For two and a half years, my husband, Alex, and I tried to grow our family on our own. Month after month, we hoped this would be the month we finally got a positive pregnancy test. Eventually, we realized that we needed help. Seeking fertility treatment a year ago was not a decision we expected to have to make, but our dream of becoming parents was too important to give up on. I am 37 years old and have been diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), with an AMH of 0.15 and an FSH of 11. Hearing that diagnosis was difficult. Suddenly, something we had dreamed about for years became a set of numbers, test results, appointments, medications, and uncertainty. Still, Alex and I decided that we wanted to do everything we reasonably could to have a child. Before going to Midwest Fertility Clinic, I tried Clomid for three months without success. Once we began fertility treatment, I had an HSG as part of our testing. Alex also completed a semen analysis before our first IUI, which thankfully came back with good results. I then underwent my first surgery, a hysteroscopy with MyoSure and D&C. During the procedure, a polyp was found and removed. After recovering, we moved forward with three rounds of IUI. For those cycles, I took medications including letrozole, Gonal-F, Ovidrel, and progesterone. During our first IUI cycle, my follicles measured 14 mm, 16 mm, and 18 mm. During our second cycle, they measured 20 mm, 22 mm, and 24 mm. During our third cycle, I had a follicle measuring 26 mm. Every cycle gave us a new reason to hope. Seeing follicles grow on the ultrasound screen made everything feel possible again. We followed medication schedules, gave injections, rearranged our lives around appointments, and waited anxiously to find out if this would finally be our chance. Three times, we allowed ourselves to hope, and three times, we learned that our IUI had failed. After our third unsuccessful IUI, Alex underwent a sperm DNA fragmentation test to make sure there wasn't another factor contributing to our infertility. Thankfully, those results were also good. I then underwent my second surgery, a laparoscopy with chromotubation, as we continued searching for answers and doing everything we could to give ourselves the best chance possible. The doctors did not find anything during the procedure that would explain why we have been unable to become pregnant. Now, after two and a half years of trying on our own, fertility testing, an HSG, two surgeries, three failed IUIs, medications, injections, and countless appointments, we have been told that IVF is our next step. Because of my age and diminished ovarian reserve, our fertility specialist has recommended that we move forward with IVF rather than continue with additional IUI cycles. With DOR, we know time is a factor, and at 37, we feel an urgency to move forward while we still have the opportunity to try using my own eggs. Hearing that IVF is our next step is both hopeful and frightening. It gives us another chance, but it also comes with financial and emotional challenges we never imagined facing when we first started trying to have a baby. Infertility has become a part of our lives in a way we never expected. It is difficult to describe the emotional cycle of hoping, waiting, and being disappointed over and over again. Each treatment requires you to believe that maybe this time will be different. When it isn't, you have to find a way to pick yourself back up and decide to keep going. Through every appointment, injection, procedure, surgery, and negative result, Alex has been beside me. This journey belongs to both of us. It has tested us emotionally and financially, but it has also reminded us how deeply we want to become parents. So far, we have spent approximately $13,000 on doctors' appointments, fertility testing, surgeries, treatments, and medications. We have done everything we can to continue moving forward, but IVF brings a financial burden that is difficult for us to carry after everything we have already spent. At the same time, because of my age and diminished ovarian reserve, delaying treatment is something we worry could further decrease our chances of success. Receiving a Gift of Parenthood grant would be more than financial assistance. It would give us the chance to keep going at a time when time itself matters so much. It would help us pursue IVF without finances being the reason we have to delay or stop before we have had the opportunity to take this next step. We understand that IVF is not a guarantee, especially with my diminished ovarian reserve. We know there may still be difficult days ahead, but we are not ready to give up on the family we have dreamed about for so long. We have already faced years of trying, surgeries, failed treatments, medications, injections, tests, and heartbreak, and somehow we continue to find hope. More than anything, Alex and I want the chance to become Mom and Dad. We are not asking for a guarantee—we are asking for the opportunity to try. We hope that someday we will look back at this difficult chapter and know that every appointment, every injection, every tear, and every time we chose to keep going eventually led us to our child. A Gift of Parenthood grant would give us that opportunity and allow us to take the next step toward the family we have spent years hoping for.