For some, making a baby is quick and easy and fun! For others it involves cycle monitoring, daily self-injections and the dreaded two week wait. Some people decide to get pregnant and conceive within a few months of trying. Others have to go through painful procedures and terrible heart aches for years; working towards something they can only hope will one day happen for them.
Our fertility journey began over a decade ago when I was diagnosed with endometriosis. The challenges that we faced when trying to conceive a child started a few short years later. My husband and I met in high school. We are by any definition, high school sweethearts. And over the course of 15 years together, we accomplished many things – we bought our first home, found jobs we love and went on some amazing adventures together. However; the one thing we wanted more than anything – to start a family of our own – ended up being the most challenging thing we would ever face as a couple.
Although most people go through their infertility struggles with a partner by their side, when you are told that “you” are the reason why you as a couple cannot conceive, it feels like the loneliest journey you will ever take. I felt like I was failing as a wife and as a woman when I was unable to have a baby. After numerous specialists and even more surgeries, I was so relieved to be referred to Procrea Fertility in Newmarket. I had no idea if it would lead us to a happy ending or not, but it felt like a second chance – a new start – an opportunity to put our fate into someone else’s hands; and I am so glad that we did!
Going through fertility treatments isn’t easy. It takes you to new levels in your relationship. It pushes you further past anything you ever thought you could do. It constantly tests you both physically and mentally. It was an emotional roller-coaster full of fear, failure and loss that ended up making me into a stronger, more resilient and an even more appreciative person.
Fast forward past the daily tears; the pain and frustration that accompanied us each month. Past the disappointments and sorrows, to the successful round of IVF that resulted in a beautiful baby boy! We could not have been happier on that day when the blood test finally came up positive! And throughout every test, every appointment, every ultrasound, and every procedure, it was the support of my loving family and husband that kept this journey alive. And what was it that kept me going back to this particular clinic week after week? – It was the amazing team of health care professionals who were right there with us, throughout the whole process, as if it was their journey as well. They made me feel like there wasn’t anything wrong with me – that we just needed to find a different road that would lead us to having a family. The restored the fight I had within me.
So, to the doctor who always stayed on the phone with me explaining what the plan was; giving me hope that something would one day work when I had lost all confidence in myself and my body, to the nurse who held my hand when I cried before the egg retrieval, to the lab technicians and receptionists who were always happy to joke around with me during those early morning visits, to the ultrasound technician who offers up positivity and well wishes even if the lining or follicles are not growing at an acceptable rate and to everyone else who has made us feel welcomed, important and helped make our dream of starting a family come true – I want to say thank you! Thank you, a million times, over and over again.
And today I share a little bit about our journey to remind you that you are not alone. Today I share some hope that the journey is all worth it – no matter where it may take you.
We returned to the clinic a few months ago to try and grow our family again through the use of frozen embryo transfers and another IVF cycle. And although we have not yet had the same success as we did our first time around, I know there is an amazing team of individuals supporting us throughout it all.
