Amanda and Michael

Family Stories Amanda and MichaelAfter a few years of not getting pregnant on our own, we sought the help of a reproductive endocrinologist. We were still unsuccessful after going through several IUI procedures over a four year span, trying different medications and never missing an appointment. When we found out that the next step was IVF, we thought our dreams were …

Lindsay and Shawn

Family Stories Lindsay and Shawn“We are Lindsay and Shawn, a young (ages 30 & 34), happily married couple of over eight years who cannot wait to complete our family with a child. After trying to conceive on our own and with fertility treatments for four years, we realized adoption was our destiny. Our experience with infertility not only opened our eyes …

Amanda and John

Family Stories Amanda and John“My husband and I are just like thousands of other couples who are experiencing infertility issues. I just assumed after we got married and planned everything out, next would be a baby. In the blink of an eye the plan I had always envisioned was potentially gone. It’s so scary and daunting yet I tell myself the …

Nancy and Frank

Family StoriesNancy and Frank“My husband and I have been together for eight years and we have been trying to conceive for five of those years and counting. When we were not successful with any IUIs, we turned to our final option, IVF.The cost was great, and we were looking for options. When we met Dr. Rinehart, he listened intently to …

Lauren and Matt

Family Stories Lauren and Matt“Having children was always something my husband and I had talked about. But this dream appeared to be far reaching when I had some obstacles in my way. Our will to keep going and to have our baby kept us moving forward towards IVF, our best hope, despite the financial burden and the pre-IVF treatment needed.”Lauren and …

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Mary Rose and Luke

Family Stories Mary Rose and LukeMary Rose and Luke are Indiana residents who were the recipients of a $10,000 Life Grant.“My husband Luke and I are so thrilled to announce that the embryo transfer funded by our 2017 Life Grant was successful, and we are now the proud parents of Lawrence Mark Norell, born on May 12, 2018!””Our four-year journey towards …

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Michelle and Erik

Family Stories Michelle and ErikMichelle is an English as a Second Language teacher at a high poverty, urban middle school and Erik is trained as a welder. “We have loved each other nearly half our lives and have many more years together. As with any solid relationship, we are a work in progress. In 2015, we quietly began the journey to …

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Manar and Thaer

Family Stories Manar and Thaer“I never thought I would have trouble having children. My sister had problems with her period and she got pregnant easily. As for me, I had no problems until I got married. It has been four years since I started infertility treatments and was told IVF is the best next step”.Financial constraints made it difficult for them …

Leigh and Phil

Family Stories Leigh and Phil“My name is Leigh Montwill and Phil Montwill and I have been married for a year and a half. Happily, we were planning our wedding in 2015 when I was diagnosed with a germ cell cancer in January 2015 and had surgery that was unable to preserve my fertility. I started chemo two weeks after surgery.””My amazing …

Kristie and Petru

Family Stories Kristie and Petru“Hi. My name is Kristie and my husband’s name is Petru. We have been married for thirteen years. We have struggled with infertility throughout our entire marriage.” “In 2016, we met with a reproductive endocrinologist who diagnosed the cause of our infertility struggles.” Kristie and Petru are recipients of $10,000 Life Grant, and states “this is giving …

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Katie and Josh

Family Stories Katie and JoshAfter about three years of marriage, we had the feeling it was the right time to have a baby. However, month after month and year after year went by without a pregnancy. Eventually, we visited a reproductive endocrinologist and learned that IVF was the best option of having our own children. We applied for the Life Grant …

Ashley and Dustin

Family Stories Ashley and Dustin“Our journey with infertility was unexpected as I’m sure it is for a lot of people. We had been married for 2 years and we were ready to start our family together. After a very long year of trying and no pregnancy we decided to see a reproductive endocrinologist.” “A lot of testing revealed the disappointing diagnosis …

Tracey and John

Family Stories Tracey and JohnTracey and John have always known they wanted a family, and unfortunately like many others, just assumed it would happen. They finally made the decision to see a reproductive endocrinologist in 2012 and began their infertility journey with Dr. Kevin Lederer at Fertility Centers of Illinois.Tracey was diagnosed with PCOS, and began treatment with IUI. This was …

Amanda and Franky

Family Stories Amanda and Franky”My Name is Amanda Cardona and I am 34 years old, from Mexico. My husband is Franky Palma. He is 33 years old and is from Guatemala. We met each other in 2006 in an ESL program for learning English and became friends. We started to spend a lot of time together, our feelings for each other …

Ann and Harry

Family Stories Ann and HarryWe have been together 6 years, married in 2015 and started trying in November 2014 after we got engaged. We had a dream wedding, bought our dream house and now we want to do everything possible for our next dream; create a life. After a few years of trying, we decided to do preliminary testing with a …