Rachel and Adrian's Baby Fund
Donation protected
HELP US COMPLETE THIS PUZZLE!!! BRING A BABY HOME FOR RACHEL AND ADRIAN.
Any amount donated will inscribe your name(s) on the back of a puzzle piece that will be framed and hung in their home. You will always and forever be remembered by their family for graciously donating to the most important gift in their life.
Here is their story:
Adrian and I met in 2006 on a vacation to Mexico. Who knew that two people living in states on the opposite side of the country would come together in a beautiful tropic place and fall madly in love! He lived in Minnesota and, I in Texas (although we are actually both from Texas). I made the move just one short year after we met. Adrian had just started his career as a Minneapolis Police Officer and had just returned from deployment with the US Army, where he gave 8 years of service. I was a college student at the time, so I was easily able to transfer schools. We were engaged soon after my move and got married on October 10, 2008. We always knew we wanted a family. We talked about how beautiful our family would be one day and how each of us couldn’t wait to watch the other be a parent. We had no idea just how long we’d have to wait.
In 2009 our journey for children began. We tried for a year on our own and then decided to see a doctor to try and determine what issues we might be having since we hadn’t been successful in getting pregnant. At that time they had us do some basic tests that really didn’t show much. We were urged to begin fertility procedures in hopes of circumventing whatever small issue there might be. For the next year and a half we were in and out of clinics (multiple clinics). We completed over 10 rounds of artificial insemination (IUI) and had numerous tests/surgeries. It was at that point that my OBGYN doctor said we really should seek a specialist. We were referred to the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Minneapolis. We met with a doctor there who reviewed our chart from all of our past procedures. Right away by looking at our ultrasound images she said I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). A blood test confirmed this finding. Apparently this is very common and is one of the leading infertility factors with woman. However this tends to be treatable with fertility medications and can still result in pregnancy, even though that hadn’t seemed to work for us yet. She seemed very optimistic that Invitro Fertilization (IVF) would work for us since IUIs had not. At that time we were really nervous to go to that extreme. One because it was very expensive, and two because it was such an intense process. We opted to take a year off at that point and try natural remedies instead. In that year we saw an energy healer, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and completely changed our diet (gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, etc.). We tried to naturally cure our infertility problems. Unfortunately it did not result in a pregnancy for us. In 2013 we decided to take the leap and go back to the fertility clinic and try IVF. We took loans out to help pay for the large package price. We spent a year going through 3 rounds of IVF with no success. Our embryos were never healthy and never reached a stage where they could be tested for issues. We later determined this could be an egg issue caused by my PCOS. To say we were devastated is an understatement. We thought IVF was the sure solution. The physical and emotional distress was unbearable that year. We opted to walk away from fertility treatments for good. We had to take some time to grieve what would’ve been our biological child, which believe it or not is really hard to do. We decided in 2014 to join an adoption agency and pursue that avenue for building our family. Honestly it was the first time in a long time that we felt there was “for sure” something wonderful to come. The beauty of adoption is there is no fertility medication, no doctors, no month to month schedules, no failed pregnancy tests, etc. We could actually breathe for a while and enjoy life! We decided early on that we wanted to pursue international adoption and quickly found the Marshall Islands program. There was a lengthy wait, but that program seemed to align with our needs/desires/goals. We waited for a year on an initial waitlist to officially start the paperwork process. In 2015 we spent six months going through home studies, medical checks, background checks, education classes, paperwork completion, etc. to officially get on Marshall Island’s “family in waiting” list. Things were working beautifully in the program at that time. However the program took a turn for the worst in the summer of 2015. There were some issues discovered in country which severely delayed the process and forced the agency to close the program to new families. The agency was unsure what the outcome would be but told us it would easily be another 2-3 year wait and there would be risk of complete program closure which would result in all of our money being lost. We couldn’t afford the risk or the heartache of it not working. We looked into other programs (both domestic and international), but couldn’t find one that we felt good about at that point. We opted to leave the adoption behind even though thousands of dollars were lost. This came with tremendous heartache. Yet again we patiently waited and were let down. The grief that goes into putting a biological child to rest, then an adopted child is something we can’t even explain to people. You feel completely hopeless at that point. As if everything we went through wasn’t enough, we still remain hopeful and optimistic in what is yet to come. Though we had convinced ourselves we were done with fertility treatments we’ve opted to go back to the fertility clinic and try IVF again. Our doctor is hopeful that with some new options we may be successful this go around. All of this comes with a lot of dedication, desire, hope and money. We’ve never been people who’ve asked for help (other than occasional dog babysitting, thanks neighbors!). We’ve always been that couple that works hard so we can help others…and then ourselves. I can’t tell you the countless number of pregnancy announcements, baby showers, gender reveals, births, birthday parties, etc. that we’ve celebrated in with others we love. As much as it hurts that we have had a difficult journey, we are so grateful that so many others haven’t had to go through what we’ve been through. We are now asking for your love, prayers and support as we start the next chapter in our journey in hopes that WE TOO can celebrate our own child one day. We love you all very much!
Rachel (and Adrian)
Any amount donated will inscribe your name(s) on the back of a puzzle piece that will be framed and hung in their home. You will always and forever be remembered by their family for graciously donating to the most important gift in their life.
Here is their story:
Adrian and I met in 2006 on a vacation to Mexico. Who knew that two people living in states on the opposite side of the country would come together in a beautiful tropic place and fall madly in love! He lived in Minnesota and, I in Texas (although we are actually both from Texas). I made the move just one short year after we met. Adrian had just started his career as a Minneapolis Police Officer and had just returned from deployment with the US Army, where he gave 8 years of service. I was a college student at the time, so I was easily able to transfer schools. We were engaged soon after my move and got married on October 10, 2008. We always knew we wanted a family. We talked about how beautiful our family would be one day and how each of us couldn’t wait to watch the other be a parent. We had no idea just how long we’d have to wait.
In 2009 our journey for children began. We tried for a year on our own and then decided to see a doctor to try and determine what issues we might be having since we hadn’t been successful in getting pregnant. At that time they had us do some basic tests that really didn’t show much. We were urged to begin fertility procedures in hopes of circumventing whatever small issue there might be. For the next year and a half we were in and out of clinics (multiple clinics). We completed over 10 rounds of artificial insemination (IUI) and had numerous tests/surgeries. It was at that point that my OBGYN doctor said we really should seek a specialist. We were referred to the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Minneapolis. We met with a doctor there who reviewed our chart from all of our past procedures. Right away by looking at our ultrasound images she said I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). A blood test confirmed this finding. Apparently this is very common and is one of the leading infertility factors with woman. However this tends to be treatable with fertility medications and can still result in pregnancy, even though that hadn’t seemed to work for us yet. She seemed very optimistic that Invitro Fertilization (IVF) would work for us since IUIs had not. At that time we were really nervous to go to that extreme. One because it was very expensive, and two because it was such an intense process. We opted to take a year off at that point and try natural remedies instead. In that year we saw an energy healer, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and completely changed our diet (gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, etc.). We tried to naturally cure our infertility problems. Unfortunately it did not result in a pregnancy for us. In 2013 we decided to take the leap and go back to the fertility clinic and try IVF. We took loans out to help pay for the large package price. We spent a year going through 3 rounds of IVF with no success. Our embryos were never healthy and never reached a stage where they could be tested for issues. We later determined this could be an egg issue caused by my PCOS. To say we were devastated is an understatement. We thought IVF was the sure solution. The physical and emotional distress was unbearable that year. We opted to walk away from fertility treatments for good. We had to take some time to grieve what would’ve been our biological child, which believe it or not is really hard to do. We decided in 2014 to join an adoption agency and pursue that avenue for building our family. Honestly it was the first time in a long time that we felt there was “for sure” something wonderful to come. The beauty of adoption is there is no fertility medication, no doctors, no month to month schedules, no failed pregnancy tests, etc. We could actually breathe for a while and enjoy life! We decided early on that we wanted to pursue international adoption and quickly found the Marshall Islands program. There was a lengthy wait, but that program seemed to align with our needs/desires/goals. We waited for a year on an initial waitlist to officially start the paperwork process. In 2015 we spent six months going through home studies, medical checks, background checks, education classes, paperwork completion, etc. to officially get on Marshall Island’s “family in waiting” list. Things were working beautifully in the program at that time. However the program took a turn for the worst in the summer of 2015. There were some issues discovered in country which severely delayed the process and forced the agency to close the program to new families. The agency was unsure what the outcome would be but told us it would easily be another 2-3 year wait and there would be risk of complete program closure which would result in all of our money being lost. We couldn’t afford the risk or the heartache of it not working. We looked into other programs (both domestic and international), but couldn’t find one that we felt good about at that point. We opted to leave the adoption behind even though thousands of dollars were lost. This came with tremendous heartache. Yet again we patiently waited and were let down. The grief that goes into putting a biological child to rest, then an adopted child is something we can’t even explain to people. You feel completely hopeless at that point. As if everything we went through wasn’t enough, we still remain hopeful and optimistic in what is yet to come. Though we had convinced ourselves we were done with fertility treatments we’ve opted to go back to the fertility clinic and try IVF again. Our doctor is hopeful that with some new options we may be successful this go around. All of this comes with a lot of dedication, desire, hope and money. We’ve never been people who’ve asked for help (other than occasional dog babysitting, thanks neighbors!). We’ve always been that couple that works hard so we can help others…and then ourselves. I can’t tell you the countless number of pregnancy announcements, baby showers, gender reveals, births, birthday parties, etc. that we’ve celebrated in with others we love. As much as it hurts that we have had a difficult journey, we are so grateful that so many others haven’t had to go through what we’ve been through. We are now asking for your love, prayers and support as we start the next chapter in our journey in hopes that WE TOO can celebrate our own child one day. We love you all very much!
Rachel (and Adrian)
Organizer and beneficiary
Jennifer Senescall
Organizer
Victoria, MN
Rachel and Adrian Infante
Beneficiary