And now, without further ado, everything you always wanted to know about Erin McElroy's ovaries but were afraid to ask:
http://wgntv.com/2016/03/02/wgns-demetr ... surrogate/Quote:
After her second pregnancy, Erin had complications. Several surgeries could not repair the damage. Doctors told her she could get pregnant but she could not carry a baby.
“The issue is being able to carry it as that baby grows, develops, puts on weight. I was told, 'You will just miscarry again and again and again,'” Erin said.
"Infertility is a medical disease, just like any other medical disease," Feinberg said.
So what options did they have? Erin’s mother offered a suggestion, “She said, ‘I’ll carry the babies for you!’”
But the mother of five was not physically in a position to be a surrogate for her daughter. Just maybe someone else would.
“We had no idea what that process looked like," Erin said.
They got a quick education. Erin would have to go through in-vitro-fertilization -- all the steps to get pregnant -- even though she wouldn’t carry the baby. The first jolt in the process came when they picked up the medications.
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The surrogate is compensated. It’s part of the astronomical cost for couples. But with science on their side and all the players in place, Erin and Demetrius were all in! Doctors performed the first egg retrieval from Erin. Those eggs would be married with sperm in a petri dish to create an embryo that would be implanted into a surrogate.
"As grateful as I am I wish I could be carrying our babies right now," Erin said.
That pang of pain was soon surpassed by yet another heartbreak. Twenty-four hours after four healthy embryos were created, the doctor called with news.
"They made that phone call and said, 'You lost all your embryos, we have to start again.' We were both stunned, silenced. Truthfully, just really sad," Erin said.
Demetrius: “I can’t even describe that moment. When we found out that we lost all of them.”
"It’s devastating to watch as a physician because you want to do anything and everything you can to help," Feinberg said.
Now what? Erin and Demetrius had been through so much. Their funds were depleted since their treatments were not covered by insurance.
“We’ve known people who have taken second mortgages, sold their house to live in an apartment," said Nancy Block with Center for Egg Options.
“People always say you don’t touch your 401k. What are you saving it for? I had a pretty good 401K," Demetrius said.
“Had!” Erin said.
And they still had hope. After the first failed attempt, the second time another four embryos but on implant day only two remained.
"I was Mr. Conservative. I said, 'If you have two, you try one, and then you try again.'" Demetrius said.
“And out of character, I’m like, 'Go for the gold! Throw ‘em both in!'" Erin said.
"And we asked our surrogate. She said, ‘Go for two!’ So literally I got outvoted," Demetrius said.
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“There are so many people out there that need help, that are looking for someone to help them have a family," said surrogate Jamie Armstrong.
Jamie knows the joy and collaboration well. She is pregnant now – carrying another family’s baby.
“I’ve never been more proud of myself," she said.
The mother of three boys of her own also carried twins for another couple. The first time she needed both a physical and psychological evaluation. She passed with flying colors.
If she's on her third surrogacy now, I'd have given her a psychological evaluation before that one.
_________________
Molly Lambert wrote:
The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.
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