Davinia tells us her story: “Never give up, because the reward is wonderful”.
Today we have a new patient testimony for you from our Real Stories section.
We want to share the story of Davinia, a mother looking for her second pregnancy, but she knew first hand what ‘secondary infertility’ means.
Davinia, thank you very much for sharing your story with us. Apart from cheering on and encouraging the women and couples who are still on their journey, you’re also helping us! These stories are what drive us to continue working and what give us something to look forward to day after day, year after year!
Here’s your story!
My fertility journey began and I wasn’t even aware of it. “Infertility when trying to conceive a second time”.
After two miscarriages and eight years of trying to get pregnant again, I was seen at the Centro Gutenberg Ultrasound Unit and Dr. Guillermo Azumendi told me I should make an appointment at an assisted reproduction clinic. This came as a complete surprise to me as I already had a daughter and never imagined that secondary infertility would be a part of my life.
We decided to make an appointment at URE Centro Gutenberg and were seen by Dr. Álvarez. On the very first day he told us what treatment he recommended based on my age, my history of recurrent miscarriage, etc. I was 40 at the time. The treatment our doctor recommended was IVF with PGT. I was really doubtful, and even more scared, but thanks to my life partner who encouraged me to fight for what we most wanted, we decided to go on a grand adventure. Today I can tell you that it was the best decision we have made in our life.
I’ll be honest: treatment wasn’t easy for me at the beginning as I have, or better yet had, a needle phobia, and treatment involves several injections for the ovarian stimulation. But it’s possible to get over that fear when you’re fighting for something you want with all your heart.
The day of the egg retrieval arrived and all of my fears and anxiety returned when I was told that only six eggs were collected (when a minimum of eight eggs are recommended for this treatment). I was given the option to freeze them and later undergo a second egg retrieval to obtain additional eggs, or to continue treatment with what we already had. It was a really difficult decision, but we decided to continue with our treatment and trust in the amazing team that makes up URE Gutenberg. They could only work with three of the six eggs that were collected, meaning only three were mature eggs. Thanks to our embryologist Menchu, who was given so little to work with, great fertilisation results were achieved and all three eggs fertilised.
As the days went by, two of them stopped developing and we were left with just one little embryo. Honestly, in that moment my hopes of becoming a mother vanished. Thank you to the whole team at Gutenberg for every encouraging word, every squeeze of my shoulder and every pat on the back wishing me the best of luck. Thanks to such warm, caring treatment, I was able to hold on to that sliver of hope.
Then the big day finally arrived!! The day my little fighter would be with me. Dr. Sánchez performed my embryo transfer, and as you already know, it was successful.
My little fighter embryo held on as tightly as he could, and today Zeus is here bringing us happiness, reminding us that dreams do come true, that miracles do exist and that, as hard as the journey may seem, we have to keep fighting for our happiness. I know that this adventure was easy for me, but never give up because the reward is wonderful.
“Where dreams come true”
Thank you again, Davinia, for letting us include your testimony in our collection of real patient stories. We are absolutely certain that your experience will help other women who find themselves in the same situation.
And if any of you out there reading this article are in a similar situation and need support or advice from experts, you can count on us to help you. Also, remember that your first appointment at URE Centro Gutenberg is free.