Abby and Kyle live in a suburb of Chicago with their rescue German Shepherd, Ted. Kyle works as a firefighter/paramedic, and Abby is a nurse practitioner. In their free time, they love cooking together, exploring new restaurants, and taking long walks with Ted. Family means everything to them, and they’re fortunate to have a close-knit, supportive circle that has walked beside them on their fertility journey.

Abby and Kyle have always desired to be parents together. Like many couples, they imagined a hopeful path to parenthood—trusting that though challenges may come up, modern medicine and IVF would be there. What we didn’t expect was for Abby to receive a definitive infertility diagnosis due to genetic causes.

The diagnosis was heartbreaking as they were told IVF success would be unlikely, and the risk of passing on an undesirable genetic trait would be high. After months of conversations with doctors, genetic counselors, and one another, they made the decision to pursue donor egg IVF—a path filled with hope, but also significant financial burden given a lack of insurance coverage. With the help of the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, they are excited to take the next step toward growing the family they’ve dreamed of.

Abby and Kyle are recipients of the Lillian C. Millman grant, on behalf of Shellé Jewelers.