I know things are complicated and unfair, but never give up. When I was 20, I contracted Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The treatments and radiation lasted nearly a year. Luckily for me, everything went well. I was young, and my body recovered from the treatments. No one told me then that I wouldn’t be able to have children one day. Nobody was concerned about that then. You were to be thankful for each new day. My partner and I have a great relationship, and he knew I was a cancer survivor from the beginning. He accepted the fact that I couldn’t have children, and we had a good life together without children. But as time went on, I started feeling the need to have a baby, so I started looking for information on whether I might be able to have children after all. It had been so many years since my illness, after all, and my checkups were always fine.
FertiCare was the first clinic we visited. It’s very close to us, right in downtown Prague. FertiCare’s treatments and methods are cutting-edge. They had excellent references from patients in other countries as well. We contacted the patient coordinator, who scheduled us for an appointment practically whenever we wanted. No long waiting times like at other clinics we had called.
We had our initial consultation and the doctor seemed to take my case as a challenge. That only confirmed our feeling that we had made the right choice. The nurses were all very patient. Despite my constant worries and barrage of questions, they never brushed us off. Their kindness and sensitivity always helped steady my nerves. I tried one IVF cycle with my own eggs, but the radiation left me with very few viable eggs, even after stimulation.
After consulting with the doctor again, we decided to use the egg donation program. We signed up for the donor program and just a few days later they contacted us and said they had a suitable donor for me. Now we’re both getting ready for the procedure and I know that in a few weeks, if all goes well, I’ll have the chance to have a child. I am incredibly grateful for this chance, and all my thanks goes to my donor of hope for her loving decision to help us. I believe that we’ll be spending this Christmas almost as a family of three.
Thank you! Laura
