Whew!

The insurance problem has been fixed. I am so happy right now. I have not actually talked to the insurance people myself, but my wonderful HR lady has and apparently everything is going to be OK. Here is the email conversation between my HR lady and our Insurance group rep (totally paraphrasing):

Insurance rep: "Regarding Christine, the computer glitch has been fixed and all benefits have been restored."

Awesome HR Lady: "Does this mean she will receive coverage for her IVF?"

Insurance rep: "Yes, her IVF will be covered, as it always should have been."

How awesome is that?!

The past six days have been horrible. I kept fluctuating between having hope that everything would get worked out, to paralyzing fear that this was the end of the road for us and a sign that we shouldn't be parents. I am so relieved I can't really describe it well enough.

But I must admit, I feel a little bit of guilt too. There are so many couples out there that don't have fertility coverage, and it just breaks my heart. I felt for six days what they must feel day in and day out all year long. Weighing options I would never consider normally, verging on panic attacks at the thought of having to charge/loan $20,000 for a single IVF cycle.

It is completely unfair that anyone could consider an infertility diagnosis anything other than a life changing event. When you have dreamt of having a family your entire life, finding out that is not possible because of something that is physically wrong with you is heartbreaking and life changing. It changes how you look at the world, money, the people around you, and the rest of your life. It is ridiculous that insurance companies, politicians, and employers consider fertility coverage a non-essential benefit.

OK, stepping off my soap box now.