We met when we were teenagers. Fell in love in college but thought we should do a little growing up, finish college, live some life but were always each other’s best friend. Seventeen years later, we knew we obviously couldn’t go through this life without each other. And now we have been so happily married for 12 year.

We had always hoped to get pregnant naturally. In 2020, the pandemic hit which delayed our process of learning why we’re not able to conceive on our own. When we could finally get an appointment and all the tests done in March 2022, we found out like many people, some natural factors of our age meant safely and healthily achieving pregnancy without medical help wasn’t possible. This was devastating, but speaking with doctors and IVF specialists showed us how we could still achieve our dream of having a family, and we became excited about working to reach that bright future.

We have wanted to have children for a long time and were afraid to ask for help. When we learned more about IVF and that our family was willing to help, we had to try.

They say “it takes a village to raise a child.” It seems we need a little extra help from science, friends, family and generous organizations, like yours, to grow our family. We are beyond grateful to receive this grant. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts.

Sean and Christine are recipients of the Path to Parenthood Grant from the Jewish United Fund – Chicago.