Trusty family have son thanks to in vitro fertilization

Niki and Fred Trusty tried to have a baby for two years, with no luck.

"Every month you're not pregnant feels like a year," Niki said. "You get devastated every month."

The Ocoee couple had gone to doctors and done all the treatments they could. Their last chance was in vitro fertilization, but at $15,000, the treatment would be a big decision.

Then, in just one day, their luck changed.

The couple entered a raffle in May 2009 for a free treatment. Fred had calculated the odds. They had a one in 10 chance of winning, and he thought the $500 they spent on the raffle tickets was worth it. They won.

"The tears came," said Niki, who was at work when Fred called her with the news. "Then I just ran into my boss' office, shut the door and screamed."

The in vitro worked, and less than a year later, the prize was delivered — little Harrison was born in March. And they said they have Winter Park-based Fertile Dreams to thank for it.

"If it were not for Fertile Dreams, we wouldn't have him," Fred said.

The nonprofit organization was founded in 2005 by reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Mark Trolice, who also has an infertility treatment practice in town. The foundation holds a conference each year to educate couples on their infertility treatment options, which is where the Trustys won their in vitro treatment. The foundation also awards a $10,000 grant each year to one couple to go toward in vitro fertilization at the medical office of their choice.

Many couples suffer from infertility. In the U.S., 7.3 million unmarried women and 2.1 million married women from the ages of 15 to 44 are infertile. About 7.3 million women have used infertility services, according to a study done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2002.

"Family building is the core of our existence, and it's just not fair for people to be prevented from having a family because of finances," Trolice said.

That's why the organization gives its grants. Infertility treatments are very expensive and insurance won't cover it.

"I don't believe finances should be a deciding factor to being a mother; it's heartbreaking to me," said Preya Shivdat, the foundation director.

Orlando couple Eileen and Steve Davitt can attest to the costs of making a family happen. They took a second mortgage out on their home, and spent about $40,000 to adopt their son Dominick. And while Fertile Dreams didn't help with the cost of building their family, the conferences they went to four years in a row did give them the tools necessary to make the adoption process go more smoothly, the Davitts said.

"He was so instrumental in making our dreams come true," Eileen said. "How do you thank someone for giving you a family?"

And on the same day the Trustys won the ticket to their son, the Davitts' own son was born in Arcadia, Florida. And the day Eileen met Dominick was the day she forgot about the hours of paperwork and the thousands of dollars.

"The second that they wheeled that baby into the room, my heart soared," she said. "It doesn't matter that I didn't give birth to him — the moment he was in my arms, he was my son."

Infertility help

Fertile Dreams will be hosting its sixth Annual Paths to Parenthood Conference on Sept. 18. The conference will offer help from experts about different types of infertility treatments and also the adoption path. There will be an in vitro fertilization treatment raffle and an adoption home study raffle. For more information, visit www.fertiledreams.org