StoryCorps' MobileBooth came to Kansas City to collect the stories and memories of residents. This is one in a series of stories KCUR has chosen to highlight.
Chris and Gina Moore have spent almost five years trying to conceive a child.
"I have so much control in our everyday lives, like how we take care of the house or how we take care of our dog," Gina said. "But everything to do with fertility or trying to conceive I had absolutely no control of."
For a while, the couple tried to take a laid-back approach to it.
"I was just thinking, 'Well, it'll happen when it'll happen,'" Chris said. "Up until the first miscarriage."
After that, the two found that it was hard to even talk to others about infertility. At a friend's bridal shower, Gina was still in pain from an ectopic pregnancy.
"It was baby talk the whole time," Gina said. "And [the conversation] turns to me: 'Oh, you've been married eight years, why don't you have a baby?' I just wanted to pound my hands on the table and be like, 'I'm going through something right now, it's hard!'"
They've both learned that getting into details about infertility makes many people uncomfortable.
"They don't want to know about infertility issues," Chris said. "They want to know why we don't have a kid yet, but if we start talking about that, they say, 'Oh that's awful ... thoughts and prayers.'"
The couple considered adoption, but the process was simply too expensive. They were surprised that it was even more expensive than the option they eventually settled on: in vitro fertilization, a process where eggs are retreived from the ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab.
The process was still taxing for Gina. She had to have testosterone patches put on her skin — and still has the marks six months later — and multiple rounds of self-administered shots.
"Giving myself shots was empowering to me," Gina said. "If I could do this, I could raise a kid."
Now, after all those years and doctor's visits and procedures, the couple is expecting a child in December. They took a few moments to talk to their unborn child during their time at the StoryCorps MobileBooth.
"In the future, if Walter hears this, just know that we went through a lot but none of that is on you," Chris said.
"You're a scientific miracle," Gina said with a laugh.
Matthew Long-Middleton is a community producer for KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter @MLMIndustries.
Cody Newill is an audience development specialist for KCUR 89.3. Follow him on Twitter @CodyNewill.
Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3. 9(MDA3OTgyNDI4MDEzMTM0MjQzMTZlNDI0Mg004))
