Mike and Desiree met on their first day of college in 2007 near their hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They started dating soon after, and were married in the fall of 2013. Since then, they’ve lived and worked in three U.S. time zones as Mike’s meteorology career has taken them across the country to both east and west coasts and lots of places in between. Desiree has had different jobs in each location spanning human services, retail, and childcare. They’ve seen several national parks and enjoy camping, hiking, and spending time with their water-loving chocolate lab, Lucy. This year Mike and Desiree will celebrate 10 years of marriage.
Their fertility journey began in 2013 as both wanted to start their family right after being married. Several symptoms led Desiree to undergo a diagnostic laparoscopy and find that she has endometriosis. After trying naturally for several years and a second laparoscopy, they tried two medicated IUIs. Both were unsuccessful. They were given a 1% chance of conceiving without IVF. After moving to Louisville in summer 2021, they began researching fertility clinics in the area and ways to help fund IVF. They found Parental Hope and anxiously applied for the grant hoping to be chosen as recipients.
“Parental Hope has given us renewed faith that we are not alone in our journey. We thank God for this opportunity to grow our family. To know that someone went through the harrowing path of infertility and came out on the other side willing to turn that journey into hope for others like us. We can’t describe how grateful we are for Parental Hope!”