This is single handedly the most important letter I will ever write…
Hi, my name is Abby and my husbands name is Craig and this is our story. Craig and I met 13 years ago at Kent State University. I was half way through my senior year and I was just getting ready that spring to ship off to California for an amazing internship program that I was accepted into. I would of course meet this amazing guy then move across the country for the summer – it was the perfect setup for a cheesy romance movie! His charisma pulled me right in and I have never looked back.
Fast-forward 2 ½ years later, we got engaged! The engagement was a complete shock and one of my favorite stories to tell. I am an event planner by trade and I am always the one who plans our vacations, parties, really any reason to get everyone together. We were on our way to Canada (one of our favorite vacation spots) and we always drive through Niagara but never stop (have to beat the time record every year). Craig said he wanted to stop and look at the Falls. I was shocked but thought, great, I’ll go with it! I was gazing at the rushing water coming down and I turned around and Craig was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He then took me straight to the car and said we have dinner reservations at the top of the Falls. Side note, our Canada trip is a fishing trip so by no means did I pack proper clothes for a fancy dinner. No worries, he secretly packed my favorite dress and heels and we had the most amazing dinner with a firework show to end the night. We spent all week in Canada with our families and it was the best week ever! The best part about being married to Craig is the constant laughter. Even on my worst days, he always finds a way to make me smile.
We had the most amazing wedding and we were truly blessed to have all of our friends and family celebrating with us that day. We just celebrated our 7-year anniversary on September 7th.
Craig and I share the same values and beliefs. We both have amazing families that are a part of our lives. We spend holidays and vacations together and spend time with each other as often as possible. Craig and I have always wanted to start our own family. We started off 10 years ago with our little 5-pound poodle, Chloe Bear.
2 years ago, we decided we wanted to start our family. Since I was 13, I have had normal cycles, annual pap smears, and a clean bill of health. Our first month we tried and I was not pregnant. We did everything right (or so I thought). I cried so hard that morning and Craig just held me. I guess I thought getting pregnant wouldn’t be difficult. I was so disappointed. But I thought, Ok, pull yourself together, it’s only the first month and it can take a couple of tries. A couple months went by and we still were not pregnant. After month 5, my doctor put me on Clomid. Month after month of disappointment, I could feel my body getting tired. The amount of ovulation and pregnancy tests that I bought and took should be a crime! I even saw an acupuncturist weekly for months in hopes that would help. After about a year of trying, my primary doctor then referred me to Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility with Dr. Maseelall. Our first meeting was in the depths of Covid and we met via Klara. After some tests, it was recommended to try a couple months of IUI with Letrozole + trigger shot. Each month my dosage went up and my body was getting tired but I needed, wanted to fight through. We just ended our 3rd month and it was unsuccessful. That’s when it was decided we wanted to take the next and final step of IVF. Growing up (especially as I got older) one of my biggest fears was not being able to get pregnant (I had no reason to ever feel this way) but every day we are not, I am living that fear. After we started the conversation of IVF, I broke. It was all coming to a strong reality that this is what we have to do. So many things ran through my head in that moment; how will we pay for this? What if it doesn’t work? What will this do to my body? Why us? I have the toughest time trying to understand our unexplained infertility. We don’t have answers. I always thought I knew my body like clockwork and this experience has changed that completely.
We cannot financially proceed with IVF on our own. With so many thoughts running through our heads with this process, trying to figure out how we can possibly fund this on our own has been the hardest part. Up until this point, we have already spent a couple thousand of our savings on treatments & medication. Finically, we cannot continue. When we first learned of Samantha’s Gift of Hope, we immediately knew that this grant could be our saving grace and give us hope for the possibility of having our child. As I type this, I still can’t believe we are here but I am thankful we have this moment.
This journey has been long. I have laughed, I have cried. I have gained hope while sometimes losing it. I pray every night that one day we will have the opportunity and blessing to be parents. Samantha’s Gift of Hope would give us just that, hope. Even if it just for a little while longer.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this opportunity and hope.
This was my letter I submitted for our grant opportunity. I am convinced Craig’s letter was what actually got us the grant. I am not sure if that is something I will ever share. But it’s something I will keep close to my heart forever and hope to share with our children one day.