We have been blissfully married for almost five years. During that five years, we have adopted three incredible pugs that we love more than life, bought a house together and decided to build a family together. Only, that’s not really how it went. In November of 2014, 2 years after we started trying to conceive, I became pregnant. We weren’t just happy, we were elated. Dan cried when I told him the news. On thanksgiving of that year, we said goodbye to our precious miracle in a hospital bed beside an uncaring doctor. Dan held me while I cried every day for weeks. He showed me the true strength of his love for me. Two moths later, I became pregnant again. Dan was cautiously optimistic. In just four days time, he sat beside me when we got the phone call that my beta hcg wasn’t doubling and had actually decreased. Some people falter under distress, but I had never seen Dan be stronger. Fast forward another year. We picked up the pieces of our broken hearts and tried again. No such luck. I decided it was time to have a candid conversation with my OB. She referred me to and RE. I never thought I would be “that girl”. I had tons of friends that had done IVF , IUI, etc. but it wouldn’t be for me. I wouldn’t need it. After an exorbitant amount of testing, everything was coming back normal. It was looking as though we had unexplained infertility . One last test–a genetics test. Dans came back perfectly, but unfortunately I wasn’t so lucky. Dan actually broke the news to me. Again, he was strong when I was weak. We couldn’t afford IVF with PGD . Our desire for a family stopped at pugs. Then his cousin, Chris, that works for Dr. George Ahlering, called and said we needed to see Dr. Peter Ahlering. In less than a month, we were sitting is his office explaining everything I just shared with you. I told Dr. Ahlering that I needed someone as emotionally committed to our success as we were. When we left that appointment, Dan said to me that he wanted to move forward. He didn’t care how much it cost and how much debt we went into but he was absolutely sure Dr. Ahlering would get us a baby. And he did! We completed the February IVF cycle. Peggy was an incredible coordinator but Dr. Ahlering was perfect. My egg retrieval was done with the aid of extension cords because the power went out; I was terrified and crying. Again, Daniel was my strength. He kissed my forehead and told me this was my chance to make our baby and he smiled. Only 7 eggs were retrieved. Considering the odds against my balanced translocation, we were done at that. I cried again, and everyday until our day 5 update, Dan quelled my fears and helped me envision our baby. Only 2 made it to freeze. Again the statistics weighed heavily on me. Two weeks later, Peggy called to inform me that one of our blasts was normal. We had a normal one! I remember telling Dan and hearing the excitement and fear in his voice. At our transfer, Dr. Ahlering looked at me and said, ” I just know this is going to work”. Dan trusted him almost more than me. Fast forward again–I’m now 13 weeks pregnant with our genetically healthy baby girl. During those weeks, I have seen Dan transform into an already amazing dad. He has been focusing on his health because “if I don’t teach her to love herself, who will?” He has talked about the many ways we can decorate her room, the fun activities she will do when she gets older and all the ways he wants to impact her future. On our first date, I asked Dan about his goals for his life. He told me just one: he wanted to be a great father. You see, Dan’s dad passed away when he was 2. He never got to experience the incredible joy that comes from having a relationship with your daddy. With no examples of what a great father looks like, he is already the embodiment of perfection for our little girl. If I were to tell you all the amazing ways that Daniel will be, and already is, a dedicated father, this story would be ten pages long. We wouldn’t have been given this opportunity to be parents if it weren’t for Dr. Ahlering. Other doctors wrote us off, or wanted incredibly unfair pricing stipulations etc. we had no idea that when we walked into his office in January that we would forever take home a piece of MCRM with us. I cannot tell you how overly deserving my husband is of your Father’s Day gifts–that you would have to see in the everyday ways he proves to me how much he loves me and our daughter. I can tell you, though, that he has helped me fight unbeatable odds and has proven that his love for our daughter is unconfined and extraordinary. Men often don’t get the credit they deserve, and are often unrecognized by the hardship that is being a father. I would adore the opportunity for you to show my husband that all his love and strength for both me and our daughter is worth the recognition.]]>