Courtney & Thomas

Courtney and Thomas grew up in Kansas and met in 2003 at their local community college. Falling in love at a young age, Courtney traveled to Boston with Thomas to finish their college degrees and then to Texas Tech where Thomas earned his Certificate in Ethics.

Residing in Pennsylvania for the past 5 years, Thomas is working towards earning is Ph.D. in philosophy while his job on behalf of women and children affected by cultures of violence takes him traveling around the world. Courtney has become a music teacher at a local school and offers private lessons on the side. Pursuing their careers and enjoying married life, they decided to wait until Courtney turned 30 to start trying to get pregnant.

As the only grandchild on both sides of her family, Courtney naturally felt pressure to have children of her own. For a few months, Courtney and Thomas tried to conceive without assistance. Courtney then went to her OB/GYN for testing that showed alarmingly low AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) level. The AMH test is one of the most important predictors of a woman’s egg supply. For a woman like Courtney, who is under 35 and in good health, this finding was enough to send them straight to Shady Grove Fertility and Sunita Kulshrestha, M.D. for treatment.

Courtney’s medical insurance helped cover six cycles of IUI treatment, but sadly none resulted in a pregnancy. With student loan debt obligations Courtney and Thomas weren’t able to move immediately to in vitro fertilization (IVF) so Courtney’s nurse suggested she look at the Tinina Q. Cade Foundation, a Shady Grove Fertility partner, who provides grants for fertility treatment or domestic adoption.

In June 2016, Courtney met some of the Cade community at the group’s annual Run for the Family. While Thomas was out of town on a business trip, Courtney submitted her application for a Cade Grant.

Struggling with infertility has been difficult for Courtney and Thomas but a support system is now in place to help them along their journey. At the school, Courtney teaches she’s part of a network of women who share their experiences with infertility and remain there for one another during the hard moments. Courtney says that she’s usually a private person but the encouragement and understanding from her peers has been a wonderful surprise.

As the proud and thankful recipients of a Cade Grant, Courtney and Thomas can now proceed to IVF treatment. They plan to begin their first cycle in springtime 2017. Stay tuned to hear more about their story.