- 1,095 days
- 36 times our hearts broke into a million pieces
- 53 injections
- 211 hormone pills
- 165 suppositories
- 100s of vials of blood
- 8 trips to Vancouver
- 7 doctors
- 1000s of tears
- 1000s of prayers from all over
- 1000s of times having to answer the dreaded “When are you going to have kids already?” question that people feel they need to ask
- 3 insemination procedures - negative
- 1 round of In Vitro Fertilization
- 1 frozen embryo transfer - positive!
We are one in six Canadian couples who struggled with infertility. A subject not many discuss, it’s a world we were never exposed to and a journey we never dreamed we would be on.
These last three years of our lives have been the hardest; emotionally and physically. No matter how hard we worked, prayed and dreamed, we were not getting pregnant. This dark heavy cloud followed us around everywhere we went and was involved in every decision that we made. Every corner that we turned, every time we scrolled through our phones, we were reminded of something we couldn’t have no matter what we did or sacrificed. After seeking help from local OBGYN’s, we were still getting no help or answers. The only thing that had gone by was time. Time we did not have. After feeling completely defeated, out of patience and utterly exhausted, we visited some fertility clinics in Vancouver. We were shocked with how long it took to get into a facility we were paying out of pocket for. Every time we sat in the lobby, it was standing room only. People of all ages, sizes, ethnicities all hoping for a CHANCE to get pregnant. Paying for procedures they could not afford all for a chance, just one chance at something many take for granted. The desperation, excitement, fear and sadness was felt every time we walked through the fertility clinic’s doors.
The IVF journey is not for everyone. It was demanding, painful, stressful, expensive and almost unbearable. From trying to find a new normal with all the hormones in your body, to drawing up medication and injecting yourself in a public washroom because the alarm was going off, to feeling like you are going to burst because the drugs have allowed you to produce dozens of eggs. Every sneeze, laugh, adjustment felt like one was going to pop out. We just had to remember and envision the end goal, trust the process and pray for our miracle.
We feel incredibly blessed our journey only lasted three years as we’ve met many couples who’ve been on this exhausting road for even longer. Not everyone understands it, only those who’ve been on it. I’ve met some incredible people along the way that have gotten me through some pretty dark days and I will forever be grateful.
Baby Cotter is expected to arrive early August and we couldn’t be more excited about this next chapter. Even as we type this, it still hasn’t sunk in. Thank you to everyone who has supported us with their love, whether it was a hug at the right moment or a 'thinking about you' text. We couldn’t have done it without you.
A huge thank you to those who were brave enough and weren’t embarrassed or shy to ask us about this taboo subject, it felt good to talk about it. We hope that by sharing our journey, others will realize they are not alone and that miracles can happen.
IVF Stats:
- 21 eggs retrieved
- 20 eggs mature
- 14 fertilized embryos
- 14 embryos making it to day 5
- 5 embryos making it to day 6/the big freeze
- 3 embryos came back healthy enough to be transferred
- 1 embryo was transferred November 18th
- 2 healthy embryos remain frozen at Olive Fertility Centre.
