Campaign Story

I have been through countless experiences in my life that were “life altering.” Events that would cause many to fall to their knees, turned me into the strong, perseverant woman I am today. But one tragedy in my life drags me down rather than helping me stand tall, the inability to conceive a child.
At 13 years old, I met the love of my life, Kalvin. We heard we’d never make it, time and again. But after 20 years, our love for each other holds strong. Kalvin has been by my side through all the events that have made me who I am, our relationship has been the one constant in my life. He was there when my parents got divorced. After high school he helped me take-in my three younger siblings when my parents were not in a good place. He supported me as I put myself through college and celebrated with me when I graduated with my teaching degree, and a few years later my masters! We purchased our first home in 2014. He held my hand when my mother passed away in an unexpected accident and cried with me as we missed her on our wedding day.
Through all this tragedy, and hardship, we never hesitated in wanting a family. Since 2017, we have been trying for a child to no avail. I have met with several different doctors. One was very lax about the situation and believed that with some stress management and nutritional changes we would be pregnant soon, because we had once before (ending in a tragic loss at 16 weeks). So, I met with a nutritionist that I have seen for the past three years. My nutritionist referred me to acupuncture, which I have been doing consistently for the last three years. I was referred to a massage therapist who does Mayan abdominal massages to help women conceive. I was sure that would have done the trick, but month after month I am still not pregnant. We also met with a fertility specialist near our home town. We learned that I have “puny eggs”, my husband needs to drink more water and he gave me a pill to regulate one hormone that was off. After a few months of monitoring my hormones to make sure the medication was working, we never heard back from him.
In the summer of 2019, I decided to quit teaching in the hopes that it would help me focus on starting a family full time and help with the stress management. I found peace in staying home and taking care of the day-to-day, but we were still unable to conceive. At the end of 2020, I was referred to Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine where I met the wonderful, Dr. Robert Gustofson. He gave me hope that I would one day be a mother. Shortly after some routine fertility testing in early 2021, to my surprise I fell pregnant naturally but again it ended in miscarriage and another D&C. We attempted IUI in the fall of 2021 but it was unsuccessful and I was told my progesterone was too low. With ambition, I hauled myself to the clinic three more times hoping to get the go ahead for another round of IUI but each time I had an ovary cyst that prevented us from moving forward. We now are on the exciting and scary rollercoaster of emotions, journey of IVF beginning mid to end January of 2023. Our expected out of pocket costs for this first round of IVF is around $23,000-$25,000. We have already invested so much time, emotions and funds into making our dreams come true.
Our hearts have always been happy as we watched friend, after friend, couple after couple bringing new life into the world. We’ve built a happy home in Wellington, CO, however, each time we’ve felt a ping of sadness at our empty nest, we’ve preserved and kept trying to build our family.
I have been a mother my whole life, caring for my family and close friends, day in and day out. But now it is my turn to be a MOM to my OWN children! I can’t wait to see Kalvin become a father. He has so much compassion, love, and tenderness to share. For most couples trying to conceive without luck would put a strain on their marriage, however I feel that our relationship continues to grow and strengthen; but, I know Kalvin is stressed about not being able to get pregnant naturally. He doesn’t say much because he wants to be strong and support me however, I know the pain is there. We can not wait to hold our own baby in our arms. We are looking forward to sleepless nights, stinky diapers, and a house covered in toys.

You might be wondering how the funds will be applied, I know I would be! Seven thousand will go toward medications, they unfortunately are not covered by our insurance. Nearly $3000.00 will go toward “IXY,” direct sperm injection into my retrieved eggs. The remaining five thousand dollars will be applied to the ins and outs of the egg retrieval, sedation, genetic testing, embryo freezing/hatching, transfer. We are so hopeful that our first round of IVF will work, especially with the blessings and prayers from our amazing support group.

Please help make mine and my husband’s dream come true by helping us fund treatment.

Thank you,
Danielle and Kalvin Knott