Trisha and Eli

My husband and I got married in the summer of 2017. In the winter of 2019, we decided we were ready to start a family. Because we are Ashkenazi Jews, we knew we needed to do genetic testing, as we have a higher chance of having certain genetic disorders. Throughout the process, I kept thinking that everything was going to be fine; however, we found out that we are both genetic carriers for hearing loss and deafness. This was hard to find out and was something that took us a long time to work through, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason. No matter how hard things get, I have faith and trust in the universe and G-d that everything is part of a master plan.

Eli is a professional singer in a Jewish acapella group. He acted in musical theater throughout high school and college. He even sang to me, “Can’t take my eyes off you” at our wedding. We want our children to be able to hear our voices, especially Eli singing to them. We have decided to pursue IVF and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to prevent passing on this gene to our children.

We are so incredibly grateful to the Coalition and JUF for giving us a grant that will help make our dream of becoming parents come true.

Trisha and Eli are recipients of the Path to Parenthood Grant from the Jewish United Fund - Chicago. In June of 2021, Trisha and Eli welcomed their son, Avishai, to the world!