My name is Shahon Gunter, and I am 40 years old. My husband, Adrian (AG), and I live in Raleigh, NC, and for the past three and a half years, we have been praying and hoping to grow our family. Our story began during the height of COVID in August 2020, when AG and I met on a Christian dating app. We met in person the following month and quickly became inseparable. By December 2020, we were already talking about our future together, purchased our wedding rings in January 2021, and in May 2021 we got married. I wanted to begin trying for children right away, but AG asked that we wait at least a year, and I agreed; subsequently taking birth control. In June 2023, after giving ourselves time to build our marriage and prepare for the next chapter of our lives, we agreed that we were ready to try to grow our family. Like many couples, we believed that once I stopped taking birth control, becoming pregnant would happen relatively quickly. We were hopeful and excited about the possibility of becoming parents. But six months passed, then a year, and we still weren’t pregnant. What began as excitement slowly became confusion, disappointment, and heartache. We eventually returned to my OB-GYN to discuss our struggles and were referred to a fertility clinic in December 2024. We still had faith that we might be able to conceive naturally, so we continued to pray and hope before we made our first appointment; finally visiting the fertility clinic in May 2025. After several appointments, testing, an attempted and failed HSG, and a transvaginal ultrasound, our fertility doctor discovered that I was dealing with severe endometriosis. Further evaluation revealed that I had stage 4 endometriosis, along with several fibroids that also needed to be removed. Learning that I had been living with a condition that had been affecting me for more than 20 years without knowing it was incredibly difficult. For both AG and I, it was heartbreaking to realize that something beyond our control had been standing between us and the family we had been praying for. The journey has been difficult physically, emotionally, and financially. There have been countless doctor’s appointments, tests, difficult conversations, and moments where we have had to hold on to hope even when the outcome was uncertain. AG has walked beside me through every appointment, every decision, and every difficult day. We met with several surgeons, and in February 2026, I underwent surgery to address the endometriosis and fibroids. After recovering, we tried again to conceive naturally in May, but unfortunately, we were still unable to get pregnant. At that point, we began having conversations with our fertility clinic about IUI and IVF. Because of the severity of my endometriosis and the challenges we have already faced, our fertility team believes IVF may provide us with the opportunity we need to grow our family. Receiving the Gift of Parenthood grant would mean so much to us. It would help ease the financial burden of IVF, including the medications and procedure itself, and potentially give us the opportunity for another round of IVF if needed. More than anything, this support would allow us to focus less on the financial strain and more on taking the next step toward becoming the parents we have dreamed and prayed about being. This journey has not been what we imagined when we first decided to start our family. There have been moments of fear, disappointment, and uncertainty, but there has also been moments of love, faith, perseverance, and hope. We continue to believe that our story is still being written, and we are grateful for every person and organization willing to walk alongside us. Thank you for considering our application and for your willingness to help couples like us navigate such a deeply personal and difficult journey. Your support could bring us one step closer to the dream we have carried in our hearts for so long—to become parents. How we'll use the funds: This grant would help us cover medications, the procedure and if we need another round of IVF.