Giselle and Virgilio met when they were four years old. Virgilio saw Giselle from across the street driving a yellow and red pedal car, and in that moment, he knew he wanted a pedal car, thus they became friends. They were neighbors, friends, each other’s first love. After several years, they drifted apart. Virgilio joined the Army and Giselle went to college, but they always came back to each other. They have been married for six years and together for 12.
Giselle, a chemist, and Virgilio, an automotive engineer, decided in 2016 to move to Ohio from Puerto Rico to find better life in the United States. After finding their dream professions, they purchased a house and decided to start building a family, but they knew they were going to need help since Virgilio was diagnosed with male infertility at a young age. So, they went to see an infertility specialist and tried several cycles of IUI. The first was a success, but sadly, ended in miscarriage. Their world came crashing down. After two years of trying, they decided to take a break thinking all hope was lost. When a coworker of Virgilio recommended, the Institute for Reproductive Health, there they met with a doctor that recommended IVF and encouraged them to apply for a Parental Hope Grant.
“Finding that we received the Parental Hope grant was one of the happiest moments of our marriage, we are happy and excited to try IVF to start our family. It feels like the spark of hope in our hearts is back.”