Shelby and Nathan met in high school. Nathan had just moved to Kentucky from Florida and six months later, they started dating. They continued dating throughout college and were married in June of 2013. Because they were married at such a young age, Shelby and Nathan agreed that they wanted to wait before trying to start a family and just enjoy life and being with each other.
In 2017, they decided it was time to start trying for their first baby. One year came and went with no luck, so Shelby decided to seek help from her OB/GYN. She did a couple of tests, that included three months of taking clomid. After those three months were unsuccessful, the OB/GYN suggested that they see a Reproductive Endocrinologist. Upon seeing the RE, they completed more tests in which things appeared to be normal. They then completed two IUIs, both of which were unsuccessful. After speaking to others who had struggled with infertility, Shelby and Nathan learned about the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) and had all of their medical records transferred. They underwent another IUI, and after it failed, decided to have Shelby complete a laparoscopy to check for endometriosis. Turns out, Shelby had endometriosis, which was removed during a surgical procedure. They did one final IUI, which was also unsuccessful.
Feeling discouraged, Shelby and Nathan wondered how they would manage to pay for IVF after already paying what felt like a second mortgage in fertility treatments. On their last trip to IRH, Shelby just happened to look on the IRH Facebook page and saw a post shared about an IVF Grant from Parental Hope. After debating for a few weeks about whether or not to do it, they decided to go for it. Up until this point, they had shared their infertility struggles with very few close friends and some family. After making an initial Facebook post about their struggle, Shelby and Nathan were overwhelmed with love and support.
“Opening up about our struggle with infertility has been one of the best things we could have ever done. We feel like such a weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. This may not be how we envisioned our journey to become parents would go, but we know that this is all a part of God’s plan for us. We were over the moon excited whenever we were announced as IVF grant recipients at the Spring for Hope Event. We can’t say enough good things about this organization and are so very thankful for this opportunity. We are looking forward to our future and are filled with such HOPE!