Savanah and Jared were surprised when they were diagnosed with infertility but were shocked when they heard the price tag to treat their diagnosis. With great careers, they considered their insurance plans to be competitive but infertility treatment was not covered by their medical insurance. They were awarded our first fertility grant in November 2020. With gratitude for our donors, Savanah and Jared are now expecting a baby girl in Fall of 2021.
Tell us about you and your husband, Jared and what led you to the Stork Foundation for Infertility.
Jared and I met in high school and dated throughout college. I am a Nurse and he works for Spire Gas in St. Louis. Because we had been dating for so long, we knew we wanted to start a family right away. It didn’t happen that way though, which of course we were surprised by. I talked to my doctor and there wasn’t too much concern because we were really still young. We did some testing and everything looked normal. We tried another year and then were referred to a fertility specialist. I had to go to countless appointments so while most people in my life did not know our fertility struggles, my co-workers did. One of my co-workers actually saw a post from The Stork Foundation on Facebook right around the time we knew we would have to pursue IVF.
You mentioned that many people close to you did not know about your fertility struggles. Why did you choose to not share?
The people who are closest to me wanted us to have a baby so much, too. It was a really hard time for me and I just didn’t want to put that grief on them as well. Family is a shared experience. I’m not saying that keeping it private was the best thing to do for everyone either. I was very lonely at some points in this journey. Unfortunately, our treatments started at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis so I had to attend all of my appointments by myself, without my husband. There were many moments that I had to receive bad news, completely alone.
Most couples have a very different experience when pursuing infertility treatments. Can you share how you and Jared processed this differently?
Because I was attending so many doctor’s appointments, checking blood work, getting ultrasounds, I questioned everything going on with me physically; I was always wondering if I was pregnant or if my body was responding to the medication. Because of the COVID restrictions, Jared could not attend the appointments with me so he was somewhat disconnected from the actual process. For me, it felt was all consuming – physically, emotionally, everything. On Mother’s Day of last year, I learned that we would need to pursue IVF after yet another failed pregnancy. This was especially heartbreaking for me. He was disappointed but also very supportive of me. It felt more ‘real’ to him once we had confirmation of our pregnancy and I think it finally really set in once we found out we were having a baby girl!
You completed several IUI treatments unsuccessfully and then started the process to pursue IVF when you submitted your application to the Stork Foundation. Was that an easy decision?
It felt like the toughest decision, but the right decision for us. We knew that if we were not awarded the grant, we would still pursue IVF. We do not have fertility coverage and the cost difference between IUI and IVF is astronomical. We were able to seek out help at a nurse driven clinic which did save us quite a bit of money but it was still very expensive.
What does the grant from The Stork Foundation mean to you?
We were so nervous when we were completing the application because we knew what it would mean to us if we were chosen. When we set up the ‘interview’ – where you surprised us by letting us know that we would be grant recipients, we were completely shocked. As you could see, it was a very emotional moment for us. We knew it was going to change our lives. We would have to take out loans to be able to complete IVF. The stress of no guarantees, a possibility of having an unsuccessful IVF with loans on top of it was terrifying. Pursuing IVF with a grant was an unimaginable weight off our shoulders. The grant also means so much to my entire family. My mom, my grandmother, both of our families were just as thrilled and grateful as we were to be able to receive this grant.
Our generous donors are the inspiring individuals who have made this journey to parenthood possible for Jared, Savanah and other hopeful ‘parents in waiting’. We thank both Savanah and Jared for sharing their story. Congratulations!
