Melissa and Jared live in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. They first met in high school and married several years later. They dreamed of having children and tried for more than 6 years to get pregnant but with no results. INCIID stepped in to help.

Impossible Odds

Jared was in a rodeo accident that left him paralyzed with a C6-7 fracture making it hard for him to sustain an erection. Melissa and Jared visited a fertility specialist for several semen analyses. The tests showed decreased sperm motility or no sperm at all. Melissa experienced several abnormal pap smears showing pre-cancerous cells. A laparoscopy revealed she also had endometriosis. Devastated with the possibility of never having children due to the cost of the necessary treatment, they felt they had nowhere to turn.  Treatment was out of their reach.

A Slap in the Face

Melissa recalls sitting in her gynecologist’s office and her doctor’s insensitivity as she said, “Well, I guess some people just aren’t meant to have kids.”

Never Take NO for an Answer.

Determined, Melissa once again sat in the waiting room reading a magazine when she saw a public service announcement for INCIID’s IVF Scholarship program.  Melissa and Jared talked about the program and decided to apply. Melissa and Jared were matched with Dr. Michael Opsahl.

Melissa and Jared went for what can only be described as an exciting and hopeful consultation with Dr. Opsahl. Due to Jared’s neurological injury, they needed ICSI.

Emma’s Arrival

Melissa produced quite a few eggs which yielded embryos that looked good.  Transfer day came, but unfortunately, when the testing day came, Melissa’s HCG only measured at 60. It seemed everyone around them was pregnancy or delivering babies but them.  They didn’t give up, and with the generosity of Dr. Opsahl, they went ahead with a second cycle. Nine months later, Emma was born, a beautiful red-headed baby.

Melissa says, “We owe it all to INCIID and Dr. Opsahl.”