A Love Story Tested by Infertility: Our Complete Journey Timeline
For a detailed version of this timeline, please see our blog post, “Our Story of Conquering Infertility.”
Our First Pregnancy
January 2020
- Bryson has his night-shift job working at the hospital as a respiratory therapist.
- I work full-time as a bar manager at one of Honolulu’s most busiest bars. Our bar shuts down for two weeks due to a change in management.
- We start hearing about the COVID virus.
March – April 2020
- Hawai’i shuts down all non-essential jobs. I start unemployment. Bryson continues his job at the hospital treating patients.
- We find out that I am 8 weeks pregnant.
- I have my first ultrasound without Bryson due to COVID restrictions. They find that the baby is growing much slower than expected. They take my blood to get an HcG reading.
May 2020
- Our home was broken into while I was alone and Bryson was at work on his night shift.
- The next two days I have spotting.
- On the night of third day, I miscarry our child. I cannot go into the hospital. Bryson stays up with me from 9 pm to 9 am.
- Bryson and I grieve the loss.
June 2020
- I begin learning how to make candles and start a small business (Local Kine Tingz). We begin wholesaling and our business booms. It wasn’t easy—grief doesn’t simply disappear with hard work—but creating something meaningful together made the unbearable just a little more manageable.
July – September 2020
- Our small business continues to grow steadily and we continue to supply candles to shops on all the major islands of Hawai’i.
- We talk about wanting to start a family and continue to try to conceive on our own.
- At the beginning of September, Bryson proposes to me on a paddleboard out in the middle of the ocean.
October 2020 – January 2021
- We welcome our first pup to the family, Oreo Mitchell.
- We continue on with the business and work on planning our wedding.
- Each month is just one negative pregnancy test after another. We are hopeful but concerned.
February – May 2021
- We each say “I do” and a new chapter begins.
- My paternal grandfather passes and we fly to the mainland for the funeral.
- We buy our first home and continue to build the business. Our hopes in building a family still strong.
