Anna & Luke

Anna & Luke's Story:

Luke and I met in 2017 while I was travel nursing in Denver. Not long after we met, I was accepted into a nurse anesthesia graduate program in Tampa, Florida. Even though the timing wasn’t ideal, we decided to give long-distance dating a try. Over the next 2.5 years, we flew back and forth every few weeks, and early on, we both knew we wanted to build a life, a marriage, and a family together.

We married in July 2021 and immediately started trying to grow our family. Months passed, each one ending in another negative test and another heartbreak.

Around nine months in, I sought help, only to be told, “You’re young, you have time,” and was essentially dismissed.

In 2022, I switched providers, hoping for answers, and was referred to a fertility clinic in Denver. After a medicated cycle, I developed uterine polyps that required a hysteroscopy. I felt defeated; time kept slipping by, and I still had no explanation. I was 34, with nothing to show for all our efforts.

Hoping for a different approach, I turned to more homeopathic options. But after nine more months, we were still in the same place: no answers, no progress.

In early 2024, after three years of trying, I sought help at CNY Fertility Clinic. During a routine ultrasound for my first egg retrieval, Mary B., an RN in the Colorado Springs location, noticed something that had been missed previously—a suspected hydrosalpinx, a fluid-filled fallopian tube that creates a toxic environment for embryos.

What made it even more shocking was that one of the very first tests I ever had, an HSG, was specifically meant to evaluate my tubes, and yet nothing had been found at that time.
Despite the discovery, I was able to continue with my first egg retrieval, which gave us two healthy embryos. A second retrieval yielded seven more.

Before transfer, I needed laparoscopic surgery to remove the left fallopian tube with the hydrosalpinx. But once the surgeon began, it became clear that both of my fallopian tubes needed to be removed, and my pelvis was full of adhesions. We finally got the long-awaited answer to why we had struggled for so many years.

One month later, in November 2024, I was cleared for transfer. On November 29, we got our very first positive pregnancy test. After years of shots, pills, procedures, and heartbreak, it finally happened.

On August 6, 2025, we welcomed our beautiful, healthy baby girl, Nora Rose. Holding her for the first time after a four-year journey felt like an out-of-body experience, one we had dreamed about for so long that it still feels almost unreal.

(Photos by Victoria Gevorgian)

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Katie H, Millie, Mary B, Dr Fink

Helpful resources Anna & Luke found:

Finding others going through a similar journey is SO important. It's hard for even your biggest supporters to find ways to encourage you when they don't fully understand your journey even though they want to.

CNY support groups on Facebook were so helpful, as well as other support groups with women trying to conceive. Reading books (fictional) about women struggling to conceive also helped me feel less alone.

The Moment:

Despite being told to wait for a blood test 9 days after our transfer- I had several signs that indicated I could be pregnant. We were away at my husband's family's home for Thanksgiving and it was all I could think about- so I took an at home test and it was positive! I somehow kept this secret from my husband for an entire day because I really wanted to be sure. I took another test the following morning and it was even darker. It was so strange, yet exciting, to have this secret to ourselves after years of wanting this feeling more than anything!

When I first held Nora, I cried years of built up tears. The moment they first laid her on my chest, she and I just stared at each other like we both had been longing for this moment forever.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

I hope that anyone going through infertility or struggles during TTC know they are not alone even though it feels that way when everyone you know is seemingly getting pregnant so easily.

I wish I had known that nothing in our world is straight forward, that there will always be an obstacle, no matter big or small, getting in the way of something that feels just within your reach. Even when it feels like there is no end to the negative, KEEP GOING. Your happy ending is on its way, and every struggle along the path will make the moment you meet your baby that much more profound.