Radell is a 34 year old entrepreneur living in the Washington, D.C. area. She happens to be single, and after a few years of contemplation, decided to freeze her eggs at Shady Grove Fertility. Following her decision to freeze and completing her egg freezing cycle, she had the desire to spread awareness about egg freezing by sharing insight and advice for women who are considering this option on her personal blog, through the media, and through the SGF blog. This is Radell’s latest blog.
Catching Up…
As you might recall, the process of finding my way to egg freezing took me quite some time. In fact, when it was all said and done, it took me about four years to make the decision to freeze after first hearing about it. Therefore, actually saying yes to the first step was a BIG DEAL! I had to dig deep and accept the part of me that felt wicked vulnerable.
Read Part 1: The First Step to Egg Freezing
Step #1: Egg Freezing Testing is Complete, Waiting for Results
The calendar turned over to May and a few days had gone by since my ovarian reserve testing appointment (Schedule an Appointment). I remember my nurse calling with my results. Palms might have been a little sweaty and my chest a little tight. And yes, it was my sister on the other line! Why wasn’t I a little bit calmer? Oh yes, testing drives me nuts. Egg freezing testing is no different. When something is out of my control and it’s in the hands of science and doctors, I wig out a bit! Breathe Radell, breathe!
Step #2: Time to Meet the Man that Makes Everything Happen
So my sis (who was also my nurse) says to me, ever so calmly in her angelic ways, “The results indicated we have a green light to keep moving forward. The next best thing is to visit with the Baby Godfather*.”
Step number two began and I met the man that made this all happen. In I roll at 7:00 a.m. (I swear these people never sleep 🙂 ). The very first question he asked me was, “Are you really ready to do this?” Wow. I am not sure I even sat down in the chair yet! And geez, I truly am not a morning person, do I need to answer this?! I just laughed! And slightly stumbled and mumbled, “I think so!” This must have been good enough, because he proceeded. He drew some basic pictures of ovaries and the process. Then he reviewed my overall egg retrieval score, which rates my chance of retrieving 5 or more eggs. On the scale of reduced, fair, good, or excellent, he rated my score as “Good.” Immediately I thought, “Just good; why am I not excellent?”
I’m Happy With “Good”
Okay, calm down. I need to be happy that it is good. So I smiled and thought about where I was in my life, my age, and how grateful I was that I was fertile. I grounded myself in all of my realities and forced myself to be aware that good really was good. And then, just then, in all of those little thoughts and in a moment of sanity, a little light came on. I had just found out the answer I was longing to hear. This girl had found out that she was fertile! As I mentioned in my last blog, even at the young age of 34, I knew it was possible for me to find out I might not have any or enough eggs left and therefore not be fertile. So finding out this information was a relief nonetheless.
After we discussed a little bit more of the process, I might have been in a little bit of shock. I couldn’t believe I was starting to accept this whole egg freezing concept. Baby Godfather shared that the freezing and thawing technology had drastically improved in recent years. Then, I thought, if the medical field had taken steps to really advance the technology, I could really be in the right place at the right time. Am I staring down the cold path of my future and thinking about taking the next step? Baby Godfather seemed so confident in the process and self-assured that this was going to be super easy. Could we hold hands along the way, please? Okay, maybe not the whole time, but for a little bit might be nice. I wanted some of that confidence to wear off on me!
Then the analytical brain kicked in and I asked for logistics. How long can we keep the frozen cuties and how long will the process take? He said I could come back to use my frozen eggs until I was a little older than 50 years old. I also learned that the entire egg freezing procedure would take approximately 8 to 12 days. (Click to learn more about the egg freezing process.)
I Came, I Saw, I Conquered
It was about that point that I knew the meeting was over. That was all I could process for the day! I felt like I came, I saw, and I conquered. I found out my egg freezing answer and my little ovaries passed the test. Now I had the information I needed to make my decision. The decision on whether or not to really pull the trigger, pay for this bad boy, and allow technology to help me in this stage of my life. Ugh, I just couldn’t think about it all at that moment.
Off I went, almost skipping, out of the office. I was back in the saddle and happy, knowing that everything rested in my hands. It brought me peace of mind, being back in control. Over the next few months I would work on making my final decision on the financial, emotional, and mental commitment to egg freezing. To freeze or not to freeze…that was the question!
*Baby Godfather – this is a fake name for my physician, Dr. Arthur Sagoskin, a leading expert in the fertility world. This is solely Radell’s nickname for her doctor. Radell shared that it was Baby Godfather’s confidence, leading expertise, and of course, medical action and leadership in helping women and couples create babies, that caused her to give him the nickname Baby Godfather. She says he’s always watching out for us, like a Godfather.
Learn more about Radell’s journey by joining the SGF Egg Freezing Email list. To learn more about egg freezing testing, call our dedicated new patient team at 877-411-9292 or click to schedule an appointment.
Learn more at an upcoming egg freezing Seminar or Online Webinar.
