Erin & Eric

Erin & Eric's Story:

Eric and I met in 2009, started dating in 2011, got engaged in 2012, and got married in 2014. We started trying to grow our family in 2018 with general ObGyn help and tracking fertility in hopes that we'd get pregnant easily.  

The doctor advised we do blood testing, check sperm mobility, and at the end of 2018, I endured a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), to find that the right tube worked well and the left tube appeared normal.

Shortly after we got the results, that's where we first learned about our diagnosis of "unexplained infertility". In the spring of 2019, I had been bleeding lightly and feeling off, so we went to my PCP when the ObGyn didn't have openings. We found out that I was pregnant!

In the process of tracking over the next few weeks, we experienced our first miscarriage. On my next cycle, we used Clomid and Ovidrel to try to conceive, but we were unsuccessful.

Then we were put on hold during the height of COVID and continued to pursue natural options.

In March 2021, we had another miscarriage, or so we thought. On April 12th, 2021, I experienced fatigue and was close to passing out at work. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. That's when we found over a liter of blood in my abdomen because an ectopic pregnancy ruptured.

The surgery required them to take my right tube. After recovering physically and mentally, we resumed our efforts in earnest in 2022 with the Fertility Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For the last year, we had tried increasing ovulation and multiple attempts at IUI.

None of those steps had produced a viable pregnancy. To our surprise, we received a positive result from an at-home pregnancy test on November 27th: naturally! Two days later, we visited the local ER because I started bleeding, and we were told there was something on the ultrasound that could be slightly concerning. Later that week, we visited a larger ER because hCG levels were increasing, but no images in the uterus.

We were assured it was not an ectopic, just ovarian cysts, and were sent home. A week later, we went to an ObGyn appointment for another ultrasound. After the appointment, they sent us to the ER next door because hCG levels were continuing to climb and an appearance of something near the lower end of the remaining tube, near the uterus.

I then received a Methotrexate injection to dissolve the pregnancy tissues, as it was not viable. Bleeding and cramping had continued, and we monitored the hCG levels decreasing, as our hope did as well. Since that time, we have focused on trying to just mentally and physically recover from the difficult December 2023, with 3 ER visits.

On the last visit, I looked at my husband and said, "No more. We're doing IVF." Due to my BMI, we were unable to pursue IVF with our current fertility specialist. So, we went looking for help elsewhere.

We had heard so many good things about CNY, and we reached out for a consult! Took us a few months to get the pre-conception bloodwork, saline ultrasound, and vaccines done.

We traveled in December 2024 for egg retrieval and fertilization, with implantation on the 23rd! By Jan 2nd, 2025, we had a positive pregnancy test! The rest is history!

(Photos by Kanous Photography)

The Moment:

The moment that Theo was placed on my chest after the c-section....I cried. It felt so surreal. So many years of trying and we finally had our little rainbow baby! Even now we just look at him in disbelief and utter happiness.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

Everyone is different. Listen to your doctors and do what is right for you, but follow your instincts as well.

I remember thinking we should look into IVF sooner, but I had so many other people's opinions about IVF in my head. For example: too expensive, too impersonal, not real pregnancy, and many more. Don't listen! Do your research, and ask questions!