Sally and Steve's Story 

My husband and I met and married in 1988. We spoke often of having children and how much fun we would have raising our family. We knew of many friends and family members who had a difficult time conceiving children. With that in mind, we decided to try for a child right away. Our daughter was born 14 months after we married. She is a wonderful child and fills our life with such joy and happiness. We marvel at the love we have for her and how she had truly made us a family. Since we didn't have any trouble conceiving her, we opted to wait for a year or so to give us time to enjoy her and to get used to parenthood.

When we were ready to try again, we thought we would have no problem. We were wrong. We had just begun our long journey on the infertility "roller-coaster". For 9 years we tried everything short of IVF. We would give up for a while and then try again. It was a difficult emotional and physical journey. We felt truly fortunate to have been blessed with one beautiful child, but we did not feel that our family was complete. So we kept trying. Over the years, I had two surgeries and numerous drug therapies and inseminations. My diagnosis was "unexplained secondary infertility". Everything appeared to be in our favor, but still we could not conceive.

We had researched our options for continuing treatment. We knew what the success rates were for IVF. We also knew what the costs were. We weighed the cost vs. the outcome. In January of 1998, some doors opened for us and we made the decision to move on to IVF. We consulted with several Reporductive Endocrinologists in the Denver area. We ultimately decided that our best choice for success was at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. We thought that if we were going to make this big leap to IVF, that we should maximize the odds in our favor. The staff, doctors and nurses seemed to understand our situation and were so pleasant and kind.

Our older daughter got involved in the process, as well, giving me some of my shots and coming with me on my appointments. When the time came for my egg retrieval, I was hoping for good results. I had 15 eggs. Of those, 9 fertilized and 5 were of excellent quality. We transferred three, 3-day embryos and froze 2 blasts.

When I came back for my blood test two weeks later, I was so nervous and excited I could hardly breathe! I went home to wait and think positive thoughts! When Marcia called with our results I almost cried. The results were positive. What a miracle! Medical Science had created a miracle for our family.

At our first ultrasound, we saw two sacs, one of which was smaller than the other. We were told to proceed with cautious optimism. Sometimes the smaller sacs don't mature, as they should. At 12 weeks I was discharged to my OB. Our IVF had been successful, and the rest of the pregnancy was up to me. Fortunately, for us, everything turned out well. Our twin boys, Dylan and Logan were born at 37 weeks in November of 1998. Our daughter was present for the delivery and even cut one of the cords! We went home from the hospital 2 days later with our new little baby bundles. Now we struggle with the messes and confusion that accompany twins, but each precious moment is well worth the years of treatment and effort that went before.

I know we were fortunate to succeed on the first IVF cycle. I know of many friends who were not so lucky. All I can say is that I will always appreciate the efforts of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. I feel fortunate to reside in the Denver area, so that we could work with the best center in the country. For us, IVF is an experience we will never forget and we will be forever grateful for our two small miracles and for the compassion and professionalism of Dr. Schoolcraft and his staff.

Sally and Steve