KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One Knoxville couple has struggled with infertility for years, but one beautiful thing has come out of their journey: a desire to help others where almost no help exists.
"I love kids, want to have kids, love dad jokes and bad puns," Eric Savage said.
Eric and Carrie Savage have been trying for more than three years to have a baby. They have endured fertility treatments, exploratory surgeries and more.
"You're constantly going, 'Is this medicine? Is this me?'" Carrie said. "It makes it so much harder to be your normal version of yourself."
"There's nothing you can do as a man if your wife is going through this other than love her and be graceful with her," Eric said.
It's been difficult for the couple.
"We did get pregnant but we had a miscarriage," Carrie said.
Eric didn't have anyone to talk to about his struggles.
"Very rarely do you hear a guy say, 'We're having trouble getting pregnant.' Normally if guys are hanging out it's not very deep," Eric said.
He started searching online for resources for men and found almost nothing.
"It's a very female-centric world to be a part of, and half the people going through it are men," Eric said.
That's when he started a support group at his church, Redeemer Church of Knoxville.
"I just felt like God was saying, 'I want you to step out on faith and do this,'" Eric said. "I don't want this experience to be wasted."
Eric got an overwhelmingly positive response when he posted about it on social media.
"I wanted it to be a safe space to process grief to where advice wasn't given," Eric said.
He wanted it to be a place for men to listen to each other.
"When we grieve not having a child there's nothing, there's nothing there. We grieve this emptiness, which is really weird," Eric said.
"This just feels like a really, really beautiful way to use our pain for good," Carrie said.
If you are interested in getting involved, Eric's email address is ericsav@gmail.com.