Angie Sonnenberg
President
My name is Angie Sonnenberg, and I volunteer as the president of Hope Against Infertility, Inc.. I felt called to create this foundation after struggling with infertility for two years. Having seen a beautiful heartbeat at our first-ever ultrasound and learning later at our 12 week appointment that we had miscarried, we struggled to conceive again. After seeking help from multiple specialists and undergoing many rounds of medicated cycles and three IUIs, we learned that we would need IVF to conceive again. Through our struggles to have a child, I discovered how unspoken about the topic of infertility was as well as how lonely of a journey it can be, even given we had amazingly supportive family and friends. Going through treatments for infertility is an extremely overwhelming and emotional journey, and not having others to relate to on that journey to not only ask for advice or learn what to do or not to do, was painstakingly difficult to navigate.
I was able to find some comfort in a few discussion boards where women had the courage to share their journeys, but not having that real life, in-person reliability was difficult. In starting our IVF journey and having already undergone months and months of treatment, my heart felt called to a greater purpose in that I didn’t want any other women to feel alone in their journey to start their families. It was the same month we began our IVF journey that this foundation was formalized. I knew we were fortunate to be able to afford the many thousands of dollars that infertility treatments and medications cost, but that others weren’t and that oftentimes financial struggles prevented couples from completing their dream. This organization was created to not only raise awareness about the struggles that couples endure with infertility but to also provide financial support to couples struggling to afford infertility procedures, such as IUI and IVF, as well as infertility medications.
My husband and I live in a small town just outside of Shawano, Wisconsin. Outside of the time I donate to Hope Against Infertility, Inc., I work as a women’s business coach, empowering women to live their full potential as entrepreneurs. My husband and I also own two other businesses. We enjoy spending time outdoors and at the lake. My heart is most full when I see women experience their lifelong dreams, especially when I can be a part of that journey.
Rachele Watkins
Director
My name is Rachele Watkins, and I volunteer as a Director for Hope Against Infertility, Inc.. I am so incredibly honored to be a board member for Hope Against Infertility, Inc. Like many of the other board members, I have a personal history with infertility. My husband and I started trying to conceive shortly after our wedding in 2010. We knew that we may have issues conceiving due to my medical history but never expected the long journey that was in store for us. After 2 years of trying naturally, we went to a local fertility center to try to get answers. We ended up trying several medicated cycles to do IUI but were unsuccessful. Finally, in 2015, I met Dr. Kaldas and he truly changed our lives. He quickly diagnosed me with PCOS and Endometriosis. At this time, we also found out that we had male factor infertility working against us as well and we had less than a 1% chance of conceiving with any treatments other than IVF with ICSI. In early 2017, we completed a successful IVF with ICSI and conceived our daughter. After 7 years, we were so grateful to finally have our daughter, Norah Scott.
We live in a society where having children is considered the standard path, so I am so happy that I can be part of an organization that helps couples during this struggle as it is extremely difficult and can have lasting effects.
Ashley Knapp
Director
My name is Ashley Knapp and I volunteer as a Director for Hope Against Infertility, Inc. My husband, Riley, and I have been together since 8th grade. We were married in 2011, and we always knew we wanted to have a family. Until we experienced it, infertility was something we never really thought about….then it became all we thought about… After trying for the first four years of our marriage naturally we decided to check with the experts to see if something was wrong. It turns out there was...but they couldn’t pinpoint anything specific. Officially we were labeled in “the unexplained” category. Over the next three years I was on an onslaught of medications, we tracked endlessly in addition to going through what amounted to nine cycles of IUI’s - all of them failing. At that end, we were given the option to proceed with IVF. We didn’t know the right answers, or how we should proceed, and ultimately we were trying to wrap our heads around the idea that maybe we weren’t meant to be parents. Throughout all of this, not only did my husband and I become a lot closer, but I learned that infertility is more common than I ever would have realized. It’s just not talked about, but it needs to be. Couples need to know they are not alone in this journey. It can be physically, emotionally and financially draining, and I know that sharing the experience can make it just a little bit easier. It is my hope that Hope Against Infertility, Inc. can do that for some.
At the end of our journey, our daughter Charlotte joined us with no medication, no procedures … just naturally. There is no explanation for why at that time we were able to conceive, but we couldn’t be more grateful for it. She is our whole world and so much more.
Amy Didreckson
Director
My name is Amy Didreckson, and I volunteer as a Director for Hope Against Infertility, Inc.. I am so honored to be asked to be a board member for Hope Against Infertility, Inc. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, but what I didn't know was the journey God would take me on to make that dream a reality. My husband and I were married in 2004 and shortly after we were married I was diagnosed with PCOS, Endometriosis, and Luteal Phase Defect. In 2008, after many cycles of oral medications and progesterone, I became pregnant with our oldest daughter, Chloe.
We knew we wanted a big family so we started trying to conceive again in 2009. I thought we had the right combination of medication figured out from when we conceived the last time, but boy was I wrong! Over the next three years, we progressed from oral medication to injectable medications. We did a total of seven IUIs and ultimately conceived our twin boys, Nolan and Logan, in 2012 with the help of IVF.
I always had a yearning for one more baby, but I felt blessed with the beautiful children I had and we did not want to go through IVF again. God must have decided that family wasn't complete because in 2018, we received the shock of a lifetime when we found out we were pregnant. Our fourth and final baby, Quinn, was born in July 2019 and she is the perfect completion to our family.
Our journey, however, is not over yet. Our IVF cycle produced seven embryos and we strongly believe that these embryos are babies and deserve a chance at life. We used three of the embryos when we conceived our boys, so we now have four embryos left. We are currently pursuing embryo donation so that we can give these babies a chance at life and another infertile couple a chance to be parents.