An Airdrie woman is hoping her love for knitting and toques can help her and her husband grow their family by at least one more.
KLG Knits owner Kelsey Gyarmati says she began knitting about eight years ago, around the same time the couple started trying to have a baby.
“We’ve gone through multiple medicated cycles, as well as a procedure called IUI (Intrauterine insemination). We’ve gone through as many of those as possible and for some reason it’s just not taking for us,” she says.
They are now looking into In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF treatment) which she says is very costly and isn’t covered by the province or the couple’s health benefits.
She says for them to go through one round of IVF treatment, the procedure will cost them about $30,000 out of their own pocket. And to pay for it she’s hoping to sell one thousand of her handmade toques.
“Just putting that number to the amount of toques really helps people visualize how much IVF actually costs in Alberta,” says Gyarmati.
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“I love making toques, I love wearing toques, they’re an easy sell for me so I think that that was the easiest route to go for that,” she added.
According to the province, Alberta Health does not cover fertility treatments. However, the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) does cover medical consults, “including referral to another physician, radiology, and laboratory services that are required to establish a diagnosis of infertility.”
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The plan also covers services that can help improve the condition or repair the reproductive system as well as “services provided during pregnancy and delivery that result from fertility treatments.”
The province also says Albertans can “take advantage of the non-refundable Medical Expense Tax Credit for reproductive expenses.”
Gyarmati says because of the cost, this next try at conceiving a baby using IVF treatment will be their only attempt using the procedure.
When Global News asked her what it would mean to see a positive pregnancy test, she says she “hasn’t started to fathom that quite yet,” but they’re going into it with a better mind set.
“I grew up in a large family and I have always wanted multiple children. My husband has a kid and so just growing that family and rounding it out a little but would be crazy,” she said.
She plans to donate a portion of future toque sales towards IVF grant programs in Calgary for people going through the procedure and are looking for assistance once she’s reached her goal.