Mom was not doing well and we were pretty desperate at this point. Two days before we were scheduled to perform the insemination, my mom passed away. Lisa and I were certain that Mom's passing coincided with our insemination so that she could be there to help us out. We waited, we prayed, we were devastated! Lisa's pregnancy test came back negative. It didn't work! Seven failed artificial insemination attempts. What next?
Dr. Vermesh agreed it was time to move on; In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) was at hand. We began the drug therapy immediately. By December of 1999, Lisa produced 10 eggs! We had the retrieval, the fertilization went very well, producing seven viable multi-cell embryos. We had three transferred and four frozen for later use.
During the midst of our sadness, we transferred the viable cells, and held our breath. And prayed. Just after Christmas, December 27, 1999. We got the news. Lisa was NOT pregnant.
Devastation again!
I had given up hope. Lisa remained optimistic. The whole time we were going through treatment, I had been a pillar of hope and encouragement. Lisa had it really rough. The emotional drain, the stress on friendships and family, the avoidance of anything and anyone who is pregnant, Lisa was really struggling. To make matters more difficult, after our fourth insemination attempt, Lisa got a call from her younger brother who was recently married. They were pregnant, their first try!
So at this point in our Saga, we've been through seven AI attempts and an IVF attempt. Lisa is down when I'm up and I'm down when Lisa is up. We provided a perfect balance for each other and have never been closer or more in love than ever. That's the beauty of life challenges. So we tried IVF again.
Lisa took the shots, we followed the program, and in late January of 2000, Lisa was ready with....
Only 4 eggs this time. AHHHHH, we had ten last time. Dr. Vermesh was certain that this cycle wouldn't work. If we hadn't had solid insurance coverage, he would have cancelled it! So, I did my husbandly duty in a cup (again). We had 3 fertilized eggs. Ok, not bad, we can work with this. By the way, we also had 4 frozen from the last cycle...