My IVF Journey
When I was young people would ask “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer was always “a mom”. Throughout my childhood, I always needed help. I needed help with my homework, speech, reading, writing - pretty much everything in school. My Papa, James E Hanlon was always there to help me. He would edit my physics lab report, and my English papers. He would read my text books and explain them to me. You named it, he helped. My Papa even helped me through my early childhood undergrad degree at Westfield State College, my Montessori program, and my master's program at Gordon College well into his 90s!!!!
Papa was so smart, and truthfully probably a genius. The reason why I say genius is because he was able to explain all those things to a neurodivergent person - me with dyslexia. Neurodiversity means people with learning or thinking differences who are “wired” differently than their peers.
My Papa also taught me that it's ok to get help when you need it. I am so grateful that he taught me how to self advocate and ask for help when you need it.
I got married and wanted to start a family. I never thought I would need help becoming a mother! However, in reality many people struggle to become parents. In fact the chances of getting pregnant each month is only 12%. So the fact that we are here is quite remarkable that we beat the odds and our mother became pregnant
In my case I was going to need help again. However, my Papa was not going to be there to help me understand. James aka Papa, the Irish man from Dorchester ☘️. My Papa Passed away on October 3, 2023 at the age of 95. The same week I found out that there was going to be a 2.% chance of me having children naturally. I was diagnosed with PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome. So my IVF journey started the same week I lost my best friend.
Going through the IVF process has helped me so much to understand the woman’s body and how powerful it is. It was a lot to learn and a lot to process but I didn't have to do it alone. I can’t tell you how much the women in my life who have supported me through this journey mean to me. I cannot thank you enough. All of you guided me or told me your stories about how you became a mother. Thank you for sharing your truth with me.
I have finally been able to process it and when I look back on my journey (which still isn’t over), my friends have been along for the ride.
Back to my Papa!! Luck was on my side. My egg retrieval was on St. Patrick’s Day, my Papa’s holiday, Irish celebration! We got 66 eggs, 42 of them became embryos, 19 matured within 5 days, and one for good luck on the seventh day. A total of 20 embryos!
My doctor told me I was an overachiever. 🤓 We decided to do genetic testing because it raises the success rate to 60% instead of 45-50%. After the genetic testing, we were told that we have 12 healthy embryos waiting for us whenever we are ready! My family’s lucky number 🥰
Like I’ve always said, I want to be a mom. So nothing is going to stop me.
But for now, we wait for the divine timing of the transfer.
To be continued…
Keep shining ✨
Michele
