Back in late 2013, my husband and I were not getting pregnant after many months of trying. I was informed by my OB that my labs showed a low AMH (anti-mullerian hormone) level and recommended I go see an infertility specialist. Dr. S. Kavoussi was highly recommended and my husband had seen his brother Dr. P. Kavoussi earlier that year. Dr. Kavoussi sat us down and was so thorough explained to us the likely hood of getting pregnant on our own due to my low levels. I asked if he would let me try some clomid first before we move straight to IVF. He was totally open to that and allowed me a few months to try with clomid. I appreciate how he didn’t shut down that idea right away. A few months went by and still no pregnancy. I was starting to feel like a failure and put a lot of pressure on myself and on my husband. We knew our next step was to move fwd with IVF. We sat down again with Dr. Kavoussi and Kate Odenwald, NP and they explained to us the processes in great detail.
We began our IVF journey in Sept 2014. We had one embryo out of the batch. We stayed hopeful and waited. In October we found we were not pregnant. Of course I was devastated. I had already felt like such a failure that my body was not doing what women are supposed to be able to do. And I felt ashamed when people would ask, “why haven’t you had a baby, you are not getting any younger” or the “you have been married forever and still no baby”. I took one day to allow myself to cry it out and feel sorry for myself. Dr. Kavoussi called me to check on me which made me feel great that he cared so much. He went on to say if and when you are ready to talk about some options come back into the office. A week later we sat with Dr. Kavoussi and he came up with a different game plan. I took a few months off to get thru the holidays and become mentally and physically prepared for round two. Jan 2015 we began the processes again and had the 3 most beautiful embryos. We decided to implant 2 and save the other. Late Jan we received the news that we were pregnant. I never thought I would ever hear those words come out of Kate. I was literally in shock for a few minutes. I am now 16 weeks pregnant with one baby and so far everything has been great.
I am so thankful for all the staff there. Dr. Kavoussi is genuinely a sincere and kindhearted physician. He gives hugs not just handshakes. As a registered nurse it’s refreshing to see a physician with great people skills. Kate Odenwald, that’s my girl!!! She has dealt with all my craziness. Being a super control freak, I was hesitant and scared in the beginning. I will never forget Kate told me early on, that I just needed to learn how to trust them and the process. She gave me constant reassurance. Debra was amazing dealing with the financial aspect of the IVF. Roxy (embryologist) such a sweet and kind lady. I loved her enthusiasm. She even made some recommendations for the baby’s name, “Roxy”. We consider her our first baby sitter since she watched over our embryos so closely. Marisol was very kind as well and helped make the experience better. And of course Casey, super sweet staff member who played a part in the process. When I told her the news of us being pregnant she was so excited for us. We even had a moment when we hugged and cried. All of you have played such an intricate part in helping my husband and I make this baby. I will be forever grateful for all the love and support we received from the staff.
Before I was embarrassed that I had to even go thru IVF. Because I felt less of a woman. Now that I have gone thru the process I have such a different outlook on IVF. When I tell people I am pregnant, I love to tell the story of how it came to be and how all these people put so much work into making this happen.
Much Love
