Infertility can be lonely, traumatic, heartbreaking, brutal, and utterly unrelenting. We know, we’ve experienced it first hand. Our journey to parenthood was not easy, and we don’t wish our path on anyone. For those who are in the midst of fertility issues, there are definitely more questions than answers. It consumes your thoughts, energy, and, oftentimes, financial resources while making you question your beliefs and convictions. Even with more progressive coverage options from insurance providers, the costs for appointments, prescription medications, and procedures can be prohibitive. Having undertaken this journey, we count our blessings daily that we had the ability to pursue this dream. For many others, the costs are a significant and/or prohibitive barrier.

When we were thinking about how best to commemorate the birth of our son, Shayan, we wanted to use this opportunity to both raise awareness on behalf of this cause, one that is often not openly discussed by our community, and help others. Even many of our closest family and friends don’t know the intimate details of our journey. In the spirit of open communication, since 2018, we have endured a miscarriage (2018), three failed intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles (2019), one failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) transfer (2019), and two cancelled IVF transfers (2019 and 2020) before finally achieving a positive result in June of 2020. Suffice to say, even with the medical options available today, a successful outcome is not guaranteed, and the costs continue to rise for each successive attempt.

We sincerely want to try and help other families achieve their dream of parenthood. We had a lot of help and support along the way, and if there is an opportunity to pay this forward for another couple, we stand ready to offer our assistance. To that end, we will match the funds raised through this effort in hopes that it will help grant some financial relief to another family who is struggling to conceive while offering our most sincere prayers to those who are going through the same journey we endured. While searching for a charity in the delivery room, we found the Gift of Parenthood. Inspired by their mission, we are proud to partner with them on this effort. We encourage you to read about their organization and do your own research before you decide to donate.