Nikki’s Story

My name is Nikki B. and I serve as the Secretary for Conceive Nebraska. I also work full time as the Director of foster care and juvenile justice services for CEDARS. I am a wife and a mother, and my family has been personally and pervasively impacted by fertility challenges.  Nearly 12 years ago I married my high school sweetheart. Before we got married, we were both aware of my severe endometriosis diagnosis and the difficulty it would likely cause when we were ready to build our family. At 25 after establishing ourselves, we were ready to grow our family. Unfortunately, it was anything but easy.

In an effort to achieve our dream of being parents, we spent the next 3 years and over 30 thousand dollars out of pocket on IVF. On Dec 5, 2015, our dreams came true as we welcomed our twin boys into the world. A year and a half later we lost our third son at 12 weeks. After exhausting our finances, we took a long break from treatments and began our journey towards growing our family again a year ago.

Over the years, in an effort to improve my condition, I have had 6 surgeries in addition to varies other treatments and medications. I have come to terms with the chronic nature of my condition and have learned to manage it the best way I know how. One of the ways that I cope is by giving back to others. The most difficult part of my journey was the isolation. I felt shame around the fact that I couldn’t have children the same way others can, and loneliness in not having others to share with.

Finding Conceive Nebraska, this community of people has allowed me to share my story, support others in their journey, and advocate for changes that will allow accessibility to treatments for those who need it.