Our journey to children part three

“Hurry up and wait” is a phrase that has become all too familiar around here. Now that the decision had been made we were excited + anxious to get started on our PGD journey. From the moment that we started we were warned that it would be a long, seemingly slow, and toiling process. Before we could begin we had to attend three appointments to discuss every angle of the journey we were about to embark on and had to sign, what seemed like, a mountain of paperwork. Once we had gotten the green light from all of the other consultants it was finally time to submit our paperwork and get added to the list, and wait.

During the waiting period we had two choices; let our patience wear thin OR enjoy the time we had without babies in the mix yet. So that we did. We’ve travelled to some amazing places like S.Africa, we’ve enjoyed our fair share of staycations, and breakfast in bed is a regular affair.

After a year and a half we were able to begin our first cycle of IVF for PGD. That consisted of a three-week period of two types of injections to stimulate follicles to grow and prepare for egg collection. I’ve now finished injections + egg collection with an outcome of 17 eggs collected. We were then informed that 16 were able to be fertilized. After a few more days of waiting we found out that 12 fertilized themselves. After another few days we were informed that 5 grew to the blastocyst stage and were able to be tested and then frozen. Two weeks and a lot of prayers later, we found out that of the five, four embryos are without CF. We made a decision at the beginning of the process to use all of the viable embryos so now we have four potential babies that await implantation, bearing in mind that after implantation we still sit at a 50/50 chance of success.

We both believe so strongly that God’s hand has been and is in each step along the way. We now found ourselves at another waiting period. Now we wait to schedule in time and start injections to prepare my womb for the implantation phase.

I’ve heard many say that “you’ll never be ready to have children” but after such a long process I can speak for both of us and say that we’re ready. While breakfast in bed and a quiet house is the regular simplistic pleasure that we’ve gotten used to and enjoy, (and one that we don’t take for granted) we dream of the day when we’ll welcome our own into the world. Middle of the night cries we’ll actually seem like such a sweet sound.

While this is the conclusion of the chapter for now, my dream, prayers and hope is that very soon we’ll be able to share with you our miracle ending to this journey. The outpouring of love that you have shown us has been such an encouragement to our hearts. My continued hope is that our story will reach another family who might be experiencing a similar story + decisions. When it feels like someone else has walked in your shoes, it makes a world of a difference.