Campaign Story

My name is Sadie, and I have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility.

It’s really hard to ask for help, especially with something that’s so personal and makes you feel like a complete failure. But as a teacher I have learned that asking for help is an act of self-love and self-advocacy, and so here I am.

My wife Kate and I have been married for 5 years. We are both teachers at a public school in Oakland, California. I am a Spanish reading interventionist and my wife is an Instructional Coach. We are passionate about serving and empowering children and their families every day, but now we are reaching out to the wider community because we need support.

Our dream was for me to carry a baby so that our son (who my wife gave birth to) can have siblings and complete our family. However, we have been trying for a year and I have been unable to get pregnant. Unexplained infertility, as all other infertility diagnoses, has been heartbreaking. It affects every aspect of your life and is both an emotional and financial burden.

As a LGBTQ+ family, nothing about trying to have a baby is “free,” even when we were trying at home. We have had to pay for every sperm vial and IUI service provided to us. In the last year, we have spent almost all of our savings. Now that we are looking to doing IVF, we are absolutely crushed by how much it is going to cost.
We live in the Bay Area, which is extremely expensive. Our son’s daycare is very expensive, and I also have $100,000 in student loan debt. While we have great basic health insurance through work, it does not cover any aspects of IVF treatment.

We appreciate any possible contribution to our IVF journey and we promise to “pay it forward.”

Thank you all so very much.