April Gallagher Shares Her IVF Journey
An Alternate Path to a Present Day Miracle
As I grew up, I always had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to have children, which was a huge fear I had – I have no idea why. I loved children ever since I can remember. I knew I wanted to be a mom from the moment my younger brother was born – I was five years old.
Fast forward 20 years later and I was having terrible cramps and my periods were very unpredictable. I saw an OBGYN and she referred me to the Center of Reproductive Medicine. I called to make an appointment and they asked me which doctor I wanted to see. I didn’t know either of them and I hadn’t heard any recommendations so I just asked whoever had an available appointment first. They scheduled my first appointment On January 14, 2016, my 28th birthday, with Dr. Caperton. Later, I realized that I won the lottery with this doctor. At our consultation, Dr. Caperton asked several questions to understand our case.
Here was the thing – my husband is 25 years older than me and has two previous children. After his second child he had a vasectomy. So, I was thinking my husband would have a reversal done so we could try to get pregnant but Dr. Caperton suggested I undergo some testing (hysteroscopy and HSG) to see if I would be able to conceive naturally.
The results of those tests confirmed that I had blocked fallopian tubes and it was evident that I had endometriosis. I was told that it would be a miracle if I conceived a child naturally. Thus, Dr. Caperton suggested that we do a sperm extraction on my husband and just move straight to IVF. Hearing the words not being able to conceive a child naturally made me feel powerless and extremely sad. However, I quickly came to the realization that those words didn’t mean that I wouldn’t be able to have children of my own. I just had to take a different path in fulfilling my dream.
July 2016
In July I received a phone call that Dr. Caperton opened Capterton Fertility Institute (CFI). July 29th my husband had his sperm extraction with Dr. Kuang. This is the day that I met the beautiful embryologist, Michelle. She was there to collect the sperm and make sure it was active and alive. She was very informative and compassionate during the process. She shared with us that her two children were conceived through IVF also. Michelle sharing her story with us helped put our worries at ease.
A couple weeks after the sperm extraction, we began our journey at Caperton Fertility Institute. This new office was so much better than the one before- the receptionist welcomed us with a smile and remembered my name from that day forward. Every visit we had at the office was welcomed with smiles and lots of encouragement- which was very humbling since I quickly considered them my second family since we our routine was to be there weekly. At the end of August I had my egg retrieval. Dr. Caperton extracted 11 eggs. The next few days Michelle would call me to explain how the eggs were fertilizing with my husband’s sperm. On day five, Michelle shared that 3 eggs had fertilized and were now embryos. Tom and I decided that we wanted our embryos PGS tested before we did any transfers. A few weeks later we had a consult with Dr. Caperton to tell us about our embryos. I was so relieved that we were able to see him and not just receive a phone call about our embabies (embryos).
Dr. Caperton is obviously very knowledgeable about his practice but he is very sympathetic and compassionate about our journey. Dr. Caperton shared the results with us about our embabies- 2 were normal and 1 was abnormal. We were given an option of what we wanted to do with our abnormal embryo… discard or donate for science. Tom and I decided that it would be beneficial for other couples and CFI if we donated it for research purposes.
November 2016
The date for our first FET (frozen embryo transfer) was November 2nd. I received my calender and I followed it perfectly. We even went on a little trip to Canada right before the transfer. I was ready for the transfer and I knew that it would work since I did everything I was supposed to. November 2nd came and we had our transfer. I felt great. November 11th was my beta day. That day my husband was off due to Veterans Day. We planned on going to CFI for my blood work and to go out to lunch to celebrate our anticipated good news. About an hour after our blood work we received a phone call. A phone call I wasn’t anticipating. A phone call I never wanted. A phone call that said I was not pregnant. How could I not be pregnant? I did everything I was supposed to- I didn’t miss an injection and I changed my patches accordingly. It was upsetting knowing that it didn’t work. Never in my life had I experienced doing something right and following directions and something not to work. I cried so much. My husband didn’t know what to say. I know he was sad too but it was just different for him. He didn’t have to go through all the needles- he doesn’t know what it’s like to want a child so badly (he already has 2). My mom came over to console me. One of the best things that my mom told me was that she was extremely sorry it didn’t work and that she didn’t know the pain I must have felt but she was there for me. For her to realize that she didn’t know the pain I had showed me she really cared. Infertility is a very scary and heartbreaking place. Many people don’t know what it feels like. So, I believe it’s very naïve of people to say they know the feeling when they have not experienced it. My mom has never experienced infertility and her recognizing that and understanding that I am in pain was very helpful for my road to recovery. I remember I spoke to the CFI team about my negative pregnancy test and they said I had to remember that at the end of the day, it is just science and sometimes it just doesn’t work. As frustrating as this was- it was very true. I’m a perfectionist and as perfect as I was following the FET calendar, it still didn’t work. Dr. Caperton told me I had to lower my extremely high expectations and be more realistic.
Shortly after I received my negative pregnancy test, I turned to opening a new Instagram account, @ourfamilyivfjourney, to seek encouragement and hope in the TTC (trying to conceive) community. I was in so much pain and nothing anyone would say could make me feel better. They didn’t know my pain. They didn’t know the frustration I had. I felt I had to bottle up my emotions, set them aside and put on a brave face. I wanted to speak to ladies who were in the same pain- Ladies who knew what to say. And in turn, be there for those ladies who were on the same journey I was on.
I met with Dr. Caperton the following week of my beta and I asked him when we can begin again. I only had one embryo left. If this didn’t work- I knew that I would have to go through the whole process again. But I didn’t want to think about that. Dr. Caperton said I could begin whenever I was ready- the following month or the beginning of the new year. I wanted to begin right away. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea right before the holidays or if I should wait till the new year. Needless to say, I had nothing to lose so I choose to do my second FET in December. I received my FET calendar and my FET was scheduled for December 16th.
I had heard that acupuncture helps with blood flow during FET. So I met with an acupuncturist once a week before my transfer. I called CFI and asked if it was possible if I have the acupuncturist over for my transfer- I would have acupuncture before and after the transfer. Dr. Caperton said it was perfectly okay if she was there.
December 2016
The day of transfer, I had my husband, mom, and acupuncturist there. I also had Chrissy and Ashley (the most amazing nurses) by my side too for the transfer. Michelle brought in my perfect embryo and Dr. Caperton placed it nice and safe in my uterus. I was not nearly as excited for this transfer as I was for my first one. My heart was guarded- I didn’t want to feel so much pain again if it didn’t work out. I wasn’t looking forward to my pregnancy test. My beta was scheduled for December 26th– the day after chrsitmas. I told myself that I was either receiving the best Christmas gift or nothing at all. Those 10 days I tried not to over think and just gave my worries to God.
On December 26th, beta day, my husband and I went to CFI to do the blood work. Afterwards I was planning on going shopping with my mom and I asked Dr. Caperton to just the leave a message of the results and I would listen to the message once I was with Tom again (after shopping). I remember while they were taking my blood, Dr. Caperton put the pressure on me- he said I was the last pregnancy of the year… yikes. He also said that Michelle and Ashley were not working and they wanted to know the new of my pregnancy the moment they got it. The CFI team is like the dream team. They have cheered me on since the moment I stepped foot into their office. The care they give is beyond amazing. I’m huge on customer service and they exceed my high expectations of service. I thought it was amazing to know that the whole office was cheering me on and wanted me to be pregnant just as much as I wanted to be. So, going on, I went shopping with my mom and within a couple hours I received not one but two messages from CFI. Oh man, why did I have two! I went on shopping with my mom but so anxious to hear the voicemail… but then again I was content not knowing quite yet.
When I arrived home I quickly told Tom we had to listen. I was so scared to play the message. I had Tom press play. There it was… “April, YOU’RE PREGNANT!!!!” That’s all I remember hearing while tears just came falling down like a waterfall. Finally, those 3 words I always wanted to hear were here. At that moment all the pain I endured previously seemed to go away. Of course, it still brings me sadness knowing it didn’t work out the first time. Oh, and the second voice message was about the medication protocol that they forget to say in the first message.
January 2017
I had my first ultrasound appointment on Jan. 11th at 6 weeks pregnant. Almost exactly 1 year from when I first met Dr. Caperton. This appointment Dr. Caperton blew my mind and allowed me to hear the heartbeat of my precious girl. That was a very surreal moment.
The following week, January 19th, I was on my way to work and I was in a pretty bad car accident. A car came out of a shopping center to drive into the median and hit the front passenger side of the car which made me go into oncoming traffic from the other side. The car stopped on the sidewalk. In those moments all I could think about was my baby… I have waited so long for this baby and endured needle after needle and in a matter of seconds all this could possibly be gone… my husband was out of town and I called my mom immediately. She and my stepdad quickly arrived to the scene of the accident. I was in the ambulance and the paramedics indicated that it would be best if I saw my fertility doctor instead of go to the ER since I was on fertility treatment. I remember- mid panic attack/crying excessively- I called CFI and spoke with Julia. I told her I was just in a car accident and if they had any openings for me. Without hesitation she said to come in immediately. My parents drove me there, ironically a few blocks away. Dr. Caperton quickly got me into a room. I remember Ashley and Chrissy were there and Dr. Caperton asked them to leave the room. Either Ashley or Chrissy were always in the room so I was a bit shocked that he asked them to leave. The ultrasound confirmed that the heartbeat was still going strong… I didn’t lose my baby girl. She was still snuggled inside and growing- thank god. Later, I found out that Dr. Caperton knew how close Ashley and Chrissy were to me and they couldn’t be in there in the event that my baby’s heart wasn’t beating. The girls were crying too. This is how I know they truly cared for me. They truly were my family too. The bond that grew with those beautiful girls is one that I will cherish forever. I was so thankful that Dr. Caperton was so eager to make sure I was okay and the baby was okay right after my car accident.
After the car accident episode, I went to CFI a few more times for checkups before I graduated. January 30th was my last day of taking my progesterone shot… it’s crazy that I take so many hormone injections to get me pregnant and then at some point I stop all hormone injection… I had to trust my body to produce those hormones to maintain the pregnancy. That was scary but I had to let go and not stress about it. This journey requires lots of patience and trust.
February 2017
February 7th was my graduation day from CFI. Talk about a bitter sweet milestone… on one hand I’m excited to leave CFI with a successful pregnancy but on the other hand I don’t get to go to CFI weekly and interact with the incredible loving staff. I loved going into CFI without signing in and everyone knew me by name. I really wished that the families who were successfully pregnant would be able to stay there until delivery… how awesome would that be for them?? They get to follow the pregnancies from embryos to babies! That’s my wishful thinking. However, their recommendations of high risk doctor’s and OBGYN’s were spot on; I liked their choices.
I thoroughly enjoyed pregnancy- maybe for the simple fact that I was growing a tiny human and this is something I always wanted. Each week was a milestone for me- the first heartbeat, the first kick, the first hiccups… I loved experiencing all those things. I enjoyed my growing belly and loved talking to her. I loved going to my ultrasound appointments to see her on the big screen and bringing images of her home and decorating my fridge with baby photos.
August 2017
Lorelai Faith Gallagher was born August 13, 2017- three weeks early. I was induced because she was measuring small and she would grow better outside of the womb. She was the most precious perfect thing I have ever laid eyes on. The moment I met her was the moment I knew that all the wait and pain I endured before her was absolutely worth it.
If there’s anything I could change about my journey- I wouldn’t change anything. This journey has taught me so much about pain, trust, and faith. I feel like everything I went through helped me appreciate parenthood and all the other things in-between. I feel so lucky – I have been able to watch my baby grow from Day 5 to birth. Not many people can say what their baby looked like right after fertilization. I saw my baby girl as an embryo and literally watched her grow month after month. Now that’s incredible. I appreciate science so much. I appreciate that Dr. Caperton is in this practice because he is very good at it. He gave me the one thing I’ve always wanted. He gave me my family. Lorelai is loved beyond measure and there are several people in her life that love her, like the staff at CFI. Every time I see Ashley, Chrissy, or Dr. Capteron now, tears just fill my eyes. Not out of sadness but out of so much love I have for them. I love that they helped bring Lorelai into my life. Without them, I wouldn’t have her here today.
I couldn’t wait to take Lorelai to CFI… I used to walk through those doors with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes and when I took Lorelai, I had tears in my eyes and a baby in my arms. What an incredible feeling it was to bring the best outcome of IVF to CFI.
I’m a forever grateful patient of Caperton Fertility Institute.
I love sharing my story in hopes that it provides encouragement and support for others in the infertility journey. Infertility is not nearly spoken about like it should be and I would love to be an advocate for those women who need it. I hope my story can inspire others to trust science and not to lose hope.
