Family Stories Erica and DennisWe 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, and no …
Family Stories Jessica and TimothyWe 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 has long …
Family Stories Jackie and TommyOur 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 began working …
Family Stories Paige and CharlesWe 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 year of …
Family Stories Siobhan and EdgarWe 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 PCOS, it …
Family Stories Rachel and TylerHello! 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 has taken …
Family Stories Feryn and TylerWe 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 to have …
Family Stories Yesenia and HectorMy 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 4 years …
Family Stories Jen and TravisHaving 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 would be …
Family Stories Tiffany and SteveMy 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 doesn’t cover …
Family Stories Sarah and SeanOur 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 time together …
Family Stories NitzalisHaving 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 into the …
Family Stories Chrystelle and BrianChrystelle 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 front of …
Family Stories Katie and RobertBobby 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 money, and …
Family Stories Sheeba and RiteshWe 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 for IVF …
Family Stories Raquel and JustinWe 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. Although they …
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 doctor …
Family Stories Nicole and LanceWe 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 our limited …
Family Stories Lora and RobertLora 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, and aspiring …
Family Stories Lindsay and MatthewAfter 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 was unsuccessful; …
Family Stories Kristen and MatthewMy 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 lung transplant …
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 we …
Family Stories Brittany and JohnJohn 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 than to …
Family Stories Nao and NicholasOur 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 hardships, all …
Family Stories Josie and EstenOur 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 surgeon suspected …