Yep, AF has arrived. I really find it funny that it never fails… once I speak about it being late, it shows up the next day.
As for the news that I’ve been meaning to share on here… well, it’s a long story- but here goes!
The appointment with the RE went really well. We came out very encouraged with the success rate they thought was appropriate for us- 70-80% each cycle. She gave us each things that we need to do- blood work, the dreaded HSG, and D’s biopsy, of course. The estimated price of this IVF adventure… $14,000. Have I ever mentioned that IF really stinks?
Needless to say, we don’t have that kind of money readily available. We’ve been saving since January because it was becoming pretty clear that starting our family would not be cheap. But we are nowhere near that amount. And I will not let infertility drive us into debt.
As I’ve mentioned before, I would love to have a summer baby due to teaching and time off. This would mean that we would need to have the money saved up by August so we could do IVF in September. And if we don’t have the money saved, we would need to wait another year. The probability of us having the money in a few more months is pretty slim. And I couldn’t stand the thought of waiting until next year, having a failed cycle and being in the exact same situation again.
At the same time, the idea of foster care has continued to be brought to mind. In fact, I shared this with someone 1-2 months ago, but told them there’s no way I could ever do it. Insert this tugging at my heart and the need to do something (anything!) while we’re waiting, we found ourselves at an informational meeting last week and have been busily working on the application to become foster parents! We’re both super excited but nervous and scared at the same time. We realize that while we’ll be able to provide a safe, loving environment for a child or two, the heartbreak we’ll experience if/when they are removed from our home for permanent placement will be difficult to endure. We would love to be able to adopt out of foster care, but are also aware that the younger the child is, the more likely that relatives will show up wanting to care for them. And as D likes to say, “We want a baby.”
Classes start June 1st and end June 24th. Then we have our home study and (hopefully) will be certified!
In closing this post, I want to share the song that really got this all started. I know, it sounds so cliche that a simple song could spark someone to make such a drastic decision from the path they were originally on, but it’s true.
I’ve never seen the movie “Fireproof” and really had no idea when I first heard this song that it was from this movie. But now I think I’m going to have to watch it… it’ll be a tear jerker.
A thought just occurred to me… this song completely goes with the title of my blog!
Changing Our World Through Foster Care 
Hi Les,I hope that you summer vacation is off to a good start! I was wondering, My RE says that the ivf success rate for a healthy 32 year old woman approaches 50% per cycle. Do you know what is giving you a higher rate? is it age? or? I know that there is variation between clinics, but I didn't realize it was that large. I am wondering if I should look at other clinics… -Foxyhttp://foxypopcorn.blogspot.com/