Meet Janelle and Ken: The IVF Warrior Grant Recipients

The IVF Warrior Grant Recipients

My husband Ken and I got married on October 14th, 2017, after dating about a year and a half. He is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force and I’m a freelance Wedding Photographer. I am from Chicago, Illinois and he is from San Antonio, Texas. He proposed to me on my 29th birthday and we got married 4 months later. Once we got married, I moved to Delaware to join him at our current duty station, Dover Air-force base. We spent the first year of marriage getting settled and adjusting to our new marriage.

After a year of serious conversations and financial planning, we decided we would start trying to conceive on our first anniversary.

We assumed that it might take a few months to successfully conceive. But after 4 months of trying to conceive with no luck, we both went to our primary care doctors just to find out more information. We wanted to know if there were any best practice kinds of things we should be doing. Unfortunately, nothing much came from either of our initial doctors’ appointments. Both of our doctors said that we had not been trying to conceive long enough to do any fertility testing and that we had to wait until the 1-year mark.

We were also given conflicting information about whether or not we could have his sperm tested before the 1-year mark but ultimately told to just keep trying.

So, we did continue trying to conceive naturally, but I also started to do my own research. After a lot of searching on Google, I decided to reach out to an organization called ‘Fertility for Colored Girls’ for more information. They confirmed what I had been reading online, about infertility and what classified a couple in that category.

Even though we had attempted to find out more information when we went to our doctors, they did not inform us what infertility really meant.

Our definition of trying to conceive and the actual definition are two different things. So even though we did not start using ovulation tests until after our anniversary, we had stopped preventing pregnancy long before that and we were well over the 1-year mark. We had stopped preventing pregnancy about 6 months into being married.  So, after learning this new information, I immediately called our doctors and asked to see fertility specialists as soon as possible.

I think that access to information is something black couples dealing with infertility experience a lot.

It was very frustrating and scary to have to find out on our own that we were already well into the window of infertility. To not be told by our doctors, especially when we both went to them for that kind of information. But after speaking with other women & families of color that I know who have been through similar struggles with infertility, I realize that this is pretty common. One of my friends expressed the importance of researching and advocating for myself because far too often African American couples/women are not given the same information or care and we are left to figure things out for ourselves. This also translates to why our infertility, miscarriage, fetal and mother mortality rates being higher and our success rates for IVF being lower.

So, we were referred out to fertility specialist.

Now because we are a military family, we were informed that all of the fertility testing was covered by our insurance, but that we would have to pay for any procedures, treatments and medication ourselves. My husband did a physical exam, blood test, x-ray and also multiple sperm tests. I did two ultrasounds, several blood tests, a sono, and an hsg exam. The testing was frustrating, painful, and emotionally draining. Once we finished all of our testing, we sat down with the fertility specialist and were told that all of my tests came back normal. But we did find out that my husband’s sperm count, mobility and testosterone’s levels were below where they needed to be. A 2nd sperm test was done with the same results. My husband’s urologist told us about the only option for us would be IVF, unless we could increase his sperm count and testosterone levels. So, he put my husband on a non-prescription (out of pocket) daily supplement intended to boost those levels and help conceive naturally. Our fertility specialist also told us that it's also a good idea to make lifestyle changes as well that could possibly increase our fertility as well.

So, we have been doing everything in our power to increase our chances of a natural conception.

We have been eating better and working out consistently. My husband has of course been taking his supplements daily. We also know that stress plays a role in conception, so we have been trying our best to focus on other areas of our life. We bought a house, adopted 2 puppies, and are working hard to prepare our lives financially for our future family.

After all the tests and speaking with the specialists Ken and I had decided to not to immediately start fertility treatments. We were ultimately hoping for a natural conception, and we wanted to give our diet changes and supplements time to work before we would dive into IVF. So, we settled on waiting until June 2020 to move forward with anything. In the meantime, I was still doing my research and I started to realize how expensive IVF and fertility treatments are. The national average for IVF is $12,000 and that does not include medication. And most insurance companies, like ours, do not cover it. I was honestly kind of shocked to find out Tricare, a military insurance plan would not cover it something that is necessary for us to expand our family. The good news is I found a bunch of grants to apply for.

So, I started making lists with each grant’s deadline date and application fee (if they had one).

On that list was CNY's IVF Warrior Grant. As we were getting closer to June, I decided that it was time to start putting my research to use. So, I went back to my list and saw that deadline to apply for the Warrior Grant was that day, May 31st. It must have been God that told me to look on that specific day because I did. And we won! I have never been more excited to get an Instagram DM! I read it like 5 times to make sure what I was reading was right. Then I told my husband, my mom and sister. And then all I could do is praise God because this is exactly the sign we have been waiting for.

When you are going through infertility you never know if what you are doing or not doing is the right thing. You want to make the right decisions but it's confusing. So, we have been praying for God to give us a sign about what to do next. And he used this grant to show us what to do. We will hopefully be doing our first round of IVF in the next few months. We are now praying that it will be successful. We are so grateful and excited for the next phase of our journey and can't to watch our family grow.

Medical Disclaimer:

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.