Nicole and Christian met in middle school during an audition for West Side Story. Their paths crossed many times over the next several years. After high school, Christian joined the Army and was deployed to Kosovo and Afghanistan. Upon returning, Christian and Nicole picked up where they left off, started dating and got married!
Eleven years into their marriage, their desire to start a family was growing deeper every day. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to conceive, so Nicole set-up a consultation with a fertility specialist. Prior to her consultation, Nicole was screened for breast cancer at a mobile mammography event her work had organized. Two weeks later, Nicole, 33, was shocked to learn that she had breast cancer. Nicole and Christian put their dreams of starting a family on the backburner to pursue cancer treatment. After several successful surgeries, her oncologist declared her cancer free! With a clean bill of health, they focused their efforts back to becoming parents. Hopes were dashed again when fertility testing revealed there was very little chance of conception without IVF.
Nicole and Christian express sentiments after learning they were chosen as grant recipients, “Words cannot express how truly grateful we are for the Parental Hope Family Grant. Our journey with cancer has given us an awareness to not take anything for granted; particularly something as precious as life. After having a devastating year, Parental Hope has filled us with a hope and optimism for our future.”
***Update: Nicole and Christian welcomed their son, Elijah, on February 8, 2018.