Ever since I started this blog, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support available in the community. It is so heart warming to see people come together to help each other in such a difficult journey. As I reached out to people to share their story I came across Eloise (@fertility_help_hub). Once I learned about her story, I knew I had to share it. She has taken her own journey and from her experiences created Fertility Help Hub (www.fertilityhelphub.com) to offer tips, support and guidance for individuals struggling with fertility.
In May 2015, after three years of marriage their journey started and they decided it was time for them to try to conceive. They were so excited to become parents. They had always pictured themselves as parents and knew they wanted to have a family. Months went by and still no baby. They started to worry around the 6 month mark when they still hadn't conceived. At this point, Eloise wanted to have their fertility checked and so they went to a fertility clinic. Once she had her ultrasound scan, they were relieved to hear that her uterus looked normal and her egg reserve was also good. On the same day, her husband had a sperm analysis. They thought that this would also come back as normal and they could just continue trying naturally. Once his results were ready, they were devastated to find that there were problems with his sperm. After hearing this, they were overwhelmed with emotion. They had not anticipated this and were struggling with the emotional aspect.
They continued with more tests and were offered surgical sperm extraction (Microscopic-assisted testicular sperm extraction/ Micro TESE) as a way to retrieve sperm directly from the testicles. With Micro TESE, the testicles are examined with an operating microscope to identify places where sperm are produced. These areas are taken out with the hope that viable sperm can be extracted. Eloise and her husband researched the different physicians who offered this service and decided to proceed with a surgeon at Weill Cornell in New York because he pioneered the technique and is known for very promising success rates. They had also planned for Eloise to have her egg retrieval in tandem with her husband's surgery so that once the sperm were extracted, they could be used for fertilization. As a back-up they chose a donor sperm sample in case no sperm was collected with the micro TESE. Eloise had also started to see a nutritionist to ensure she lived the most healthy lifestyle. The time came, and a procedure that usually takes about 2 hours took 5 in their case. They were filled with emotion and anxiousness. After the surgery, the doctor confirmed their worst fears, that they were not able to collect any sperm. This was devastating and with Eloise's egg retrieval the next morning, there were lots of nerves and emotions. However, they knew they had to be strong and persevere through this bump in the road just as they had all throughout their journey. They tried to stay optimistic for the rest of the course of their treatment. Right before the egg retrieval, it was confirmed that they could not use her husband's sperm and would have to proceed with the donor sperm. That's one of the struggles with fertility treatments, there are a lot of unknowns that can be brought up last minute. Not very convenient and comforting but real consequences of treatments that patients have to find a way to deal with. With her egg retrieval, they were able to collect 12 eggs out of which all 12 fertilized. At last, they had some good news and had decided to proceed with day 3 transfer of 2 embryos. The wait between a transfer and that first pregnancy test is a difficult one.
Alas, it was time for them to check and sadly, the result was negative. An array of guilt, sadness, confusion and negative emotions they had to deal with once more. And it was time for them to prepare themselves for another transfer. As a part of this, Eloise was tested genetically and immunologically. The results came back showing a high level of natural killer cells and a blood clotting condition called Factor V Leidan. There are different opinions in the field whether immunology plays a big part in pregnancy, but they decided to go for the treatment to give themselves the best possible chance. It was time for their frozen embryo transfer but because of the past negative outcomes, they were convinced that it was not going to work. The long two-week wait was over and after the results were in, they were informed that Eloise was pregnant. This came as a shock but they were over the moon. It had worked, it was all worth it. At the end, they were blessed with a daughter and had the family they had always dreamt of.
Towards the end of her maternity leave, they had decided to undergo another IVF cycle. She also started to see the same nutritionist. They were more nervous this time around because the specialist was not as comforting and Eloise had reduced ovarian reserve because of her age. They underwent the IVF procedure and on day 5, they decided to transfer 2 blastocyst embryos to increase their chances of pregnancy. Again it was time for the dreaded two week wait which was filled with emotions. On day 11, Eloise could no longer wait and took a pregnancy test. There it was, 2 strong lines. They were pregnant and could not believe it. She went in for her pregnancy test and the hCG levels were much higher than expected. There they had it, they were pregnant with twins. They were so happy and excited going through the pregnancy. At the end of it, they had two healthy babies and could not be happier.
Going through this journey taught Eloise to persevere even though things may not be going as expected. She used the hardships they had to endure and is now trying to help other people undergoing fertility treatment. She set up Fertility Help Hub which is an email newsletter offering fertility tips, support, guidance, and inspiration. Her goal is to break the stigma around infertility and make sure no one feels alone in their journey to parenthood.
Truly an inspirational story.
