Family Stories  Jessica and Scott We are very thankful to be grant recipients. Our wish is to complete our family and this grant is giving us that opportunity. We look forward to starting this journey, and our goal is to help Jewish United Fund continue to provide this honor to other hopeful families dealing with infertility. Jessica and Scott are …

Family Stories  Ariel and Benjamin Ben is currently a first-year Emergency Medicine resident in Chicago’s South Side and enjoys giving back to his community. Ari has recently started a women’s health telemedicine company and both are excited to move closer to our dream of starting our family! As a veteran, Ben has been active in organizations like Veterans Anti-Violence as …

Family Stories  Rebecca and Justin Justin and I met in college and got married in 2015. We knew kids were in the future for us. However, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy journey as I had cancer twice as a teenager and was unable to carry a baby. After three egg retrievals, we were beyond thrilled when our only …

Family Stories  Michelle and Mike Hi! We are Michelle and Mike, and we have been together for six years (married for three and a half years). We spent much time and money on dating websites, and then ended up meeting in person! Michelle was dancing for a DJ company (a second job) at Mike’s cousin’s Bat Mitzvah, and we have …

Family Stories  Kynise and Keva It all started at a daycare in Peoria, Illinois, where we both worked. As time went on, Kynise and I became friends. Friends turned into best friends and that turned into a relationship that is seven years and counting! We moved to Chicago in 2018 to begin our family. While in Chicago, I became the …

Family Stories  Andrea and Ryan We met just after college through some mutual friends. After five years of dating, we eloped at the Grand Canyon. Before starting a family, we had decided we would do all the “usual” things couples do: buy a house, save money, travel, get dogs, and enjoy just being a newly married couple. After our first …

Family Stories  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 …

Family Stories  Sarah I’ve wanted to have children for as long as I can remember. When I decided to move forward with becoming a parent, a family member unexpectedly fell ill, and my desire to grow a family of my own was put on hold. Now that my focus is back on family planning, I am thrilled to be able …

Family Stories  Jasmine and Arjun Jasmine and Arjun met during their medical training in San Francisco. Aware of a strong family history of breast cancer, Jasmine decided to undergo genetic testing and discovered that she carried the BRCA 2 mutation. After moving to Chicago for fellowship—and in the hopes of soon starting a family—Jasmine and Arjun decided to pursue pre-implantation …

Family Stories  Yesenia and Andrew My husband Andrew and I have been together for a little over three years. We are so grateful to have been awarded the life grant. Testing was nerve racking, but we are over the moon now that we can continue to pray for a successful IVF process. Yesenia and Andrew are recipients of a donated …

Family Stories  Katie and Augie Hi, my name is Katie and I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) six years ago. Since my diagnosis, I have been doing a lot of research and trying everything that I could to conceive naturally due to the high costs for fertility treatments and adoption. I’ve tried medications like clomid and metformin, to …

Family Stories  Devan and Eric My husband and I met during my sophomore year of college. Three years prior to this I was diagnosed with MRKH disease, which meant it would be impossible for me to carry a child of my own. The news was devastating but thankfully there were options to allow us to start a family and have …

Family Stories  Erica and Dennis We started trying before our wedding in Jan 2014 and after about 6 months with no success we knew it was probably time to see a specialist. With our dual diagnoses of diminished ovarian reserve and male factor, we jumped straight to IVF. After five IVF cycles with three different reproductive endocrinologists, eight embryos transferred, …

Family Stories  Jessica and Timothy We are Jess and Tim. We have been together for almost six years and married for two. Tim is a school counselor and Jess is a school psychologist, both in the same PK-12 school district. We share our love and home with Arlo, our great Pyrenees pup, and Lottie, our golden Pyrenees pup. Becoming parents …

Family Stories  Jackie and Tommy Our journey together began in February 2010, while both in the Army. By September 2011, we were married. We always knew we wanted a family, so when our son came along in June 2013, we were elated to be first-time parents. We began trying for a second child in May 2015 on our own, and …

Family Stories  Paige and Charles We are high school sweethearts who decided to elope to Vegas when Paige was 19 and Charlie was 21. A few months later we bought a house and started our journey to becoming parents. Being so young, we didn’t expect this journey to be nearly as difficult or long as it has been. After a …

Family Stories  Siobhan and Edgar We met online in 2013 when we were in our thirties and knew that we had something special. Our wedding in 2015 was a joyous occasion of family and friends because family is very important to us. We waited two years to begin to try for our own family. Unfortunately, due to Siobhan’s diagnosis of …

Family Stories  Rachel and Tyler Hello! We are Rachel and Tyler. We met in 9th grade algebra class, and although sparks didn’t fly then, we remained in contact after high school and were married in 2007. Rachel is a Licensed Social Worker and works in child welfare. Tyler has been in the US Army for 13 years, a career that …

Family Stories  Feryn and Tyler We have been on our fertility journey for what has felt like a lifetime. Ty and I want nothing more than to be parents. With each appointment, surgery and negative pregnancy test our hearts have each broken a little more. To us, receiving this grant is nothing short of a miracle. This grant allows us …

Family Stories  Yesenia and Hector My husband and I married in 2013 and the thought of starting a family so soon wasn’t in our plans because we were still very young and wanted to enjoy each other as a couple. But as a year went by we decided we would give it a try and nothing happened and after about …

Family Stories  Jen and Travis Having children has always been a part of our plan. We felt beyond ready to begin a family after getting married in 2017. With us both being in our late thirties and after six months of trying to conceive (and no luck!) we decided to meet with a fertility specialist. We knew that fertility treatment …

Family Stories  Tiffany and Steve My husband and I have been trying to conceive for over two years. Eventually we realized we that we may need additional help in order to conceive. I began seeing my REI, Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, in September of 2018. After running several tests I was diagnosed with PCOS. We immediately began treatment. Unfortunately, my insurance …

Family Stories  Sarah and Sean Our story begins as two college kids that, by chance, sat next to each other in Accounting class. We can honestly say that we have been inseparable every day for the 14 years that have followed that special moment. In 2011, we got married and as a young married couple we focused on enjoying our …

Family Stories  Nitzalis Having a child on my own was not how I had envisioned my journey to motherhood going. I am divorced and single, and couldn’t allow the twists and turns in relationships to be relevant any longer in my desire to be a mother. So here I was, reviewing donor profiles and looking for honest eyes. I went …

Family Stories  Chrystelle and Brian Chrystelle is French, Brian is a Wisconsinite. She works as a CNA and goes to school in hopes of becoming a nurse. He is an active member of the US Navy, also working in the medical field. We enjoy going on walks with our dogs, splurging on French bread & cheese, or laze around in …

Family Stories  Katie and Robert Bobby and I had a plan when we got married. Since we got married just over a year after meeting each other, we thought waiting for our third anniversary would be a good idea. That gave us three years to get to know each other as a married couple, get a bigger house, save some …

Family Stories  Sheeba and Ritesh We felt so shattered when we were diagnosed with PCOS soon after getting married in 2011. Within a few months my wife was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which compounded the problem of infertility. Struggling to fulfill our dream of having a baby, we started visiting doctors for help. We got the same advice of going …

Family Stories  Raquel and Justin We have been married since January 12, 2018 and began trying to conceive way before that. We consulted several doctors regarding our issue and were disappointed to find out that are best chances for conceiving would be through IVF. We adopted two puppies, Asia and Sushi, to try and fill the gap in our hearts. …

Family Stories  Jacqueline and Oscar We have known each other for 11 years and have been married for four years. After our engagement, Oscar was involved in an devastating motor vehicle accident that left him permanently in a wheelchair. We attempted several IUI treatments, but they have been unsuccessful. We decided to apply for a Coalition Grant after our fertility …

Family Stories  Nicole and Lance We have been married for 6 years, and have been trying to conceive for half of those. We have a wonderful home and two amazing dogs but still our hearts ache for a child. We have tried just about everything to grow our family, including two IVF cycles, both which were unsuccessful. We maxed out …

Family Stories  Lora and Robert Lora and I met on match.com in November 2010. She’d just moved to the Chicagoland area. I took a chance and messaged her first. Almost four years later we were married in her hometown of Ames, Iowa. We live in the Kenosha area now. Lora works as a youth librarian, while I’m a barista, writer, …

Family Stories  Lindsay and Matthew After a year of being married, we decided it was time to start our family! However, what came next was two long years of trying, multiple doctors, endless procedures, and lots of disappointment; all of which we were unexpected. There’s been many bumps in the road: our first reproductive endocrinologist retired, our second reproductive endocrinologist …

Family Stories  Kristen and Matthew 20My fiancé, Matt, was admitted to the hospital for chronic lung allograft rejection when I met him for the first time four-and-a-half years ago. I was his nurse and, unbeknownst to me at the time, I ended up transferring the love of my life to the ICU where he waited for his second, life-saving bilateral …

Family Stories  Danielle and Dan We starting dating at 19 years old, so when we married at age 30, we felt beyond ready to start trying to grow our family right away! Danielle was diagnosed with Stage IV endometriosis at age 28 so we began our process with the Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI) right away to be proactive. As …

Family Stories  Brittany and John John and I have been married for six years and we have spent most of those six years trying to get pregnant. We got pregnant in 2012 and in 2015, but unfortunately both ended in miscarriages. We have had many tests done and unfortunately we don’t have any answers. There is nothing we want more …

Family Stories  Nao and Nicholas Our journey together started when I spotted this unbelievably stunning woman across a café. After mustering up some courage to talk with her, and despite a hilarious language barrier, we clicked immediately. Since our first encounter, it has been the best six years of my life. We have been able to support each other through …

Family Stories  Josie and Esten Our journey began a little over four years ago when, just before my 25th birthday, I had emergency open heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm and dissection. I was so young, and what happened was so severe that my cardiothoracic surgeon suspected a connective tissue disorder. After consultations with geneticists and cardiologists, what my …

Family Stories  Emilie and Mark Our beautiful five-year-old son, Finn, our beloved only child, passed away suddenly in March 2018. We were in the middle of our first IVF attempt when it happened. Finn was a bright, happy, loving little boy, and was so excited to be a big brother. Mark and I have struggled with infertility for years, and …

Family Stories  Jeanette and Brian We are Brian and Jeanette. We have been together for 13 years and married for 10. Over four years ago we started trying to have a baby and very quickly realized that we were going to need “extra” help conceiving. We started on a now four year infertility process that has included Clomid, IUI with …

Family Stories  Casie and Clay Greetings from Indiana! We are Team Claysie (otherwise known as Clay & Casie.) We first met in high school and yes, we even went to prom together. After some “on again, off again” dating we decided to stay “on” permanently when we got married in 2004. Clay was a pastor for over 10 years and …

Family Stories  Amanda and Michael After 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 …

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 …

Family Stories Juliana and Andrew Ever since they married in 2012, the couple dreamed about their future family. Andrew is a high school principal and Juliana is an elementary school counselor. They couldn’t imagine a future without little ones of their own. “I always knew I wanted to be a dad,” says Andrew. “As soon as I met Juliana, I …

Family Stories Kerri and Jason When Kerri and Jason Stallard married nine years ago, they knew they wanted to have a family. The pair hoped to have a biological child of their own, and then adopt a child. Jason’s father had grown up in an orphanage, and the couple had seen firsthand the effects of someone not having a family. …

Family Stories  Colleen and Neil Colleen and Neil began trying to conceive in 2010 without any concerns about infertility. It was a slow realization that something was not quite right. After numerous failed treatment cycles and complications, they decided to pursue adoption as the best route to have a family. “We were devastated and at a loss for how to …