Our journey to David
I could recall the exact moment when my hubby and I decided we were going to have a baby. It was in mid-February 2013. We have been married for two years – both had well-paying jobs and were holidaying in Dubai. I just turned 28 and was very sure we had a lot of time to try.
A year passed, and we thoughtmaybe our timing wasn’t right. I was not too bothered. Hey, I was just 29 years of age, and we had a lot of friends within our age group and some even older who were getting pregnant without any issues.
When another year went by and I still didn’t conceive, I started to become a little bit worried. But I was living in denial,as I refused to believe something could be wrong.
After 3 years of unsuccessful tries, it was clear we needed to have things checked out. I arranged an appointment with my doctor, and she also believed it was time we both undergo some fertility testing. I thought that maybe we had little issues that would be easily resolved. Perhaps we only needed a little assistance.
Unfortunately, turns out, we needed more than a little assistance. When the results of the fertility testing came, my husband was diagnosed with a health condition that, although does not totally eliminate the possibility of fathering a genetic baby, the chances were very slim. I can still remember the look on my husband’s face when he got the news. It was indescribable, and it was something only couples who have got similar news would understand.
The physician then told me that my own test results were also worrying. My FSH level had significantly increased, which meantthere could be problems with the quantity and quality of my eggs. Still, I refused to accept that there could be any truth to this. After all, I was just 31 years old.
We tried our first IVF cycle in June 2016with my own eggs and sperm collected from my hubby through testicular biopsy. We gotfour eggs during that cycle. Anyone who is experienced in the IVF world wouldknow that this wasn’t a great number. But the physicians and staff were surprised when all the eggs became fertilized and we had four”good”embryos.
I said to myself, “this is it! We will surely get pregnant this time. ”
When our pregnancy test results came back negative, I was devastated. We both were. I could believe that all thosework and those medications were for nothing. I felt like all hope was lost. We were back to where we started.
But we didn’t let this weigh us down. Instead,we startedall over again and changed clinics after our second unsuccessful cycle. We were very excited towork with our new physician, who was well known for helping people with severe fertility problems. He was frank and honest with us, which is exactly what we needed on this journey.
Although we had little chances of success chances, we were sure he would do his best to assist us. And he did. We did two more cycles, and though I responded better to the new medication protocol, we still didn’t conceive. It was tiring. We then decided to try and get pregnant with my own eggs and a donor’s sperm. But when we still failed to get pregnant after two attempts with donorsperm, our hope was dashed again. It was at this point that I realized we needed to consider other options. It was 2018, I was 33 years old, and I was seriously fed up.
I said to myself, “We wanted a baby. A baby to love, to take care of, and to raise with our values. Genetics did not really matter.”
We agreed with the fact that we won’t be able to have a geneticbaby, although this was a hard pill to swallow. I had always dreamed of our baby having my husband’s blue eyes or my beautiful smile. This was never going to occur. It took us a lot of time to accept this, but in the end, this became okay. We talked about adoption a couple of times, which is also a great option for intended parents struggling to have a baby. But, as a woman, I had always wanted to experiencepregnancy. I wanted to have the swollen feet, morning sickness, and all those symptoms associated with pregnancy. I wanted to go to ultrasounds and give birth in my husband’s presence.
Our doctor then introduced us to Lucina Egg Bank
He said I can still experience pregnancy using frozen eggs and sperm. We started applying for the Assured Refund IVF Program in October 2018.
“Frozen donor eggs gave us new hope and a fresh start.”
We did three cycles between December 2018 and October 2019. Still, we did have our own child. The doctor found that my body was not responding to the fertility medications as it was supposed to.
I already knew we could not conceive a baby. I accepted that cold hard truth a long time ago. But I was now bothered that I won’t even be able to carry a pregnancy.
We did our fourth cycle in April 2020. We did not throw in the towel, but holding onto that tiny piece of hope was difficult. We were numb. The IVF process had become so routine that it did not excite or faze us anymore. But on June 11, 2020, we got the news we had been waiting to hear for more than 7 years.
Our bundle of joy was eventually on the way!!!
David Peterson was born on February 19, 2021. He was the most wonderful gift we have ever received, and we are so grateful for the donors who selflessly give out their eggs to help struggling couples realize their dreams of having a family. We forgotall the disappointment, frustration, and pain the moment our cute little babywas born. And we wouldn’t mind doing it all over and over again, as long as it would finally lead us to him. It has never even crossed our mindsthat he is not our biological baby. He is ours. We are his parents – his mom and dad.
