and over the above statements or got left out on these special days.

I understand that for some people what we are going through is taboo and may seem like we are overreacting or that we are seeking pity which is by far the last thing we want, we want to educate others and help people better understand that infertility is real and has many many ways of affecting a couple. That no matter how calm we may be, or how patient we are. Becoming parents wont be as easy as relaxing and waiting for it to happen, That without medical and sciences help it just wont happen for us.

I believe that Gods plan for how a couple conceives a child is different for everyone. You may have just try'd once or didn't try at all and got your beautiful child or you try'd for years and conceived naturally. But for us God gave us doctors to help assist him with helping us through science to conceive that if we didn't try so hard by going to multiple doctors visits and doing painful fertility treatments that the possibility to become parents wouldn't even be an option.

So I just want to remind everyone that on days like mothers day, fathers day, and grandparents day or holidays in general. There are many who struggle on these days with infertility, loss of a parent, and loss of a child/grandchild ect... and just because you can't see how hard it may be for those who struggle. Try and remember they may be grieving and not to forget them