Tell us about your journey to parenthood.
If there is one thing I’ve always known, it’s that one of my main purposes on this earth is to become a mom. Ten years ago, I met my partner, Kevin. While we have always been avid adventurers, about five years ago we knew that forever was in our cards and naturally we became ready to take on the biggest journey of all. The journey to parenthood. I always knew that there was the possibility I was a carrier of Becker Muscular Dystrophy, but it was until a few years ago that I actually sought out testing to confirm my carrier status. This is an X-linked recessive inheritance, which means my biological father has the condition and the carrier status was passed to me. His brother also has the disease as it was passed on from their mother as a carrier with her being unaware of her status. Which means her father passed it to her. This has become about breaking a cycle of a genetic condition. To provide some insight, BMD is a rare condition, and it occurs in about 3 to 6 of every 100,000 births and mainly affects male children. Girls are rarely affected by the disease but could hold a carrier status.
Once confirmed, I found myself doing a lot of research to uncover our options for becoming parents. We made a personal choice to find a way to have kids that wouldn’t include passing on this disease to our children. I found myself down several rabbit holes and had pretty much convinced myself that either I just wasn’t meant to have kids, or we would never be able to afford it, and we just might have to find another way. I will note that we allowed for at least a year of trying to conceive naturally with the best hope that it would happen, and things would take place in our favor. Deep down I’d like to think there is a reason it didn’t happen.
After endless internet searches, meetings with genetic counselors and fertility clinics,
and reaching out to friends and family I was given a recommendation from a friend to check out IVF Florida Reproductive Associates. My friend had personally had success with IVF Florida and Dr. Marc Gualtieri. She had first-hand experience with Dr. G, and she told me how successful her experience was. As a result, she and her partner now have twins! I decided to reach out to IVF Florida and see just what my options might be.
At our initial consultation at the Jupiter office, I felt extremely comfortable from the get-go. The staff was warm and welcoming, and Dr. G wanted to hear everything we had to say. He was impressed by my knowledge of my condition and appreciated that I was my own advocate. After hearing us out, he reviewed our best options and told us how to go about starting the process. Our option would be IVF with PGD (Prediagnosis Genetic Diagnosis), which is a laboratory procedure used in conjunction with IVF to reduce the risk of passing on inherited conditions. I can’t say enough about how great the Nursing staff, financial counselors, and doctors have been through all stages, especially with the beginning of the process and everything is so new to us. They were able to lay out my plan step by step for all prework required that would lead us to start our first IVF Cycle.
On April 5, 2023, I began my first IVF cycle. There were a lot of fears that accompanied the initial start of medications. Would I be ok with the shots? Am I mentally prepared? Emotionally? Physically? Once we got the go-ahead to start, we met with Frankie, one of the nurses in the Jupiter office that walked us through the process of giving myself stimulation meds. They provide a very clear and precise calendar along with a chart detailing how and when each medication should be taken and for how long. There was not one question that went unanswered, and we walked out feeling prepared and comfortable with what lie ahead. Jumping ahead we are now here at Day 10 of Stim Meds, as we approach Trigger Shot day and Egg Retrieval, we remain hopeful and excited for what our journey ahead may hold. I will say I approach this process cautiously optimistic of the ups and downs to come, but what I can be confident in is that I have the support of friends/family and a great fertility team at IVF Florida Jupiter Office regardless of my outcome.
Do you have any advice to share?
If I can offer any advice to those who are contemplating their journey to Parenthood via IVF/IUI or however you choose to proceed with your family planning. Go in confident, secure, and empower those around you who are along for the ride.
Please know that family planning is a personal choice, and there is no one reproductive option that is best. Choose the path that works best for you, and I hope you’ll include IVF Florida as a part of that journey.
By
IVF FLORIDA at 28 Apr 2023
Tell us about your journey:
Dr. Bou Nemer gave us hope when others told us to give up. She was always realistic and always spoke to us with statistical facts. She never allowed us to lose hope, and she mapped out different routes and told us: “This is going to be hard, but we are going to try fiercely.”
We felt that she really cared about us individually, as a couple, and as a family. She seemed really sad with every failure and really happy with our victories. When we finally got to the transfer stage, she told us, “You are in the best position to achieve this pregnancy, which is 60%” - honest but hopeful every time.
We started our fertility journey back in 2018. We were already a family of five, with my husband bringing to our family three boys from a previous marriage. They were in Venezuela, and when we finally got to bring them to the States, we knew we were ready to complete our family, hopefully with a couple of girls. We knocked on the door of a fertility facility to see the options of conceiving a girl, thinking that it would be an easy procedure. That’s when my nightmare started, the first doctor we saw emphasized that it would be almost impossible for me to conceive even through IVF. She diagnosed me with diminished ovarian reserve. I was 34 at that time. We saw several other doctors looking for different opinions, but I never trusted anybody because the opinions ranged from impossible to you can get pregnant with the first cycle. Went I met Dr. Bou Nemer, I immediately knew I was in the right place. She was really caring, loving, and knowledgeable. She gave me answers no one had given me before. She is definitely smart and has a lot of expertise in the field.
While waiting for our first cycle, we got spontaneously pregnant, but we lost that pregnancy as we were expecting to do the clinical hypothesis Dr. Bou Nemer gave us. Then our cycle got canceled due to COVID and delayed the process a few months. And when we finally could start we didn't have any viable eggs.
But thanks to faith, love, and science, we fertilized three eggs and got two viable and normal embryos, and we were lucky enough to get both girls! One transferred on September 22, 2020, and the other on June 28, 2022.
Now that both of my miracle babies: Aimee and Isla are earth side and our family is happily complete, I can only be thankful, eternally thankful to Dr. Bou Nemer, her team at Pembroke Pines and Coral Gables and all the IVF family.
PS. our first baby is named Aimee Laurice after Dr. Bou Nemer, we love her! She is always going to have a special place in our family.
By
IVF FLORIDA at 27 Apr 2023
Tell us about your journey to parenthood.
Our first appointment was with Dr. Gualtieri in March of 2016. I was optimistic and probably very naïve about what I was about to embark into. I didn’t know much about IVF, but I was convinced that my first cycle would work, and we would be pregnant in no time. This was the time that “fresh” cycles were a thing. You always wanted to get that Day 5 call. Well, we got a call on Day 3, and I just knew. We transferred two embryos. The cycle was a bomb, and none made it to freeze. I took that hard. We decided to take a year off and regroup.
I joined a support group leading into my second cycle. I was so amped. We changed my protocol, and I stimmed a lot slower and cleaner. Surprisingly, we always had great fertilization rates, but our embryos just grew so poorly. We had 17 eggs that fertilized. ONE made it to Day 5, and we did a fresh transfer – no go on that one! We had two from that cycle that made it to Day 6. Long story short, that turned into a chemical pregnancy and a blighted ovum miscarriage that made me very ill and it turned into a whole week of events. At this point, we really surmised my egg quality was the issue here and before doing anything else, I really needed to optimize my chances. I always had a lot of eggs at baseline – 55+, but we needed QUALITY and quantity.
I remember the day of my miscarriage and I was on the phone with Dr. G and just saying, “I will never be a mother.” He assured me countless times that phone call and every day after that he would make sure this would happen.
Once things calmed down, I knew I had to make some lifestyle changes. I started keto, lots and lots of vitamins/supplements, and was so careful about everything that entered my path. I geared up for our final retrieval. We agreed at this point that this was our last go at it – for our mental health, financial health, and overall quality of life. I was tired and missed “me”. I was consumed with making this work. Something just kept telling me to keep going.
We retrieved 30 eggs and again, 17 fertilized. Most would get excited, but I just had this constant pit waiting to see how they would grow. I got a call that three made it to day five. I was bummed. Dr. G was not – he had all the confidence that these three would result in PGT normal.
I was at work and got a text that said, “I wish you could see the smug look on my face right now.” We had THREE NORMAL EMBRYOS! We had a chance now. This was the big moment and break I had prayed and prayed for.
We did lots of ERA’s (six total! It was like Goldilocks trying to get the right size biopsy piece), bloodwork, etc. I had a chemical pregnancy with our first embryo. But the last two…they are my heart and soul walking outside of my body. Owen was born on 7/3/19 and Molly was born (two months early!) on 7/1/21. Both my children keep me on my toes, and I have never felt so much love and peace in my life.
I am so happy that we kept going, and kept fighting. I look at them every day and am so grateful for science, my perseverance, the relationships we made, and that IVF FL made my heart complete.
Do you have any advice to share?
Seek support. There are so many of us going through this and too many keep quiet. Infertility is rampant! I was at a birthday party for my daughter recently. Some of the moms got to talking. There were two other toddlers there (that I know of) that were IVF FL babies. How cool is that?!
Did any IVF FLORIDA team members provide outstanding care or support?
Obviously, my doctor, friend, and therapist 😊 – Dr. Gualtieri. My amazing nurses, who held my hand for over five years: Erica, Megan, and Ilene. My favorite ultrasound tech – who always listened and was there for me: Jenn.
By
IVF FLORIDA at 26 Apr 2023
Tell us about your journey to parenthood.
Growing up, I loved the idea of having a large family and being around loved ones. Because of the interaction and relationships that existed between my siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., I knew I wanted a large family of my own when I became old enough.
Never in a million years did I think the road to starting a family would come with unexpected twists and turns, and with a series of unfortunate events. I also did not think starting a family would take such a long time. It took 9 years of trying to finally conceive. It took another 6 years to get to the end of my fertility journey. All in all, my fertility journey lasted 15 years.
As a business professional with a 20+ year career in management, finance, and leadership, I was leading a busy life while facing all the ups and downs associated with Infertility. I underwent fertility treatment while dealing with the workplace pressures that come with being a career woman. I got through the horrible emotional distress of pushing through pregnancy and infant loss while working. I also learned the difficult ways to genuinely embrace a fellow pregnant co-worker while experiencing my own daily fertility struggles in the workplace. I consistently juggled the hard-set deadlines imposed at work while literally running back and forth to the NICU and even forgoing a lunch or break to have a fertility procedure performed in secret.
I am currently enrolled in school seeking a Doctorate degree. As such, I have been able to successfully decide to incorporate Infertility as part of my dissertation on women in leadership. Countless women experience Infertility while juggling a career and it is important to bring awareness to this phenomenon.
My passion after facing, battling, and conquering infertility is to give back in a way that is helpful to women, men, and families currently on their own fertility mission.
I must say, I was not sure what helping and giving back looked like. How do I even begin? I asked myself if I would even be able to make an impact and reach the actual people in need. In the midst of my planning on ways to bring my passion for helping to live, I diligently worked on turning my journal writings and entries into a published work that would serve as a valuable resource to infertility patients.
On my journey, I looked into and underwent acupuncture treatments as recommended by my RE. Acupuncture is an Eastern (Chinese) medicinal approach to healing and treatment for various ailments. Fertility Acupuncture has been proven effective in a significant number of infertility cases. Whether a family wants to try naturally, there are treatments available for both men and women to help with reproductive functions.
I received acupuncture before and during fertility treatments. Even while pregnant and when the pregnancy was threatened, acupuncture was a staple for me. I also sought the holistic route and dabbled in treatments offered by natural herbs, oils, reproductive yoga and massages, and natural teas.
Undergoing fertility treatments for me ranged from minimally invasive options such as clomid tablets to mid-level invasiveness like intrauterine insemination (IUI) to the significantly invasive in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
Tell us about your experience at IVF FLORIDA.
My experience at IVF FLORIDA started in 2008 when I met with Dr. Hoffman. In 2009, he operated on me via hysteroscopy and laparoscopy after undergoing some diagnostic testing.
We then embarked on our first IVF treatment in 2011. Unfortunately, after a successful cycle and positive pregnancy, we lost our daughter at 22 weeks 1 day. We tried again with a fresh IVF cycle as there were no frozen embryos remaining from that first successful cycle. That cycle resulted in the premature birth of twin boys in 2012. IVF FLORIDA was fantastic to both my husband and me during both of these trying pregnancy experiences. We then tried for a sibling for the twins and after two more cycles, we conceived via an FET cycle and welcomed our baby boy in 2018.
Do you have any advice to share?
Be Motivated. Be Courageous. Take things one day at a time. I learned that dealing with Infertility and then undergoing IVF treatments involves an abundance of “HURRY UP and then WAIT.” As hard as it is, patience must come into play when on your fertility journey.
Try and seek out resources to help with the support aspect. It is important to have access to those who have been in your shoes as they understand and can provide the type of support needed during such a hectic time.
Don’t be shy about reaching out to your doctor and/or nurses. They are there to help you. Yes, they are busy but once you develop a rapport and the best way to communicate, you’ll feel better after having heard back from them vs relying on Dr. Google or unsupportive family/friends who, quite frankly, may not know HOW to help you as they do not understand.
Seek out relaxation methods such as acupuncture, therapy, massages, journaling, etc. If you ever feel uncomfortable about anything during your care, speak up and advocate for yourself.
What were some highs or lows of your journey?
The ultimate highs of my story have to be the positive pregnancy/beta calls from the doctor after a cycle. That, in turn, means the lows include the calls I received indicating either the cycle was unsuccessful or the call to be cautiously optimistic after a low beta pregnancy test result. Those were not fun, but we got through them.
Other lows included the side effects I experienced while cycling. I wish dealing with Infertility did not also come with bloating, nausea, hot flashes, weight gain, etc. Finding out the number of embryos that either made it to freezing or didn’t was always nerve-wracking.
My story holds some unique attributes in that although I beat the odds and had a successful cycle on the 1st round of ever doing IVF, I, unfortunately, lost our first daughter at 22 weeks due to IC, which I didn’t know I had in addition to Infertility. That was just devastating and now serves as a couple of the aspects of infertility I focus on, living life after a loss and an incompetent cervix.
Did any IVF FLORIDA team members provide outstanding care or support?
EVERYONE!!!!!!! I have to say I do not think I encountered anyone that was less than nice, empathetic, understanding, and courteous to my husband and me during my time of receiving Infertility treatments at IVF FL. Of course, Dr. Hoffman (Dr. H). Dr. Barrioneuvo was always fantastic and performed at least one, maybe even two of my embryo transfers. All of the medical staff, Erica, Barbara, Nadia, Judy in embryology, I mean everybody. The anesthesiologist was the same gentleman, and he always took care of me. Dr. Weitzman, Dr. Ory (retired), and Dr. Maxon (retired). How can I forget Lovely, Paula, and Amalia? They worked closely with Dr. H and I saw them at almost every visit for blood draws, results, etc. Oh, and the ultrasound techs were great! I hate to drop names because I may leave someone out but EVERYONE was fantastic! Oh, and Jen who always answered the main line and made sure I got through to someone when I called vs having to leave a voicemail.
By
IVF FLORIDA at 25 Apr 2023