Jenna’s Infertility Story

Each week I interview someone who has experienced firsthand. This week I’m interviewing Jenna. She has a unique combination of personal and professional experience with infertility, and I’m delighted to share her story here. Enjoy!

Q. Tell us a little about yourself.

I have been involved in the Infertility Community for over five years. I am an active RESOLVE volunteer.  I serve as Social Media Chair for the Annual Washington, D.C. Walk of Hope and hold the title for “Most Funds Raised” for the past two consecutive years. I have worked in the healthcare industry for over ten years, have an Associate’s Degree in Nursing,  and I’m looking forward to taking my licensure exam to become a Registered Nurse in the near future. I received my Health Unit Coordinator and Medical Billing & Coding Certifications, and have extensive knowledge of insurance reimbursement policies and guidelines. Most recently, I accepted a job as a Patient Care Advocate with FertilityAuthority.com.

After being diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure at the young age of 26, I have undergone three unsuccessful IUIs and four failed/canceled IVFs and I’m about to begin IVF #5 using a known egg donor. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Nick, we have three cats who are unbelievably spoiled, and we’ve spent the last four years renovating our dream house. I continue to raise awareness as an Infertility Advocate on social media by sharing my journey and struggles with infertility.

Q. How long have you been trying to conceive and what issues are you facing?

We started TTC the day after we were married- June 13, 2009. We spent an entire year tracking my cycles and kept being told to “just relax”. On June 20, 2010 I finally consulted a RE and was given the diagnosis of Premature Ovarian Failure.  IVF was our only option. Over a 5 month span, we had three unsuccessful IUIs, three canceled IVFs and one IVF which went all the way to egg retrieval, but no eggs were retrieved. We were officially given the donor egg speech. My husband has low morphology and low counts, which means we will always need to do IVF with ICSI. We do not live in a state that mandates infertility coverage, so we pay out-of-pocket for everything. To date we’ve “spent” (charged/maxed out all our credit cards, refinanced our house, borrowed from family, and taken every penny we have from our savings) almost $70,000 trying to have family.

Q. Which books, quotes, websites, songs have been an encouragement to you during your journey?

The online infertility community is absolutely amazing! I am apart of so many support groups on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I follow several blogs, and actively participate in numerous online forums. Everywhere I turn, there’s more and more support from my fellow IF’ers. Also, infertility organizations such as RESOLVE and The American Fertility Association provide the education and resources that we need during our infertility journey. A couple other websites I visit quite frequently are FertilityAuthority.com and AGCScholarships.org.

I have to let others know about an amazing book I just finished reading:  Infertility Inferschmility by Aprill Lane.  It’s a blog Aprill kept while she and her husband battled infertility. It’s so relatable and real.  She is an amazing woman and the founder/president of AGC Scholarships.

I found the song “I Believe” by Steve Carlson and Rosalee on the Sher Institutes website pretty early in my journey, and each time I listen to it, even today, I find the hope and courage I need to continue my fight against infertility… I will be a mom!

My favorite quotes:

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s learning to dance in the rain. –Vivian Greene,

You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it. –Author Unknown

When the world says, ‘Give up’, Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time’. –Author Unknown

Q. Do you and your spouse cope with infertility in the same way or do you handle it differently?

Not even close! Then again we are truly night and day, but that’s why we work! He deals with our infertility much better than I do. He once told me that the hardest time for him personally is having to come and tell me that someone just announced they’re pregnant.  He knows how it going to make me feel and that just kills him. For me, the hardest part is not knowing what the future holds for us, not knowing if we’ll ever be able to expand our family.

Q. How have you taken care of yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually during your struggles?

One word… MEXICO! We travel to Mexico twice a year, our anniversary and Thanksgiving. It’s something we look forward to every year.   It’s a place to unwind and “forget” about infertility for a few days.

Q. What has been your lowest point and how did you survive it?

After our 3rd attempt at IVF, Thanksgiving Day, November 25th, 2010, I went in surgery for my egg retrieval & was woken up to news that I had NO eggs to retrieve.  Shock, denial, anger, disbelief… too many life shattering emotions to process at one time. We were officially given the donor egg speech. It took me almost four years to build up enough strength to start the process of infertility treatments again. I survived because there is no other choice. I have to pick myself up and try again. I will beat infertility.

Q. Have you been able to find a “silver lining” in your infertility?

Absolutely, these are the cards I’ve been dealt.  I can’t change that, but I hope that sharing my struggles through infertility can bring awareness and help just one person.

Q. Anything else you’d like to tell my readers?

Infertility is a disease; don’t be ashamed of it. You do not need to suffer in silence!!

 

Many thanks to Jenna for sharing her infertility story.  Please leave her a comment below to let her know you appreciate her.  You can also connect with her on Twitter @jmarinelli613 or tag her using #ttcsisters on Instagram.  If you liked this interview, you can see all my previous interviews here.

 

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