Joan's Story 

Our story had such a sad and depressing beginning... and has such a wonderful ending.

Like many two career couples, we had delayed starting our family until we were each settled in our jobs, had accomplished certain personal goals, including my husband obtaining his MBA while working full-time, and were in the best position to financially, emotionally and spiritually care for our children. Imagine our distress when, having waited so long, the months turned into years.

My OB/GYN was wonderful. Because he and his wife had struggled with infertility, he was a wise counselor, a sympathetic ear, and quite knowledgeable on the subject. From the various tests and the scope surgery he performed, it was clear that scar tissue, probably from a childhood attack of appendicitis and subsequent appendectomy, was completely blocking my falloptian tubes. However, the first infertility specialist we visited simply put us on clomid for several months. The drug worked (that is, it produced eggs), but given the blocked tubes, there was no way they were going to be fertilized on that regimen. We finally tired of getting no responses to our increasing questions, and following the advice of so many couples, visited Dr. Schoolcraft and his team.

What a welcome change. He immediately observed that other than my age, I was a very strong candidate for in vitro fertilization and suggested that we immediately begin the process. Of course, immediately for a couple that had been trying to have a baby for years, and immediately for a very busy infertility clinic, meant two different things. However, in a matter of months, we had started the IVF process.

I won't lie to anyone. I hate shots. As a child, I would have the dentist drill and fill cavities without the benefit of anesthetic to avoid an injection. So the next few weeks were not fun. However, the nurses and other professionals at Dr. Schoolcraft's office were incredibly patient and sympathetic. They took special care in teaching my husband to be as gentle as possible.

One of our big concerns was the risk of multiple babies. As Christians, we simply could not have "reduced" the number of fertilized embryos, a choice others make when faced with multiple embryos. Dr. Schoolcraft's staff was so understanding of our position on this, and worked closely with us to insure that we were completely comfortable with what the results could be. When the time came to implant embryos with our first child, we only implanted three. If God had graced us with triplets, we would have been incredibly tired, but would have ultimately survived. The other embryos we would freeze for our next attempt. Because I was over 35, we could not have "donated" the frozen embryos to another couple, but we reconciled ourselves that no matter what the outcome on this first attempt, we would definitely use up all of the frozen embryos.

The procedure itself was simple (for me, at least!) and painless. The following days leading up to my pregnancy test were almost unbearable. We were afraid to hope, and yet afraid not to hope. We prayed for God's will, but secretly prayed that God's will matched our desires. It was a confusing, scary and somehow oddly joyful time. When the nurse called with the wonderful news "You're pregnant", she cried with me. And we were blessed with our beautiful daughter, now almost 5.

Two years later, we tried using the frozen embryos, but unsuccessfully. It was sad, but we were still feeling incredibly optimistic about the possibility of a second child through IVF.

Several months after that failed attempt, we started the entire IVF cycle again. This time, Dr. Schoolcraft asked if we would be willing to participate in an experimental procedure he was using that allowed the embryos to incubate outside my body for an additional day. The benefit was allowing the embryos to increase in size (number of cells), which also increased the viability. Less than a dozen couples had used the procedure, but the results were impressive. Fewer embryos made it to the next stage, but those that did had a higher percentage chance of surviving. It was a wonderful alternative for persons concerned about multiple births. We decided -- without much hesitation -- to consent to the expirement. It turned out so perfectly. Two embryos made it to the 64-cell stage, we implanted both, and 40 weeks later our son, now almost 3, was born.

The entire staff at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine is phenomenal. They were caring, sympathetic, informative, responsive... all you could ask for and more. They made an emotionally and physically difficult process as easy as it could possibly be.

I highly recommend Dr. Schoolcraft and his entire team.

Joan