In recognition of National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, we are proud to share the powerful stories of families whose journeys to parenthood were made possible through the partnership between the Boomer Esiason Foundation and Kindbody. These families represent what’s possible today for people living with CF—and the importance of reproductive healthcare access for all.
Guest post by the Khourys
We are the Khourys! Christina was diagnosed with CF at four weeks old, and through years of wonderful care with various teams, we heard about the BEF grant opportunity through my current social worker. We applied for the grant and the rest was history!
How did BEF and Kindbody support impact your journey?
BEF impacted our journey by giving us hope that there was financial support available to us for IVF. Prior to the grant, we were preparing for years of saving funds to get the chance to try IVF, which was going to impact our family-building timeline, especially with consideration to Christina’s age and health. The BEF grant helped us stick closer to our preferred timeline by significantly buffering the financial burden of IVF.
Tell us about your IVF journey with Kindbody
Kindbody has been an accessible facility due to their use of technology. Having to travel a bit to our chosen location, we appreciated the communication at our fingertips through their portal. The team has been friendly and patient with all of our questions!
How has parenthood changed your life?
We literally cannot describe how much joy parenthood has added to our lives. We adore our baby girl more than we could explain and parenting her together is the brightest part of our days, every day. We have a very strong marriage, but watching each other bond with our girl, as we also bond as a family has connected us more than we expected. We are also more motivated to continue with healthy and productive life choices, to raise our daughter in a positive environment. We are also reevaluating our plans, beliefs, and ideas, to make sure we are walking the walk and talking the talk that we hope for our girl.
What would you say to others in the CF community who hope to start a family? –
I would say that hope is alive, especially with the BEF grant, and that CF doesn’t have to hold anyone back from having a family. There may be good days and bad days, but isn’t that life and parenting in general? Everyone has a “hard,” and “CF hard” might be different, but it’s manageable!
What do you hope to one day share with your child about your journey to become their parent?
Christina’s sister said it best, when she said our daughter will always know she was deeply wanted. The trials of IVF were the easiest thing I’ll ever do because they led us to her. We want her to know that there wasn’t anything that would’ve stopped us from trying for her, and that she is more than we ever could have hoped and prayed for.
The Khourys received care at Kindbody Princeton with Dr. Rachel Cohen
