Step One

Kristina and I decided before we got married that we would have a child together. It’s probably an important discussion to have prior to one’s nuptials. However, there were some hurdles to overcome, and because of those obstacles we kept this decision secret from nearly everyone.

One of those complications, a huge one, was the vasectomy I had six years ago. Obviously, something had to be done about that if we were going to comingle our DNA. So, a little over three months ago, I took a few days off from work and had that outpatient microsurgical reversal.

Consultations with the surgeon were positive. Six-year-old knots were highly likely to be “untied.” I am good health. My age was only a mild factor. Given the roughly 80% rate of success for all the variables, we knew it was possible but never dreamed we would end up on the 20% side of that equation.
 

But we did. Scar tissue or collapsed tubing below the vas-connection or something else…the words mumbled and faded into the background as the disappointment overtook us. It didn’t really matter why; we just heard it didn’t work and a repeat would not likely help.

Amazingly, we were able to secure an appointment with an infertility specialist, Dr. Eli Reshef, only eight days after hearing this sad news. Well, that was yesterday. We had done our homework prior to the visit, but we were a bit taken back by the lack of options for our specific case. We read about numerous different options, but when speaking with Dr. Reshef, we discovered our circumstance was just unique enough that many of those typical early first-try methods were either just-not-possible or too-dicey-for-success.

What did all that mean? After all the technical words of “zygotes,” “extraction,” “in-vitro,” “intracytoplasm,” and “assisted-hatching” buzzed through our heads, it came down to our only option for getting our genetic gametes to meet was a procedure called IVF – MESA–ICSI, which is the top-shelf procedure in infertility treatment.

There are a lot of details, many of which will probably be told here in our combined journal of the course to parenthood. It will be an exhausting and challenging process which will take forty-nine days to complete. Perhaps through providence or perhaps just lucky, but unlike most couples we have been fast-tracked and yesterday actually became Day One of the journey.

The repeated advice I heard yesterday from several sources was “just take it one day at a time” or “step by step.” So, Kristina and I have forty-nine steps to take, so to speak.

We have many friends and family. We need as many prayers and as much support as possible as we go through this. Therefore, we decided to share this experience: details, emotions, physical descriptions (all within reason discretion, of course) with our loved ones. We ask for your love and encouragement as we take the next forty-eight.