Gabrielle & Joseph

Gabrielle & Joseph's Story:

My husband and I always wanted to start a family. Every decision we made, even before we were married in 2016, from our career paths to moving to a new state, was focused on creating a life for our future children.

We officially started trying to conceive in 2018. Knowing I had ovarian cysts in the past, we knew there may be a need for reproductive assistance. After a year of trying, we consulted with my OBGYN, which resulted in me needing to have an HSG test.

The test found that my right fallopian tube was fully blocked and therefore, we elected to remove it. However, this was around the time of COVID-19, and the surgery was pushed back a few months. We understood why, but the delay was heartbreaking. Eventually, we were able to schedule the surgery, and of course, I came down with COVID myself and had to wait 3 more months for the procedure.

After I finally had the surgery, my OBGYN suggested a 6-month trial of Clomid. This was a very difficult experience since I was unlucky enough to have most of the side effects. But we were determined to keep at it for our family. After the 6 month trial my OBGYN suggested I check out CNY for support.

Again, there was another delay since my first appointment had to be moved back--understandably because Florida was experiencing a hurricane the day of my appointment!

We finally got to our appointment and started all the steps, from bloodwork, to months of ketogenic dieting, to a polyp removal, until finally we made it to our egg retrieval day in February of 2024!!

We were so excited to find that we had 7 out of 10 embryos mature enough to be transferred. To be on the safe side, we opted for genetic testing and assisted hatching. 

But then we had another set back when we learned that of the 7 mature embryos, only 2 were considered normal. We felt like our world crumbled. Being teachers, IVF was a huge financial challenge, and this was our one/last attempt to have a family in a way we could afford. So we prayed and prayed that our embryos would stick.

We chose to only transfer one to be on the safe side. The nurses and doctors were amazing on the day of our FET. It did not feel like a medical procedure. More like a very special experience.

My husband and I loved watching our embryo on the monitor making its first journey towards life. Then began the two week wait. This was the longest two weeks, but we finally got that phone call. We were pregnant!!!!!

This was a very challenging and long journey, but it was so well worth it to finally meet our baby girl!

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Dr. Kondrup

Helpful resources Gabrielle & Joseph found:

Acupuncture

The Moment:

The first moment I held my daughter, the world finally seemed right. Everything felt as it should be.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

It may take a long time, but all you need is just that "one." Remember that you are never a failure. You are a strong. You are a warrior.