** UPDATE (4/3/24)**
Thank you all for the prayers and support!! We just found out yesterday that the egg retrieval procedure was successful, fertilization happened, and we have the healthy embryo we need for us to move forward to the next phase 🎉, which will involve the embryo transfer!!! We’ve never made it this far, so we are praising Jesus for steps forward! There are still hoops to jump through, but this is a big win and we are so excited to share it with you all!!!
** UPDATE (3/26/24)**
Time for another update about our 4th round of IVF. Things are progressing forward well, and the hormone treatment is working as it should. With that, our doctor is moving forward with the egg retrieval procedure this week, and then we will know more next week if the procedure was successful, if fertilization happened, and if we have a viable embryo(s) to move forward to the next phase. Thank you all for continuing to pray and walk with us! Lots of prayers needed this week for a successful procedure and fertilization to happen!
REFLECTION
The significance of all this, and the Lord’s timing, is not lost on us. As we move through Holy Week and remember Christ’s journey towards the cross, images of Jesus’ broken body, his death, and his ultimate defeat of sin and the grave come to light. It was through death, that Life sprung forth. Through the darkness of Holy Saturday where the Messiah lay dead in the grave, to that glorious sunrise Sunday morning that gave birth to an empty tomb and risen Lord.
One year ago on this exact week, we prepared for Lacey’s second surgery and the doctors inevitable warning that Lacey’s cancer was back. As we sat in that cold hospital room, signed the authorization for a full hysterectomy, and prepared for the worst, we worshipped a God who is faithful even through the death of a dream…. God worked a miracle that day, and to the doctor’s shock, Lacey’s tumors where not found to be cancerous, she could still carry a child when the time came, and we were able to move into the second phase of our fertility journey and proceeding IVF treatments.
And now here we are, an exact year later continuing to walk through another Holy Week and the events of Jesus’ passion that bring ultimate life. In another cold hospital room, with a fully different set of authorization forms, we anticipate a procedure that has the ability to bring life, hope, and the restoration of a dream. Just as we did last year, we will worship a God who is faithful, regardless of the outcome. What a special reminder that brings us full circle to the truth that we serve a God who sees us and knows us. Who holds us close and mourns. Who rejoices and celebrates.
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11
This mystery has been my meditation as of late. To actually know Christ and his power… and to do that, there has to be a participation in his death and suffering, and only through that, can true life spring forth. If I could some this up in a phrase, I’d steel the line from one of John Foreman’s songs: “for these seeds to give birth to life, firs they must die.” I am grateful for this journey God has us on because I am beginning to understand more fully what it means to know Christ and the power of his resurrection that allows life to come from death.
So here we go… off to see what the Lord will do next as he writes all of our stories. To God be the glory forever and always. Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.
** UPDATE (2/15/24)**
We are filled with so much hope and excitement, while still being cautiously optimistic.
Yesterday, Lacey flew to Sacramento to complete her initial tests, ultrasounds, and check-ups needed to start our fourth round of fertility preservation treatments with California IVF Clinic. Everything went great and all the test results came back negative. Lacey felt so much peace and hope after meeting the doctors and support staff there for the first time in person.
The last hoop to jump through is to see if we clear our genetic test screening, and once that is confirmed, we can officially move forward. Our projected timeline is for the egg retrieval procedure to take place in late March, and then if we get healthy embryos, we will be scheduled for a transfer procedure the end of May.
Because none of these procedures are covered by insurance, our payment of $24,000 for this round of IVF and fertility treatments will be collected March 1st. We are working on getting our medical loan approved and sent to our clinic.
It’s hard to ask for help, but we are reaching out here to friends and family again to help us support raise. The initial $27,000 we raised here covered our 3rd round of IVF, and we are in the process of paying back our loans for the first 2 rounds. We know God will provide or give us the means to keep paying off our 4th round, but we want to ask for help from you.
If you would like to help us financially, you can scroll to the bottom of this page (if on a phone) or look to the upper right (on a desktop computer) for a link to do so. What we raise will be put towards paying off the principal of our latest medical loan for this fourth round of treatments.
Thank you for the continued prayer and support on this journey. We say it in every update, but we are deeply grateful to our community of friends and family who are continuing to walk through this journey with us!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- For our final genetic test screening to be cleared
- For successful procedures and healthy embryo(s) to be formed
- For spiritual, emotional, and physical health as we move forward
** UPDATE (1/18/24)**
As we enter a new year, we wanted to pause and send an update on our journey to become parents. All of you have had a part in this journey with us and we are so grateful for that.
LOOKING BACK
After 3 failed IVF rounds and the toll each of those took on us, we knew we needed to take a break – physically, financially, and emotionally. It was October 2023 we came to this conclusion, and we gave ourselves to the New Year to simply be and enjoy the gifts God has given us. Infertility can be all consuming – and whereas this is a major part of our story, it is not the sole marker of our identity.
These past 2 months we’ve had time for reflection and space to just be. In November we received results from Lacey’s most recent cancer check-up which showed great progress and a clean bill of health. This is the healthiest Lacey has been since we started this Cancer journey. As such, our oncologist is advancing us to annual instead of quarterly check-ups. Thank you, Jesus.
With your generosity, we were able to pay for our 3rd round of IVF out of pocket and are continuing to pay off our medical loans from our first 2 rounds.
LOOKING FORWARD
As for what’s next, we had an onboarding call last Thursday with a fertility clinic in Sacramento that was recommended to us by a friend. As a clinic, they have a little different approach and offer more affordable rates. As such, we are in the process of moving forward with a 4th round of IVF treatments, with the hope that we will have viable embryos this time around to begin the next step of the journey. We are praying for wisdom and guidance as we move forward and will continue to update you as we progress down this new path.
We deeply appreciate your prayers and support along this journey. We would not have made it this far without you all. When we reflect on this past year, we can’t help but feel overwhelmed by your love and support for us. We deeply love you all and want to express, again, just how thankful we are for you!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Wisdom and peace as we research and step into a new fertility treatment plan
- Mental and emotional strength, as well as healthy levels of hope
- Financial means to pay for what’s next
- For God to work in the miracle of forming a life
** UPDATE (10/11/23)**
Hello sweet friends and family!
Man, what a journey this has been. First, we just want to say thank you. Thank you for all the love and support! We have felt it immensely through all of this and it has helped us get through it.
Unfortunately the 3rd round of IVF was unsuccessful. It has been a hard few weeks of processing and sitting in yet another disappointing round. Our doctor was able to retrieve 4 eggs but only one was able to fertilize. It was a long week of day to day waiting and praying that this sweet little life would continue to grow and while it did (which was so hopeful and exciting in the moment) it didn’t end up making it to the final growth stage. We are crushed and so confused as to how this keeps happening. We know God has created us to be parents. Our doctor gave us some insight as to why this is happening and while we can move forward with low odds, we have decided to take a break. Our hearts, souls, and minds are weary. My body has been through so much this past year with cancer, two surgeries, jumping right into 3 rounds of IVF, it’s been a lot.
With peace in both Jordan and my heart, we are going to take a break and take the next few months to focus on healing, both physically and mentally, and really pray and see how the Lord wants us to move forward with growing our family.
We appreciate you all so much. We feel so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such a wonderful community who loves us so deeply. We know we will have a family one day and while it looks much different than what we had expected, it will still be so beautiful and perfect when that day comes.
Prayer requests:
- That the Lord will be completely clear on how he wants us to move forward in the New Year with our family.
- That our hearts and bodies will be able to heal and fully rest in the Lord’s presence.
- That the next few months will be filled with immense joy
- That we as a couple become even more united and stronger for what we have to face next.
We love you all SO much! Thank you for everything,
– Lacey and Jordan
** UPDATE (9/27/23)**
We had our final check-up and ultrasound with our doctor today, and everything is progressing well. Lacey has 10 follicles this time, and 6-8 that are hopefully mature. Our egg retrieval procedure will be this Friday (9/29) at 11am. We will know after the procedure how many successful eggs they retrieved, and then they will begin the fertilization process to see how many embryos we can get. This will take 5 days post procedure to know. Per-usual, we will try and update you here with results and next steps.
We also wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for praying, thank you for giving, thank you for being on this journey with us.
TWO BIG PRAYERS:
- Pray that the procedure on Friday is successful and that we are able to come away with a healthy embryo(s) to move to the next phase of this journey.
- Pray for finances. As of now, our costs up to this point have totaled $40,800 and we still have more costs to go. We are so thankful for all the donations which have covered over half of our costs, and are paying off our medical loan that has covered the rest, but we have some tough decisions to make from here on out financially.
** UPDATE (9/15/23)**
It’s been a while since our last update, so here we go.
The short version:
We are starting round 3 of IVF this week with a new Fertility Specialist who is putting us through a more specified protocol specific to Lacey’s situation. We are starting with 8 follicles (most we’ve started with so far!), are on 3 new follicle growth hormones, and have to take 5 shots a day for the next 2 weeks. This round will be our most expensive as we pay for more meds and a better clinic, but we are grateful for another step forward. If all goes according to plan, we will go through an egg retrieval procedure at the end of this month.
The longer version:
After our second failed IVF attempt and complete loss of all embryos earlier this summer, we sought out a second opinion. Upon doing so, this 2nd doctor informed us that the protocol we were previously on, though possible, was not curtailed to Lacey’s low egg count due to all her prior surgeries and cancer, thus he suggested a different IVF regiment for us. With prayer and a mutual sense of peace, we decided we needed to try this new route. Before we could start though, we had to wait over a month for the hormones we were previously on to pass through Lacey’s system.
During this month of waiting, we found out that one of Lacey’s blood cancer markers is back, along with 2 cysts that are growing on her remaining ovary. You can image how triggering this was. Upon review, our oncologist is not concerned of the cancer returning at this juncture. The complication lies in the fact that Fertility Clinics will not normally put someone through IVF if cysts are present. Because we are unable to surgically remove any more cysts, as this will almost fully diminish her already low egg reserve, we knew starting round 3 was unlikely. Anxious, we continued to simply pray and release expectation as all of this continues to be bigger than us – all we can do is faithfully move forward.
This past Tuesday, Lacey had her initial consult with the new fertility clinic. After the initial ultrasound and blood work – they found that her estrogen levels are in a normal range, so even with the presence of cysts, they feel comfortable moving forward with us. Thank you, Jesus! As such, we are beginning our 3rd round of IVF! We will have a check-up next Wednesday (9/20) to determine how the follicles are growing, and then hopefully will have our egg retrieval procedure at the end of September.
A year ago, almost to the day, we found out Lacey had cancer. Here we are a year later. Our bodies, minds, and souls are holding trauma we will be working out for years to come. We’re still nowhere near the finish line – but I’m starting to realize that there is no finish line really. It’s always been about the journey, and always will be. Despite broken desires and painful realities, God’s presence on this journey has never changed. For all of us, maybe that’s the point. Maybe that’s the reminder in this. So as you read this, pause and look for God’s presence in your life, and say a simple thank you to the God who has never left us.
Thank you all for reading – please be praying for this 3rd round as we continue to journey ahead.
- Pray for peace for our weary hearts, bodies, and minds
- Pray for Lacey’s safety and a successful retrieval of at least 1 embryo.
- Pray for the finances to pay for this 3rd round and pay off our medical loans.
- Pray for TWINS. Yep, we said it. If we could write the script, that’s our desire, but that’s for God to decide.. why not 🙏 for it though
*If you would like to help us financially, scroll to the bottom of the page (if on a phone), or look to the upper right (on a desktop computer) for a link to do so*
** UPDATE (7/28/23)**
Some hard news again – we found out a week ago, that after being fertilized, one of the embryos never divided cells, and the last remaining embryo stopped growing after day 3… and we needed it to get today 5 to be viable for freezing and transfer. So we lost them both. We’re pretty devastated.
Our doctor is starting us on another hormone treatment for the next 6 weeks to help reduce any potential complications from endometriosis and remove any cysts, and then on September 1st, we will be starting our 3rd round of IVF. Our doctor remains hopeful that this time could be successful. The fact both eggs fertilized with the calcium ionophore is a huge win, and we think because Lacey’s last cycle was pushed so long and she already started ovulating at the time of egg retrieval, that all the viable eggs were already lost. So third time is a charm. God is still walking with us in this, and we trust that. We’ll keep you updated throughout Round 3.
** UPDATE (7/24/23)**
Ready for another crazy story, where God shows up yet again? Our egg retrieval procedure was scheduled for Thursday morning at 6:15am… we were the first surgery of the day. As we’re waiting in the pre-op room, our fill-in Doctor who is the head of the fertility clinic we’ve been going to, as our regular doctor is on vacation in Japan, comes in to do our final ultrasound before our procedure and is only able to find 3 of our 5 follicles. He then proceeds to tell us that Lacey has already started ovulating, and we are losing all the eggs as we speak. His recommendation is to not even do the retrieval procedure as there is such a small chance we’d retrieve any eggs, and just go through another round of IVF. After fighting this and telling him we need to go through with the procedure anyway, against his wishing, we finally convinced him to move forward, as the only risk would be no retrieved eggs. Because Lacey is the first procedure of the day, they can rush her into the Operating Room, and upon doing so, are able to retrieve 3 of the 5 eggs! A successful procedure. MIRACLE NUMBER ONE.
Only one of the retrieved eggs was mature enough to fertilize, and the calcium ionophore which they added this time to induce fertilization worked! We had a successful fertilization and embryo. The other 2 pre-mature eggs were able to grow in a Petri dish culture in the lab overnight, and one of those was now mature and ready to be fertilized too – which was successful. Two embryos. MIRACLE NUMBER TWO.
We received a call yesterday though, that the original embryo stopped growing after fertilization, but the second miracle embryo is continuing to divide and split cells! We will get another update on Wednesday to see how that little embryo is doing, and if it makes it to day 5 of growth, they will freeze it and wait for egg transfer, where they will implant the embryo into the uterus in 2-3 months after we go through more procedures to make sure Lacey’s womb is ready for implantation.
If an embryo makes it to day 5, there is a 50% success rate of implantation. So we’re not out of the woods yet, still many more miracles needed on this journey, and yet this past weekend reminded us of God’s sweet provisions and miracle power. Life is truly ordained by God, and we see that so clearly on our journey.
Please continue to pray for this embryo to reach day 5, for the upcoming procedures and hormone treatment to prepare Lacey’s womb, and for a successful implantation procedure in a few months.
** UPDATE (7/17/23)**
Just a quick update so everyone can continue praying. Lacey’s follicles are continuing to progress slowly, so they are postponing our egg retrieval date again. Right now it looks like we will have 3 mature eggs for retrieval, and a possibility for 2 more. Our new retrieval date will be this upcoming Thursday morning (7/20)… if all goes according to this new plan. Even though we are a week longer than usual, Lacey is healthy and things are looking promising. Thank you for continuing to pray – especially for our retrieval date, and for this new fertilization method that will hopefully create the healthy embryos we need to keep moving forward in this process.
** UPDATE (7/09/23)**
The journey continues. We have good news and need lots of prayers! Last week we started our second round of IVF. There are 5 follicles that are growing (one more than last time), but they are growing at a bit of a slower rate. As such, they have doubled Lacey’s hormone treatment dosage, with the hopes that all 5 follicles will grow into mature eggs. If this happens, our Doctor will move forward with a second egg retrieval procedure sometime between July 14-17. Upon retrieval, they will be using a calcium ionophore to hopefully induce the fertilization process (which failed last time) to produce a healthy embryo which we can then implant.
As you can imagine, this second round of treatments has been extra triggering at points, as this is our last option. We are trusting in God’s plan though as all we can do is keep walking forward. Our doctor has been working with us to help reduce the cost of this second round, which is a huge blessing and answered prayer. We invite you to be praying and fasting alongside us this week specifically. This has always been God’s story to tell, and we know God can work this miracle of life. So, we ask you to be praying too as we cry out to God together. Thank you all. We really have needed you and are so grateful to not be in this alone.
Specific Prayer Requests:
- For all 5 follicles to grow into mature eggs and be successfully retrieved
- For the fertilization process to work this time and for a healthy embryo to be formed
- For Lacey’s physical health, and our emotional health as we await the outcome
** UPDATE (6/20/23)**
We received some tough news this past weekend. Lacey had her egg retrieval procedure on Saturday, and everything went great. They were able to retrieve 3 of the 4 eggs, and then those were sent to the embryologist for fertilization. Out of those, 2 remaining eggs were great quality, and ready to be made into embryos. Hopes were high.
The next day, we received a really tough call though. The embryologist in charge of fertilizing the eggs told us that neither of the eggs had fertilized. Our Doctor then called yesterday to confirm that the fertilization was completely unsuccessful. They don’t fully know why. Complete lack of fertilization after IVF when you have a fully healthy egg and sperm only happens in less than 3% of all cases. Because of this, we have been told we either have a sperm-borne or oocyte-borne oocyte activation failure – meaning even though we have healthy sperm and egg, activation of fertilization within the egg won’t be able to happen as is.
There is still hope though! There has been medical research and success with adding a calcium ionophore at the time of fertilization that can help activate fertilization and produce successful embryos.
With that, our Fertility Specialist (who is amazing and such a gift from the Lord), is going to start us on another IVF cycle, we will undergo hormone treatments again, do another egg retrieval procedure, and then we will fertilize the egg with the added calcium and PRAY FOR ANOTHER MIRACLE. Our doctor remains hopeful with us, and all we can do is take this next step forward.
We will start the next round of IVF in about a week and half if all goes according to plan.
We want to thank you all for being on this journey with us. There have been some dark moments this past year, but knowing how many people have been praying for us, and reaching out to us, and walking with us – we literally wouldn’t be here without you. So, thank you! God is not done yet, and he is still writing his story. We trust God will continue to provide the funds needed to do this second round of IVF, and more than ANYTHING, we just need your prayers.
New Specific Prayer Requests:
- For this next cycle of IVF to be successful and for Lacey’s body to handle a second round of hormone treatments
- For this new fertilization method to work and produce a healthy embryo
We still believe, one day, we will be able to hold our child, and that precious little life is going to start by having a mountain of prayer behind them as God continues to work miracles.
** UPDATE (6/15/23)**
Thank you ALL so much for the support and love this past week. We are overwhelmed with gratitude by your generosity. Things are progressing well with our IVF journey. With your help, we have raised nearly $17,000, and if everything continues to go according to plan, we will only need to raise $24,000 to finish off our payments as we move into the egg transfer phase of IVF (where they implant the embryo into the uterus). Lacey has had several doctors appointments this week and everything is progressing as planned. There are 4 fully formed follicles that are ready for retrieval. Ideally, the doctors want 8-10+ healthy follicles for a higher success rate of having viable eggs for fertilization and implantation, but given the fact that Lacey only has one remaining ovary, this is a good starting place.
Our egg retrieval procedure will be this Saturday, 6/17, at 8:30am. There are still a lot of hurdles to get through within this process, so we invite you to be praying along-side us. We have seen God work in so many miraculous ways, and have so much hope and peace as we move forward.
Prayer Requests:
- For a safe procedure on Saturday and for all 4 eggs to be viable and survive the retrieval process.
- For fast recovery for Lacey’s body, and for the cysts that form post operation to not effect Lacey’s cancer check-up next month.
After the egg retrieval procedure, we will know in about 5 days if it was successful and how many healthy eggs we have that can be fertilized into embryos and implanted. After that, we will know whether we have to restart the IVF cycle, or can move into the healing and egg transfer stage.
Again, thank you all! No matter what the outcome, we are blown away by this community that has surrounded us and walked with us. It brings us to tears to see God’s faithfulness displayed through all of you. We have so much joy and peace simply because of you, and we continue to trust in God’s plan.
** OUR STORY (6/8/23)**
Thank you so much for clicking on this page and reading about our story. We have a deep deep desire to become parents and have been actively trying for 3 years now. In February of 2022 we discovered that Lacey had large cysts on her ovaries that needed to be removed laparoscopically and finally got a surgery date scheduled for August 1st. Soon into that appointment, through ultrasounds and an MRI, we discovered that things were much worse than expected. What we thought were merely cysts turned out to be a 13 cm tumor. Due to an increased risk of cancer, our OB was no longer comfortable performing surgery, and thus recommended us to a gynecologic-oncologist to continue the procedure. Nearly 2 months later, that surgery was finally rescheduled for September 21st. While on the operating table, our oncologist discovered that the tumor was in fact cancerous and was a rare form of Ovarian Cancer. Lacey’s left ovary along with the tumor had to be removed to stop the spread. After the biopsy, it was determined that the cancer was stage 1A and the cancer was contained within the tumor and had not yet spread throughout her body – best case scenario! The healing process from full abdominal surgery was hard but good. We were cleared to start trying to start a family again after 6 weeks and were hopeful that the ovarian cancer diagnosis was nothing but a distant hurdle we had cleared on our way to starting our family.
That was not the case however. At our 6 month cancer check-up this past April, our oncologist discovered two more large cysts growing at a rapid rate on Lacey’s remaining ovary. We were scheduled for emergency surgery a week later on April 23. Not knowing what the outcome would be, we walked into the surgery prep-room with so much fear with the possibility of losing all reproductive organs if the cancer was back. Simultaneously, those anxious moments were coupled with deep prayers knowing that Jesus is the true healer and miracle maker. Continuing to have this deep desire to be parents and being completely helpless to circumstances, we prayed desperately and purposefully, along with hundreds of you, for a miracle – that the Lord would save Lacey’s remaining ovary, that there would be no cancer, and that we would be able to have kids biologically. And that is what the Lord did. Much to the surprise of our doctors and oncologists, Laceys surgery went perfectly. The cysts had drastically shrunk in size and were discovered to be benign, thus allowing Lacey to keep her remaining ovary. We truly believe this was only at the hand of God and that the Lord healed Lacey’s body in miraculous ways. We are so in awe of the Lord’s sovereignty over her body and know without a doubt that He saved that ovary for a reason.
OUR NEED FOR HELP
With all that Lacey’s body has been through after multiple surgeries, with only one remaining ovary, and with the high chance that the cancer and cysts will grow back, our oncologist is recommending that we do egg retrieval and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) as soon as possible. And given Lacey’s history with ovarian cancer, our oncologist has told us that we have a 3 month window to move forward with these fertility preservation methods. So here we are. Our IVF journey will start the week of June 5th and we need your help.
The IVF process is a lot, not only physically for Lacey’s body, but also financially. Because of the hurried nature of our scenario – we are being required to fund a process that often takes years to save and financially prepare for. But even amidst the continued unknowns, we are ready and excited to see the Lord continue to write this story of miracles.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR
The fertility clinic we are working with is called Reproductive Partners and our out of pocket cost to move forward with this procedure are as follows:
- The baseline fee for IVF and all our ultrasounds and test is $17,800 (x2 potentially)
- Medication for the process ranges between $1,000-5,000
- Genetic Testing and Trial Transfer is $4,350
- Embryo Transfer to implant is $3,750
According to our current Fertility Specialist, because of the state of Lacey’s remaining ovary, and the increased likelihood of not being able to obtain enough healthy eggs after one IVF Cycle, we will possibly need to repeat this IVF cycle.
This totals to $30,900 – $48,700, not including blood work and other doctor visits.
We have seen the Lord so clearly throughout our whole journey: the fertility clinic our oncologist recommended to us has been incredible and so supportive; our doctors have been so loving and encouraging; even the company we are getting our initial medical loan to begin the IVF process has been a God-send. We see God’s hand through it all. This road has been so hard, and at times, feels unfair. Yet we know that God does not waste our pain or our tears. He has a purpose for all that we go through. We know God is up to something big and we would love to have you guys partner with us through this. Not just financially but also through prayer. We would not have made it this far without the love, support, and prayers from all of you. We are so grateful.
What we need exact prayers for:
- That financially we can make this work
- That we are able to get 5+ health embryos so we don’t have to do two rounds
- That Lacey’s body receives the embryos well and sweet life is made that only comes from God
- That God continues to use this story, HIS story, to show the world who He is and what He is capable of.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!
