My husband and I have always cherished the thought of children and having a large family. We met prior to me joining the military.  We were married halfway through my training in Texas, and we have been together through California, Japan and now Illinois. Sharing this experience with the love of my life has been a fun and life changing experience.

Over the past six years we have struggled with never successfully being pregnant and we finally went to see a fertility specialist. Finding out that we have a low chance of having a child without IVF was a scary thought, but I knew with our love and devotion to having a baby we would find a way.

Through the military, fertility treatment options were slim to none and financially it would be almost impossible for us. I was introduced to this financial grant by researching and gathering advice from my fertility doctor and have been so thankful to know there are organizations such as The Chicago Coalition for Family Building, offering to take on the financial burden and support us to bring a life into this world. It is the best gift my husband and I could have ever been given. I am extremely thankful for this grant and I am beyond excited to continue our journey into parenthood.

Sydney and Max are the recipients of a donated IVF cycle from our Partner Practice, Fertility Centers of Illinois.