Creating Baby Brunk! Joe and Ally’s IVF journey

Infertility affects so many couples in so many different ways, with varying treatment options. If you’ve been around either Ally or Joe you know they were made to be parents! The Brunks have been dealt a very difficult hand, but are choosing to make the best of it! After being diagnosed with Non Obstructive Azoospermia and numerous diagnostic tests, Ally and Joe were faced with extremely difficult decisions about how to move forward and grow their family. NOA in Joe’s case means he does not produce sperm consistently and a spontaneous pregnancy is not possible. Only given one treatment option for their diagnosis, Ally and Joe have made the decision to give it a try! IVF with ICSI is a form of Artificial Reproductive Technology that allows couples like the Brunks the opportunity to try for a biological child. Once they decided to move forward with IVF, the bulk of the treatment and prep work landed on Ally. In doing her labs she found out she is premenopausal at age 32 and her reserve of quality eggs is shrinking along with their window of opportunity for IVF to be successful. Going through the process now instead of later, helps ensure they are able to have the best chance of success and also a chance at a sibling down the road. It also means their timeline to plan and save for the treatment has been drastically condensed. Starting in late November, Ally will begin stimulating her ovaries with a series of hormone injections. About a week later they will travel to Bridgetown, Barbados for their treatment and once on the island, Ally will be monitored closely until her eggs are ready to be retrieved. Joe may or may not be having a retrieval of his own, but they won’t know until they are on the island if it is needed. The hope is to have embryos created and transferred and/or frozen to finish their treatment before heading home. There are many unknown factors involved and only time and God will write their story. Let’s help lighten the load of the medical expenses involved! With some savvy spending and saving, the Brunks have financed the travel aspects of doing treatment abroad. All funds raised will go towards their growing medical bills and time away from work. As a small business owner, Ally will be stepping away from her machine for a bit. Fertility treatment is not covered by their insurance so they found a way to make it more feasible. Barbados Fertility Centre provides the same quality care as the States at a fraction of the cost and higher success rates. Joe and Ally hope to use their time on the island to relax and focus on their marriage and health while navigating a stressful time. Ally and Joe have decided that they would like to ‘pay it forward’ when they come home by using a portion of what is raised to help another deserving couple dealing with infertility. Please join me in supporting Ally and Joe Brunk through this wonderful, terrifying and beautiful journey to bringing home Baby Brunk! A note from Joe and Ally: We feel blessed to have the support system we’ve had through this journey and can’t THANK YOU enough for being apart of bringing a baby into our hearts and home! 💕