Teresa & Jason: IVF Plans for 2012

01/11/2012

Teresa

At the onset of fall season, Jason and I were so excited about starting IVF. We felt so positive about it and knew it held our biggest chance for conceiving a child. I asked so many questions, and read every piece of information I could find. But nothing prepared me for the journey. At first, I thought it was cake: taking four or five shots a day and going to the doctor every other day. Even the retrieval wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be--then again, I wasn’t really coherent for that. It wasn’t until a few days after the retrieval that the hardship of going through IVF really hit me. I was swollen, miserable, and in pain. I was lucky Jason was around to take care of me, because I was basically on bed rest.

We waited five days between the retrieval and transfer and used two of the best looking embryos we had. One morning, I had the urge to try a pregnancy test. The result came back positive and my excitement was so overwhelming that I kept checking to make sure the line was still there. Jason even came home from work to confirm that what I was seeing was indeed a second line. Every day after that, the line got darker, so we went in for blood work and I got confirmation that I was, indeed, pregnant.

Soon after, the excitement was followed by a routine doctor’s appointment, where we found out my numbers had dropped and things "weren't looking good.” After all the waiting, the medicine, the procedures, the pain, and the emotions, our IVF cycle concluded with the news that I'd lost the pregnancy. It was utterly devastating.

We have had a few weeks now to take it all in and decide what's next. We know our journey is nowhere near over because we've come such a long way. We have a few frozen embryos that we'll use this year for our second attempt. I have lightened my commitments, finished school, and eliminated many sources of stress. I am looking forward to our frozen embryo cycle and to whatever is in store for us next.

Thank you to everyone who has followed our story and has offered us friendship. I believe not only us, but many other couples have really opened up to such a taboo topic and shed some light on infertility because of this series. For that I am extremely grateful.

Jason

Although our time with A Conception Story has ended, this doesn't mean that our story is over.

When we first started this series, I imagined the stress on us as a couple would be heightened because our story would be broadcast to the general public. However, I quickly learned that wasn't the case. Through the telling of our story, I've felt an immeasurable amount of weight being lifted off my shoulders. Though it's been painful to see Teresa go through a taxing process of almost's and not-quite's, I believe we're closing this chapter on a very positive note. Through this journey, we've had a lot of questions answered and a lot of worries quelled. We now know that we can in fact become pregnant and the quality of our embryos is excellent.

My heart goes out to all the wonderful couples I've had the pleasure to meet and befriend. I cannot think of any more deserving families than those that I've met along this journey. To all of them, I wish them well for the future. To all of you, who have followed us along our journey, thank you for all of the support and feedback. You've made this experience unforgettable.

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Watch all of A Conception Story online, or just watch Teresa & Jason's Journey.