Beth and Sean’s fertility journey has been beyond difficult. They have been married for just over four years and when they first sat down to plan their life together, they just knew that they would be well on their way to the family they always wanted. Beth and Sean thought the biggest hurdle they’d incur would be simply to find the time to enjoy one another. As their married life continued, however, starting a family proved to be more difficult than they had ever expected.
Very early in Beth and Sean’s marriage, it was discovered that Beth had severe endometriosis. After laparoscopy and six IUIs, they finally turned to IVF. Retrieval occurred in June 2017 and they were ecstatic to hear that they had three healthy embryos. A few days later, Beth and Sean transferred one embryo and weeks later, got the most incredible news that they were pregnant. Beth and Sean felt so incredibly fortunate that their first IVF round brought them their beautiful daughter, Gwendolyn. From the moment they found out that they had three healthy embryos, Beth and Sean envisioned their lives with three children and were anxious to meet her siblings. On February 22, 2019, Beth and Sean transferred their second embryo and were excited to discover Beth was once again pregnant. Unfortunately, when they went for their first ultrasound, they discovered that their little baby’s heart had stopped beating. Weeks later, Beth miscarried at home, only several hours before she was scheduled to have a D&C.
There was never any question that Beth and Sean would transfer their last embryo, but shouldering the cost of fresh and frozen IVF cycles, as well as the medical bills surrounding a successful pregnancy and a miscarriage, their last frozen cycle was feeling out-of-reach.
“Incredibly, Parental Hope has given us the opportunity to try again without having to bear the financial burden (because Lord knows the emotional burden is more than enough). Knowing that we only have one embryo left is a bit terrifying because we are quite literally putting all our eggs in one basket, but we are both hopeful that this last cycle will give us the sibling for Gwen that we so desire. We are so thankful for Parental Hope for giving us the opportunity, but even more importantly, for providing us with a community of love and support that continues to walk alongside us on this journey.”