Katie & Ryan

Katie & Ryan's Story:

When I was diagnosed with PCOS right before we got married, Ryan and I knew we wanted to have children eventually, but we didn’t know how long it would take.

We tried to get pregnant without assistance for five years and suffered five early miscarriages along the way. We couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t carry a pregnancy full-term, since all the tests were coming back clear except for my PCOS and an existing autoimmune diagnosis.

After those five losses, we were scared and felt defeated, but we decided to go to a local fertility clinic and keep trying. For nearly another three years, we tried several rounds of medication for ovulation, underwent extensive testing, and tried different protocols and IUI, but didn’t have any successful cycles.

In 2022, our best friends moved on from IUI to IVF and inspired us to give it a try. They had a similar fertility journey and had success on their first round of IVF. We considered our options, but the cost at our local clinic was so high, and we didn’t feel like we were getting personalized care there.

Looking at other clinics, we found CNY and were blown away by the amount of information and transparency they offered on their website and in their social media posts.

When we reached out to CNY, we were extremely happy with the level of care and support we received. My initial call with Dr. Kiltz gave me so much hope. He told me that I was a great IVF candidate and started me on mini IVF and autoimmune protocol. Within two weeks of my initial call, I was able to start a stim cycle for retrieval. The staff at the Sarasota office were all amazing. Megan, especially, was my lifeline through treatments and made me feel like I received extremely personalized care.

We did our egg retrieval with Dr. Corley in Syracuse in May 2023 and had amazing results. We decided to PGT test our embryos due to my loss history and were blessed with all normal results. We got the results in time to transfer with Dr. Corley at the end of May. We found out that our transfer was successful in June and welcomed our sweet baby girl in January 2024.

We are so grateful to CNY for our little family. We feel so blessed to have had success with IVF after several losses, and we are very happy with the experience we had at CNY. Thank you to all the staff at Syracuse and Sarasota for your support.

To everyone still on their journey, we are rooting for you. I hope that you don’t give up. It took nearly eight years for us to get our rainbow!

(Photos by Marisa Stone)

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Megan at Sarasota
Dr Kiltz
Dr Corley
Dr Kondrup

Helpful resources Katie & Ryan found:

Journaling
Community Facebook pages like CNY fertility and Reddit pregnancy groups
Family + Friends
Lots of distractions between scans and betas

The Moment:

When I held my daughter for the first time, it felt as if the entire world transformed in that instant.

I discovered a strength and capability within myself that I never knew existed, and had a newfound sense of purpose. Each moment of watching her grow fills me with profound gratitude and awe. This journey of parenthood is the greatest privilege of my life, and it was worth all the heartbreak to get here. I still can’t believe this is my life!

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

I wish I had been told to be gentle with myself and seek support from others who understand my journey.

Consult fertility specialists, don’t be afraid to shop around for the right care team, and consider all potential paths to parenthood.

Communicate openly with your partner and take breaks if the process becomes too overwhelming. Focus on self-care as much as you can, stay informed without obsessing, and don’t be afraid to carry tons of hope for the future.