Scheila & Michael

Scheila & Michael's Story:

We got married in 2012, and we started trying to conceive in 2014.

We were not aware of anyone that struggled to conceive in our families, and we believed that we would be able to conceive quickly.

However, we kept tracking cycles month after month with ovulation tests and pregnancy tests, and nothing was happening.

After about 8 months of trying with no success, I decided to visit my OB and asked for some tests.

I was approaching my 35th birthday, and I didn't want to waste any more time. We ran several exams, including ovulation cycles, thyroid levels, and blood work, and everything came back normal every time.

Mike ran some tests as well, and everything came back textbook perfect as well. My OB at the time suggested IUI, we got so excited with the possibility of it working and decided to try it.

Our first IUI with a low dose of Clomid didn't work, so we upped the dose of Clomid. I released four eggs on that cycle, but the IUI still didn't work. We felt so sad and frustrated at that point.

We ran some more exams, and again, everything came back normal. We were diagnosed with "unexplained infertility."

The OB suggested IUI again, but at that point, we were ready for IVF.

We went to 2 IVF clinics in North Carolina in 2015, but we did not like them. At both clinics, we felt like a number and did not feel it was the right place for us.

I started doing some research and came across CNY in early 2016 through Facebook.

We had our first consultation with Dr. Kiltz, we explained our issues (or the lack of finding the issue); Dr. Kiltz was so amazing and compassionate. We did not feel like a number at all at CNY and decided to move forward with IVF as a travel patients.

Our first cycle was a bit chaotic because I had no idea what I was doing, I called the nurses many times throughout the process to ask for guidance, and they were all very helpful.

Unfortunately, our first cycle did not have a good outcome, we got a BFN and no embryos to freeze.

We felt devastated again but not defeated. We spoke with Dr. Corley and Dr. Kiltz and decided to take a 3-month break to focus on the Keto diet and to take vitamins to up our chances. I also primed with HGH on my second cycle.

That cycle was the best, we created 13 embryos, and I got my first BFP ever!!! How exciting! Everything was going well until 23+5 when we were traveling out of state, and I started having contractions, I ended up delivering our son on 11/26/2016 via emergency c-section, and we ended up losing him as well due to prematurity.

It turned out that we lost him due to an incompetent cervix. Our world collapsed at that time, but despite everything, we did not lose hope.

Dr. Kiltz called me when I was still in the hospital and gave me some great advice while also providing some comforting words during such a sad event in our lives.

I kept researching and decided to have an abdominal cerclage (TAC) surgery, which I did four months after losing my son.

2 months after my TAC surgery, my MFM gave me the green light to transfer again. We had a FET 6 months after losing our son, and amazingly we got a BFP!!!

We were nervous and excited at the same time. Our son Lucas James was born on 1/05/2018, it was one of the best days of our lives!

Despite still having frozen embryos at CNY, we were unsure about having another baby. 

However, Lucas started asking for a sibling in 2020, so we decided to try it. I was 39 years old, and time was ticking.

We had 3 FETs in 2020, and none of them worked (all chemicals), so we decided to investigate. It turned out I had a very small fibroid in my uterus and got it removed in early 2021.

As soon as the OB gave us the green light to try again, we had another FET, and we finally got another BFP!!

Our beautiful daughter Sophia was born on 10/28/2021, a bit premature, at 32+6, but healthy.

We now have two beautiful and healthy children, our 4-year-old son and our 6-month-old daughter, and our family is complete.

We did decide to donate our remaining embryos to science, and we feel at peace with our decision.

We are forever grateful for CNY, for the amazing Drs and nurses who helped us bring our sweet children into this world.

Any time we hear someone contemplating IVF, we immediately tell them about CNY. Thank you, CNY, from the bottom of our hearts!

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

We appreciate Dr Kiltz for his guidance throghout the whole IVF process and for caring about his patients.
WE appreciate Dr Corley for being so caring and patient. Dr Corley transferred our 3 babies (our angel and our 2 earth babies). We love him so much, I wouldn't want to have an IVF transfer with any other Dr.
We had a brief phone consultation with Dr Grossman in 2021 and he was very nice and informative.
The nurse Greta Nelis was wonderful when I transferred in 2017.
All the nurses were amazing when I transferred in 2020 and specially in 2021. One name that comes to mind is the RN Elizabeth Lee, she was so nice and helpful. She went above and beyond to help to get the HCG on my last cycle, so we wouldn't have to cancel it, and we everything worked out on that cycle!

Helpful resources Scheila & Michael found:

Spending time outdoors (in nature) helped me so much during my IVF cycles. Journaling, yoga, reading books, thinking positive and talking to friends going through IVF the same time as me helped me as well.
Other factors that helped me was sleeping and eating well; these gave me the feeling that I was doing everything possible for my transfer to work.

Unique Moments:

One thing I will never forger in my life: Dr Kiltz called me after I had lost my son and gave me some hope again (after the Drs at the hospital I delivered my angel kept telling me to "get a surrogate). Dr Kiltz also provided me with a referral from CNY to see a MFM in my area to get my abdominal cerclage surgery (after I had mentioned to him that my OB at the time was against me getting my TAC and refused giving me the referral). I cried tears of happiness that day. Dr Kiltz is the best, he is not only an amazing Dr, but also an amazing and compassionate human being.

One of the lowest points for us throghout our IVF journey was losing our first baby boy, especially after longing for a baby for so long! It was incredibly hard continuing with our journey and remaining hopeful because we knew getting a BFP after our loss would be only a small percentage of the battle won.
Learning how to do the daily shots, working full time while going through treatment - a rollercoster of emotions that is, doing the IVF shots in the car while in our road trip to CNY, are all crazy memories that we now have. It was an incredibly hard jorney, but we came out of it much stronger.
The best part of it all? Having our two little rainbows proving that miracles do happen.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

Infertility is hard, going through IVF is hard. You don't know what to expect and/or what the outcome will be, not to mention the financial investment we put in and there are no guarantees.
I was often times anxious throughout my IVF cycles, bitting my nails, researching things on the internet, and so forth, which was not helpful at all.
For someone starting their journey now, my advise would be to take one day at the time, to take deep breaths and remain positive. Focus on what you can, spend your energy on things that you can control, such as the food you eat, the things you read and the people you talk to.
Do not waste your energy researching things non stop and listening to sad stories to lower your energy and don't forget to live while you try to conceive. Definitely do not put your whole life on hold while you wait for that BFP. Live your life, make good choices and hope for the best.