On Monday we had our consult with the infertility doctor, Dr. Sherman Silber. I was a bit anxious due to all of the unknowns of this journey and having to wait over a month before we had our official appointment. We arrived early and waited patiently for our name to be called.
As we entered into Dr. Silber’s office, I really had no worries; however, he cut to the chase — why we were there. We knew due to some testing that Steve’s sperm count was a little low and I’ve been battling with endometriosis for the past 9-10 years.
Honestly, we expected these two contributors to be the reason for this consult. We were wrong. Dr. Silber informed us that my follicle count was low — as low as that of a 42-year-old woman. What does that mean? Well, it has an impact on the quantity/quality of my eggs. There were no concerns whatsoever about Steve’s sperm count. Dr. Silber recommended that we go with mini IVF and consider two egg retrievals, making our chances greater of getting a good number of quality eggs. They will then put Steve’s sperm into the eggs and measure the success of the development of the embryo.
The embryos will then be frozen for reimplantation and for future use (if need be). Considering that my follicle count will only decrease, Dr. Silber felt this will prove to be the most advantageous approach. He even stated that waiting 6 months for egg retrieval is too long. Sigh… I had no idea this curveball was going to be thrown our way. So, we will have our first egg retrieval in June or July.
Depending on the success of that retrieval, we may undergo another right away. We can then schedule the reimplantation at any time thereafter. Steve and I are remaining as optimistic as possible. We have agreed to only attempt this one time due to the expenses involved. I will blog about this experience to keep all of you up to date.
I would ask that you pray and believe along with us for successful egg retrieval and embryo development. In due time, I will be asking for your prayers as we pursue reimplantation. WOW! It’s so much to try to explain, let alone process…especially when you’ve never experienced anything quite like this.
Thank you so very much to all of you who have already been praying and keeping in touch. We serve a BIG God and we are believing in His perfect will to be done.
Anonymous says
We are praying with you, Kelly and Steve! We love you and know the Lord is in control. We do serve a wonderful and powerful maker!
Aaron and Elisabeth Brimer