To our future donor family,

 

We are [Her name] and [His name] from the suburbs. Of course want to first thank you for taking the time to read this and to consider us as recipients for donor embryos. We know attempting to create embryos is nothing to take lightly and is quite a journey. Seven years ago when we got married, we never thought we would have to go on a fertility journey not to mention now an embryo adoption journey.

 

Looking back, it actually makes sense that we are now looking to adopt embryos because a few years ago when we started to try to grow our family we started with foster to adopt in our state. We went though all the background checks, the classes and homework however this ended up not being something that was a good fit for our household. We decided we were not able to manage all the visitations and meetings as well as provide for the child. Next, we started actively trying to have a baby of our own and this included seeing a doctor to check us both out. It was at this time that we learned that [His name] sperm count was low and would not be enough to create a child. Since we were comfortable adopting to start with, having the same DNA was not important to us so we moved forward and did 6 failed IUIs with donor sperm. At this time, we decided we were not getting anywhere and moved forward with egg retrieval. This included one round of failed medications and one round that yielded four eggs. Out of the four eggs none made it far enough along for a transfer. I think this was the lowest part of our journey so far, I could not even make it halfway into church the week I found out before needing to leave. After talking with our fertility doctor there was no reason to believe that another egg retrieval would not yield similar results. Using donor eggs was something we started thinking about when my first round of medications did not work too well after not making it to a transfer, we learned that adopting embryos was a possibility. Since we where already using donor sperm and open to traditional adoption before embryo adoption just seems like a perfect fit for us. Our views on family are that love, commitment and hard work make family relationships.

 

Now that we all had a good cry over what led us here whether for the good or bad let us introduce ourselves some more. [His name] grew up in [State]. where he went through years of therapies after being born very early. After all of [his name] hard work and his parents’ dedication he is able to be a fully functioning adult. He is the oldest of two children. His mother unfortunately passed away in 2019 after working as an LPN for 31 years. His dad and brother still live in the family home in [State]. [His name] talks to them almost every day and we try to visit as much as possible. [His name] has achieved his Associate in Occupational Studies and Culinary Arts from Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.  and a BS. Culinary Management from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA.  He just recently accepted a position at a members-only club where his position is GardeManger I; (cold food production manager)

 

I grew up the only child to my parents. Both my parents worked in banking and finance their whole career in various roles. I was also born early, not as early as [His name] however I gave my parents a scare or two at first as well. My parents continue to live in my childhood home and are active in both our lives. My degree is a Bachelors of Social Work from Seton Hill University and I am currently a patient services representative at a medical office as well an emergency relief staff for  behavioral health department. As part of my 11 year career with healthcare I have been trained in various topics such as medication management, first aid, overdose treatment, CPR, and crises management. I was also a crises management trainer for two years . My work schedule is flexible and allows me to pick shifts that work for our life since I fill in as emergency relief for one department and my work as a patient services representative allows me to be off every weekend and holiday

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Let us also introduce you a little to our support system and families made of blood relationships as well as shared life experiences too. My parents are our biggest support due to living closest to us. We talk almost every day, see each other regularly and even as we write they are on vacation but are emailing us every day. We have many friends, coworkers, cousins, aunts and uncles around us that are also very supportive of our journey that we are in communication with. Since I [Her name] am an only child my roommate from college has become like a sister to me and the word friend just does not seem to be enough to describe our bond. She has been with us though this whole process as well and has been nothing but supportive and continues to tell us how excited she is to become Aunt J. She also has her own child a two-year girl who we love dearly, and [Her name] calls her “Sunshine!” . We also have A., she used to be my girl scout leader in my preteens. We have since than moved on from scouting and have been attached at the hip ever since and throughout this whole process A. keeps telling me “Don’t you dare give up!”. Let us not forget our quietest supporter is our dog Fifi who has been our fur baby for five years and she has done great visiting with my friends’ children who are of various ages. All these people are strong positive influences and supporters in our life that we care for a great deal and can’t wait to bring a child in to share in these relationships.

 

We have also spoken with our parents, and they are supportive and plan in assisting with childcare while at work. Since [Her name] is an only child, we also know the need to have peer relationships and spending time with other kids. This why we will also use a local daycare in addition to our parents to help us balance parenthood and work life. We also have local family center locations that have child programs to help foster child development and relationships as well. Both of us are practicing Catholics and attend mass every weekend and on holy days. We look forward to bringing our child into the faith as well and our church is made up of many young families.

 

A little more about ourselves, when we are not working or at church, we enjoy traveling whether it’s close to home or out of state. We try to go to up Lake [name] once a year since it is the closest beach to us as well a vacation once a year. This year we have planned a Graceland trip for [His name] birthday, because he’s turning 40! He grew up listening to Elvis Presley, and even entered a talent show in high school as Elvis!  We love going to music related events most recently we saw Blake Shelton and have tickets for Wicked when it comes [City]. [His name] grew up to appreciate music and even had an Elvis outfit when he was a kid, [Her name] grew up with her parents taking her to music events around the city as well. Some of our best memories together have been hiking the coast of Lake [name], canoeing with a church group, and any time we can be in nature or near water. When at home we enjoy cheesy seasonal and holiday activities such as carving a pumpkin and dying Easter eggs every year. Most of our meals are home made especially around the holidays! [Her name] isn’t scared to try baking like her mom and grandma even though her Lamb shaped cake at Easter can use some practice it still tastes homemade. We enjoy grilling when its warm out and having family and friends over as well. Every summer we plant as many pots as we can for our back yard. His name likes to remember when his grandmother used to plant oh so many flowers in her back yard when he was growing up.

 

We look forward to hopefully raising a child in a loving home that teaches the value of hard work and family relationships no matter how those people came into our lives. Our home and household are ready as it can be to go down the road of embryo adoption and parenthood. We can not put into words how much we appreciate the opportunity you are giving us by being available for this program. We will continue to keep all the donors and embryos in our thoughts and prayers throughout all of this. Thank you so much and we look forward to what is next!