Ashley and Brandon met on a blind date seven years ago and after a couple months, began dating. Three years later, Ashley and Brandon were married and knew they wanted to start a family right away. Family means everything to them as growing up traditions, laughter, and loving is what they could not wait for.
In 2016, their infertility journey began. After a couple months of trying, Ashley decided to see her OBGYN to figure out what was going on. It was recommend that they see an infertility specialist. Test results came back that both Ashley and Brandon had issues. After talking with the doctor’s and hearing treatment options, they decided to move forward with IUI. They did three IUIs that first year, but unfortunately no pregnancy. Their doctor recommended IVF as next steps. “Hearing that IVF was our best option was a lot to swallow as the only thing holding us back from the family we hoped and dreamed of was the expense of it.” Said Ashley. With the help of family and friends, they started IVF in 2018. That IVF cycle resulted in nine viable embryos, and the couple did their first transfer. A couple of weeks later, they found out they were pregnant! Seven weeks later, Ashley and Brandon got the news that they had a miscarriage.
The why’s, hopes and tears, set in. After a couple of months of grief and pain, they spoke with their doctor to see what the next steps were and decided to go in for round two. Spring of 2019 Ashley and Brandon went in for transfer. A couple weeks later, they found out that the cycle was negative. They took some time to grieve and lean on one another as well as try to figure out how they were going to have the family they always wanted. Ashley and Brandon worked and collected every coin they could so they could try again.
In January 2020, Ashley and Brandon decided to transfer 2 embryos. Two weeks later, they got the exciting news they were pregnant! At their first ultrasound, they found out that there were two sac’s. At the following ultrasound, they found out that one sac was strong and the other was too early. The bad news came at the next checkup that one baby had passed and the other had a low heartbeat. A week later, Ashley and Brandon found out they had miscarried again. They were devastated, heartbroken, and at a loss for words. Their doctor wanted to do some more testing and discovered there were more infertility issues. With five embryos remaining, Ashley and Brandon weren’t sure when they’d be able to do another transfer as the financial burden was starting to take a toll. Then, Ashley read about Parental Hope, and decided to apply.
“Our journey of sadness and disappointment over the last four years have now turned into HOPE. We are so excited to be given this opportunity by David and Jennifer and the Parental Hope family. We want to thank the generous donors who open up their hearts to donate. We will never be able to say thank you enough to all the donors and the Parental Hope family for this opportunity to give us the family we have always hoped for.”