Zsofia & Daniel

Zsofia & Daniel's Story:

Daniel and I live in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in Canada. We met after I got divorced and felt I would never be able to have a family, especially since I was already 36.

Shortly after dating and moving in together, we decided we're not going to waste any more time; let's start a family. I began tracking my ovulation, but month after month after month, I kept getting my period, and the emotional rollercoaster was just devastating.

I went to see a naturopath and did all the treatments she could offer: an elimination diet to see if the infertility was related to my gut health, acupuncture, and all the possible supplements to support egg health. Months went by, but still no pregnancy.

After we tried all the options, she suggested doing IVF. We went to Vancouver first because I hadn't even looked into US options. I had to take out a loan from the bank, paid the $25.000 ish to the clinic, and we ended up with one embryo at the end.

We were very excited, but I had a hard time not being stressed. This ONE would have to work, otherwise we would have no baby.

I went to a therapist and had acupuncture to make sure I get myself relaxed and ready for a successful transfer. Well, it wasn't a success. We were devastated. My world collapsed, and I fell into a very deep hole I didn't think I could ever emerge from.

While I had my terrible experience, my very good friend, who lives in Florida, gave birth to her IVF baby. She was very considerate and never sent me any pictures, and made sure I never heard her baby over the phone, so it my heart didn't break even more. Months went by, and I still wasn't feeling any better. She suggested I schedule a consultation with the clinic she went to, CNY Fertility. She had arranged everything because I was still so depressed. 

They had the egg donor option, as it seemed the issues were/are my "old" eggs. I was 39 at this point. Things sped up after my January 2024 consultation. I saw a tiny thread of hope in my life again; maybe there is a chance to have a baby after all.

I found a donor in April who was actually available and had an egg retrieval planned already for May. Now I just had to arrange for my partner to fly to the clinic my donor goes to in the States.

He flew to the States for literally just 2 days and came back. Egg retrieval and fertilization were done. We chewed off all the nails while waiting for the report on how many embryos we have. And I finally got the email: 3 embryos.

My life had meaning again. We were so very excited. I've decided to have the first transfer in July 2024. Why wait, right?!

I chose the best graded embryo. I travelled to the CNY Fertility Sarasota clinic in FL, as my friend lives an hour away, and I could stay there.

Again, I got acupuncture done and lived healthily to make sure I did EVERYTHING I could to support a successful transfer. July 11, 2024, embryo transfer day came. I didn't feel anything, and started to kind of fall into my "hole" again.

I did a pregnancy test on day 5: nothing. Day 6: nothing. Day 7: nothing. I knew at that point it didn't work. But this time, instead of devastation, I felt anger. Why can it not happen to me, but happens to people who don't even want to have children?!

So I decided to fly back to the States in September and transfer both embryos at once. I would've loved to have twins anyway. This time, my partner came with me too.

I felt ok with the possibility that it still wouldn't work. I would change my entire life. I had a Plan B.On 

September 09, 2024, we transferred both the embryos we had. We stayed for an extra few days in Florida to relax a bit before flying back to Canada. In the morning of Day 5, I took a test. That was our return date as well. There seemed to be a very light line. I called my friend, and she was screaming insanely that there truly IS a line. I told her nah, I don't think so. But as I was feeding her daughter formula, I felt the smell of the formula was incredibly disgusting. Then, on the flight, I felt nauseated by all the smells.

And then we got to Vancouver. I had a very strong headache the whole night and the following morning, plus I was very nauseous, but we had to get to the airport to catch our last flight. I took another test, and the line was getting darker and darker. We were next in line to go through the security gate when suddenly I had to vomit in a garbage can beside me. The security personnel came to me right away, asking if I needed medical attention, but I couldn't help but smile and finally answered, for the first time in my life: "No, thank you, I think I'm pregnant". :)

And the rest is history with a beautiful daughter.

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Dr Kondrup and the nurses were super nice and helped ease up the anxiety I felt during the procedure.

Helpful resources Zsofia & Daniel found:

I did acupuncture throughout the entire pregnancy.

The Moment:

That moment in the airport when I knew I was pregnat I felt like I was floating on clouds. I don't think I've ever been happier in my life.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

I wish I would've done my first IVF at CNY Fertility. They really make the Priceless affordable! So many options for treatments and payments.