{"id":28392,"date":"2025-07-14T18:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T18:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/?post_type=podcast&p=28392"},"modified":"2025-07-14T19:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T19:03:14","slug":"episode-212","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/progyny.com\/education\/podcast\/episode-212\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 212: Beating the Odds: From Cystic Fibrosis to Fatherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[275,230,229,240],"tags":[329,235,454],"class_list":["post-28392","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","hentry","category-emotional-support-and-awareness","category-education","category-ivf-facts","category-trying-to-conceive","tag-family-building","tag-ivf","tag-member-story"],"yoast_head":"\nEpisode 212: Beating the Odds: From Cystic Fibrosis to Fatherhood | Progyny<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tune into this episode for the Menkens story of resilience, partnership, and 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every fertility journey is a deeply personal fight - one that can be helped with the right support.","episode_intro_guest":"Dustin and Tequila Menken","episode_intro_company":"Progyny Members","episode_banner_section_intro_text":"This is Infertility is a bi-weekly podcast where we fuse narrative storytelling with experience and science to give you a new perspective on what it\u2019s really like to go through a family building journey. Each episode dives into the emotional, physical, and financial burdens carried by those who experience infertility on their path to parenthood. Be it IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption, etc., the path is never the same and it can be long, painful, and lonely. It\u2019s our mission to give those struggling a platform to be heard, a community connection, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the 1 in 6 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.","episode_page_title":"Episode 212: Beating the Odds: From Cystic Fibrosis to Fatherhood","episode_embed_code":"<iframe style=\"border: none;\" title=\"Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/37377730\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/ffffff\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\/stats-code\/landing212\/font-color\/000000\" width=\"100%\" height=\"128\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>","episode_details":"<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Guest: <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dustin and Tequila Menken, Progyny Members at TE Connectivity<\/span>\r\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Host: <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dan Bulger, Progyny<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI grew up with an expiration date.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Dustin Menken was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that brought him lifelong health challenges and made him part of the 98% of men with CF who are infertile. He never imagined he\u2019d live to see 40, let alone become a father. But with persistence, support from his wife Tequila and a critical fertility benefit, Progyny, from his employer, TE Connectivity, Dustin beat the odds. Again.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">In this episode, Dustin and Tequila Menken share their remarkable story: from a childhood spent in hospitals to navigating genetic testing, sperm aspiration, and multiple IVF cycles. They walk us through the setbacks, the emotional toll, and the moment they finally learned they were expecting their daughter, Jannie Bell Allena, who has now arrived healthy and thriving.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">Tune into this episode for the Menkens story of resilience, partnership, and the power of access. Behind every fertility journey is a deeply personal fight - one that can be helped with the right support.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">For more information, visit Progyny\u2019s Podcast page and Progyny\u2019s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:thisisinfertility@progyny.com.\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">thisisinfertility@progyny.com.<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\n<b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Watch this episode on YouTube:<\/span><\/b>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/L1M8HuG6PlM\r\n\r\n ","episode_host_image":22662,"episode_host_title":"Dan Bulger, Producer at Progyny","episode_host_bio":"Dan has been in the healthcare industry for the past ten plus years as a multimedia content producer. Better known as \u2018Video Dan\u2019 he has interviewed numerous doctors, patients and other experts in the world of fertility. He\u2019s also the producer for this podcast, This is Infertility and the producer behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/progyny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"exc\" aria-label=\"Progyny YouTube Channel - opens in new tab\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"na\">Progyny YouTube Channel<\/a>\u00a0which features interviews with dozens of the nation\u2019s leading fertility specialists. On a personal note Dan\u2019s parents started fostering kids when he was four years old, and he considers himself a proud older brother to over 100 foster children.","episode_guest_1_image":28393,"episode_guest_1_title":"Dustin and Tequila Menken, Progyny Members at TE Connectivity","episode_guest_1_bio":"The Menken Family always knew they would need help when conceiving a child due to infertility. Dustin was born with a terminal illness called Cystic Fibrosis, which left him infertile and he always knew he would need intervention to have a child of his own. Tequila found out during the IVF process that she suffered from PCOS and required multiple procedures to ready her body for implantation.\r\n\r\nDustin's employer just so happened to partner with Progyny, so him and his wife Tequila decided to work with them and give IVF a shot. With the help of Progyny and Carolinas Fertility Institute, they were able to conceive their now 10 month old Jannie Bell through IVF. Tequila and Dustin are huge advocates for mental health, self-care, and a willingness to trust the experts to lighten the burdens of the whole process. They wish everyone health and happiness on their own journey with Progyny through the IVF process.\r\n\r\nFrom Dustin: Fun fact \u2014Jannie Bell was born just about 2 weeks before Hurricane Helene hit Asheville where we live. 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