Julie & Chris met each other
at a bonfire. Both were going through some challenging times and have been
inseparable since that first night. You might call that
fate. Who could have foreseen that 6.5 years later they
would be married three years, settled in to a new home and
enjoying fulfilling careers. Chris is an automotive mechanic
and Julie helps uninsured pregnant women in
her community obtain medical coverage through
the state of Missouri. They enjoy the
outdoors, family & friends, music and their
two dogs. Chester is a rescue Miniature
Pinscher who recently turned 19 and Nola is a Boston Terrier with tons of personality.
When they finally
felt comfortable enough to begin their journey to
start a family, they knew Julie’s advanced maternal age
could create some barriers
to success. After trying for one year, they sought out the advice of
a specialist for Julie’s suspected
endometriosis. After lots of testing and a diagnostic laparoscopy,
zero abnormalities
were discovered. They turned their attention to
Chris. Two semen analyses later and the worst-case scenario
was confirmed. Chris was diagnosed with Azoospermia (absence of sperm). With
medical insurance covered $0 of treatment, they had some hard choices
to make. They had to grieve the loss of
a biological child and the simple and fun way
of bringing a baby into this world. Fortunately, they came
out on the other side of depression ready to take action and to tackle this
head on.
They began treatment with
a Reproductive Endocrinologist. She recommended IUI with
donor sperm or IVF. Since everything looked good on
Julie’s end, they proceed with IUI and donor
sperm. After three unsuccessful attempts, one of which was pretty
traumatizing, they were at
the end of the road with IUI. By some kind of miracle after
a few medications for Chis, he had one semen analysis
show some possibility to produce biological
children. Finally some good news! They vowed to pay down
the debt they have acquired trying IUI and move
forward with IVF.
Julie spent hours researching the best clinics
for IVF in Missouri. She spoke to
several clinics getting financial quotes along
the way. She was researching ways to help with
the cost of IVF and came across IVF grants. Julie soon found not
all IVF grants were made equal. They did not quality for so many
for one reason or another. She found Parental Hope and
suddenly it seemed like a possibility, so they applied.
“The “Hope” in Parental Hope is so
appropriate. What a blessing to take a huge part of
the stress and worry away from an already so arduous journey,
a journey that touched every aspect of life. The
Parental Hope Grant has changed our whole perspective. We
can now just focus on
the task at hand. The pressure of the financial
part is gone. It has helped us regain some of
ourselves back and breathe a sigh of relief.”
Albert Schweitzer once said, “At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
“Parental Hope has helped us find our flame again. We know the road ahead is bumpy but we feel like we are not in this alone. We are overjoyed to be a part of the Parental Hope Family.”