This is the hardest post I have done and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure I would be able to do it. But it is a huge part of my journey and I cannot leave it out. This picture was taken by my mom at St. Ignatius church in San Francisco on November 1, 2014. Her and my dad went there to light a candle for the unborn baby Twomey… Meanwhile, 3 petrie dishes were sitting in a fertility clinic in Foster City with my dream growing inside. Let me back up a few steps….
Once I decided to become a single mom, the next big decision was how I was going to do it… There were many different options available which I began to research: IVF (in vitro fertilization), IUI (Intrauterine insemination), adoption, being the 3 that I looked most closely at. I was not in a committed relationship, so I knew that if I intended to have the baby using IVF or IUI, I would also need a donor sperm. More research… It was about this time, that I reached out to a friend who I had been watching on Facebook for a year or so. She was posting a lot throughout her pregnancy and after her baby was born, and it was clear she was single. I decided to reach out to her and ask her if she was comfortable sharing her story with me. Not only did she say yes, she even met up with me for coffee and shared her whole journey. It turned out that she had done IUI and used a donor sperm. She connected me to a few great resources for donor sperm and answered a lot of my questions. Little did I know, you actually get to see a whole profile on the man, including health history, educational background, social interests, pictures, and even hear a voice interview. It really made it seem to me like I would be able to pick out the best match for me.
Being pregnant was something I always dreamed of and I really wanted to carry a baby inside of me if possible. I decided that I was going to follow the IUI path and use a donor sperm. I chose my sperm bank and spent quite some time making my choice. It was such a huge decision and it was very important to me that I took all the time I needed. At the same time, I was also making appointments with my gynecologist at Kaiser to find out what I needed to do medically and what was available through my medical provider. I learned quickly that there is little to no coverage for reproductive health and a lot of it is out of pocket. As a single woman, using donor sperm, I really didn’t qualify for much. My gynecologist referred me to the fertility specialist and I made my first appointment. A lot of information was shared…. including medicine, procedures, and costs. It would be primarily out of pocket, and the doctor said as long as I did IUI, it could be done at Kaiser. She told me they did not do IVF. It is at this point that I asked what the difference was. I knew nothing about any of this stuff and was learning as I went. The doctor explained it in a much more medically correct way–but ultimately, in IUI the sperm are directly inserted into the uterus, and in IVF the eggs are removed from the ovaries, fertilized in a lab, and then the embryo is placed in the uterus. IUI is much less demanding physically and also much less expensive. I decided to start with IUI. I was teaching Kindergarten at the time, and decided that I would begin in June, when we got out for summer (which was about a month away). I would need to give myself shots to stimulate my ovaries and also be available to go into the lab every few days to have an ultrasound. This would be much easier when I was off of school. I also quit my job and went back to teaching at the school closer to my parent’s home. If all went well, I would be pregnant by the end of summer, and needed to be closer to my parents so they could watch my sweet baby.
The school year ended, and I began the process. It involved shots twice a day, and frequent blood tests to test my levels. My ovaries were not cooperating and there were red flags right away. They upped the dosage of medicine and still did not see much happening. I had some testing done, and also found out that one of my fallopian tubes was blocked. I met with the specialist and she basically said that she did not think the IUI would be successful and that I should look into IVF. This procedure was not done at Kaiser, so I started my research again. I found an AMAZING doctor located within 5 miles from my home and set up a consultation right away. He looked over all the paperwork and test results that I had from Kaiser, and told me that he had a plan for me. He was a superhero in my eyes and I told him I would do anything he needed me to do. I had to have surgery to have the blocked tube closed and was put on a strict diet (no dairy or gluten). He also had me take a some additional supplements and I began acupuncture twice a week. All of this was out of pocket, and to be honest, I didn’t even blink an eye when they told me that costs. I just asked where to sign and was ready.
The doctor said I needed to be on the most aggressive plan due to the lack of results before. Even on this plan, my ovaries were very slow to produce and I had to go a bit longer than expected (which meant more shots, more medicine, and more time). I had to do shots every morning and every evening for almost 2 weeks and then go in every 2-3 days for an ultrasound to monitor my ovaries. When he finally felt it was time, I had to go in and have my eggs retrieved. I remember the procedure was at 7:00 AM the day after the Giants won the World Series. I joked with the nurses that I was going to name the baby Madison after the Giants pitcher! When I woke up from the procedure, the doctor told me it had done well and he retrieved 9 eggs. Only 7 were mature enough to fertilize. From those 7 only 3 were successfully fertilized. I then had to wait 3 days to find out how many would mature into an embryo to be transferred back into my uterus. It was the hardest wait…I went to bed every night with my hand on my belly. I was so hopeful and so was my family. And this brings us back to that picture…. My parents drove out to St. Ignatius Church (which was a special location because I had graduated from there 3 times) to light the candle. We were so hopeful.
Day 3 came and I did not hear from the doctor. I called and left a message and heard nothing back. And then my phone rang. It was 3:00 and I was just leaving school to drive to my acupuncture appointment. As soon as I heard the doctors voice, my heart sank. He informed me that none of my embryos grew and in fact had disintegrated in the petrie dish. He went on to say that there was an 80% chance that there were no good eggs in my body and that in his 20 years of doing this work, he had only seen one other case as strange as mine. I drove straight to my parents house and basically collapsed into their arms. I cried and cried and cried and had never felt so empty. I had given so much—mentally, physically, financially, and most of all emotionally, and it felt like everything came crashing down around me. It felt so unfair. All I ever wanted to be was a mom. I followed every direction given to me by the doctor and was so hopeful that my dream would come true. It was truly the saddest day of my life.
It took some time for me to really grieve and process all the information that was given to me. Although he did not say there was zero chance of me being able to have a baby with my own eggs, he said the only way to know would be to go through the process all over again. It is then, that I really had to sit down and do some soul searching. Did I want to put my body through that again? And if I did, what were the chances it would work the second time? The more I thought about it, the more I felt drawn to adoption. I believed deep down inside that there was an unborn baby somewhere out there who needed me to be his (or her) mommy.
It has taken me a long time to write out the details of this part of my journey. It was painful and hard to live through and to retell. However, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and it all led me to my sweet baby Riley. The moment I held that sweet boy in my arms, I knew I was put on the Earth to be his mommy. And I cannot even begin to explain how much joy it brings my heart when people tell me, “He looks like you”! WE WERE DESTINED to be together! That candle shines brightly at St. Ignatius Church–as my sweet boy lights up every day.