the beginning
Chris and I first met in 2018, although our lives had been intercrossed since 1988. We went to the same church, pool and our some of our best friends are brother and sister.
Since our first date in 2018, kids have always been something we both wanted (yes we talked about this on the first date). We began trying for a family right after we were married.
Our fertility struggle
After things weren’t happening “naturally,” we were referred to fertility clinic-Main Line Fertility. Although both of us have great jobs (Nurse Practitioner and Fire Fighter) we had no fertility coverage, which is very common. You would think with good insurance you would have this, but many times there isn’t specific fertility cover.
We were planning for a IUI (taken the medication and all set to go the day before) when we found out that IVF would be the only likely way, we would be able to have a family and were referred to meet with another specialist first.
Ultimately, we then moved forward and completed several rounds of IVF (meaning lots of shots and hormones for Danielle).
This was such an emotional, physical and financial burden on us. Not only do you have to pay for treatment that is extremely expensive, but the medications are also very expensive and change frequently during the course of treatment.
Once we had 3 embryos were ready to move to the next step getting ready to transfer. My body took a while to recover from all the treatment so moving forward took some time. I needed to have a few procedures to help get set up for good shape.
This part was a little mentally taxing; it require frequent clinic trips but nothing was really happening for a chunk of time. Many have a timeline in your head of how this will go, but a timeline when it comes to fertility treatment constantly changes.
We came to the gym and met with Lynn and Matt. Their words to us were what we needed to hear. It was so nice being able to connect. We left and both felt weight lifted off our shoulders.
Danielle & Chris
Applying for the grant
We applied for the Better Sweat Foundation grant in 2023 after learning from promotion we saw on Facebook. Honestly, we didn’t think we would stand a chance (as that’s just how life seemed to be going) also we were slightly skeptical because it seemed too good to be true.
Matt and April reached out to us, and it is something we will be forever grateful for. I attended the event in 2023 with my mom, mother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law. The day was so special.
Meeting Lynn, Matt and the community was truly wonderful. The event was amazing, and it was so nice to see everyone helping out a cause that is so common yet is also not talked about. Lynn and I shed some tears, both happy and sad. Unless you’ve been there it’s hard to understand but there was an immediate connection.
Shortly after the event we were able to do a transfer! Although it was successful we got news several weeks later that my numbers were dropping, and I ultimately miscarried. We received the grant officially shortly after.
We came to the gym and met with Lynn and Matt. Their words to us were what we needed to hear. It was so nice being able to connect. We left and both felt weight lifted off our shoulders.
The grant also helped ease the financial burden & helped ease our minds. We then learned that Main Line was also going to match the grant! This was such a big deal as we were unsure which direction we would be able to afford next.
hope for our family
After receiving the grant, we decided to go forward with more testing. After a rough summer of treatment for me (I was put into a medical menopause) we got the green light for another transfer.
On October 13th we transferred our second embryo. There is a 10 day wait until you find out if the transfer worked- this may be one of the hardest and longest waits.
On October 23rd we found it was successful and our numbers continued to go up.
After so much work, sweat & tears it was very hard to believe–I still don’t think I believe it–we welcomed Pierce Patrick Corcoran on June 25th at 1209 pm (38.5 hours of labor) at 7 lbs and 19 inches. He was perfect.
Pierce brings us so much happiness & makes the whole journey all worth it. We are one of the lucky ones who got our baby, and we know this isn’t always the case.
We are gearing up to head back into the fertility trenches for another round of IVF to hopefully get Pierce a sibling or two. We couldn’t have done this without all the support from this community!!!
