Adriana's Story: IVF is Ridiculously Expensive
Ronnie and I met in 2012 when being stationed together in Camp Pendleton California. We connected instantly and it didn't take us long to get married. As most dual military couples do, they sometimes wait to have children because of our demanding jobs here and abroad.
During the time of us being dual military, I deployed within 3 months of us actually getting married and halfway through my deployment he deployed as well to where I actually was. So, fortunately we were one of the very few couples to actually be together on a deployment. Unfortunately, though, my time was up and then I had to wait for him to come home. Within a year he deployed again and by that time I had already separated out of the Marine Corps, which was when we had agreed to begin trying to conceive.
Because he deployed, we thought that it would be best to wait until he came back from his deployment in order to start trying to conceive for a child. Now 7 years later being together and with two pups, we have been actively trying to conceive a child since and have moved across the country for his special duty in South Carolina and after so many doctors’ visits and poking and prodding, we finally found the answer that we needed, and that is the only way we could conceive children of our own would be through IVF. Because it was a male factor issue, my husband took it very hard and our whole process of trying to even begin the procedure of IVF was halted for a year. It was difficult to try to put myself in his shoes, he wasn't ready to even begin the process, for a year!
That’s when the fights and talks about divorce began, the sleepless nights crying while he was asleep. The never wanting to talk about the subject, it was definitely very hard on the both of us mentally and physically, it tore us apart for the longest time but then it brought us together again knowing the there is hope. After reaching out through various groups and talking to people who had similar experiences, we realized that it was more common than we could've ever imagined. Unfortunately, when we wanted to begin the legitimate process of starting medications to prep for an actual IVF procedure, covid hit and all of our appointments were cancelled. I graduated from University of South Carolina and had to leave South Carolina early due to finding early employment in California which we were meaning to move to when he separated out of the military in October.
I ended up leaving in June. He separated out of the Marine Corps officially October, and now being back here in California, we are starting the process over again with looking into clinics and basically looking at our best options. Trying to have our costs covered through the VA is like waiting on a snail to move afoot. Not to mention this yo-yo like motion of starting and not finishing, starting and not making any change, and now starting from scratch again. It happens and we are stronger from it all, so here we are. We never wanted to use any campaign of any sort because we always thought that if we wanted a child, we would have to raise money for it ourselves because it's our choice, but to be honest, IVF is ridiculously expensive, and we know that we would not be able to do it on our own. We’re asking for a helping hand, and we appreciate you getting through this whole story of ours. Thank you and God Bless!
- Adriana Torrence
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The information provided in this blog is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider or qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog.