Endometriosis

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Shawn and I were married after being together for 6 years. We both knew we wanted to have kids and quickly decided to grow our family. I knew I may face some difficulties due to prior reproduction issues but nothing was confirmed or diagnosed until after a year of trying.

The diagnosis

We went to see a specialist and within weeks I was headed into surgery to confirm that I had endometriosis. The diagnosis was a tough pill to swallow but all hope wasn’t lost. They encouraged us to try on our own for another 6 months post-surgery. After 6 months with no success, our reproductive endocrinologist suggested a sperm sample to get a full picture of what might be going on. Turns out, my husband’s sperm had low count, poor morphology, and low motility.
Our doctor at the time gave us a very low percentage chance of ever conceiving on our own, and encouraged us to try IUI. We did two rounds of IUI with no success and felt very discouraged. We questioned our desire to be parents and explored all other options. It was so overwhelming and every option was such a risk and so expensive. We decided to take a year to ourselves and save money and we stopped exploring our options. It was nice to regroup but with every friend or family member who had a baby my heart broke a little more. I couldn’t believe I would have a childless life but yet that seemed to be my fate.

Learning about SGF’s Shared Risk 100% Refund program

After a year we seriously pursued the costs of IVF and adoption and met with several fertility clinics. Everyone made me feel like a number and a stat and put enormous pressure on us to make a decision quickly. Nothing felt right and with low odds of success, all of our options were very expensive. I felt like it wasn’t going to happen. Then I received an email from Shady Grove Fertility. They had purchased my old fertility clinic and had this too-good-to-be-true program called Shared Risk 100% Refund. I remember forwarding it to my husband and I said sounds like a scam but I kind of want to check it out.
I scheduled to meet with Dr. Sasson at the Chesterbrook, PA location within weeks of receiving that email. Our consultation with him was like no appointment I had ever had. He took the time to get to know us and our journey so far. He had reviewed our medical history and clearly explained what he thought was our best course of action and why he felt confident that Shared Risk was a good and viable option for us.
He never pressured us, he just said he felt he could help. His vote of confidence was the first I received from a doctor and with a good explanation of why he thought IVF would work for us. He didn’t sugarcoat the process or the fact that it was a lot of bloodwork, shots, and monitoring but that it was possible.
He gave us hope, and the program he offered gave us a full refund if unsuccessful. Or if we couldn’t emotionally proceed, we still would receive a refund – this was the peace of mind I needed. It gave us the ability to take a chance on our dream.

Our IVF treatment journey

My first round of IVF we transferred two fresh embryos, which did not result in a pregnancy. My heart was broken. Dr. Sasson gave us space and time to heal and when we were ready he explained what he learned and would do differently next time when we were ready. About 6 months later we did another round of IVF. I over-stimulated after my egg retrieval and we were unable to proceed with a fresh transfer. Again, emotions were high and my heart broke a little but I trusted his judgment to let my body heal before transfer. This time, we were able to freeze four embryos and proceed with a frozen embryo transfer.
A month later we transferred one high-quality blastocyst. I experienced an early miscarriage or chemical pregnancy. It was the first time I ever received a positive pregnancy test and although that was the lowest I had been, after that loss, part of me was so grateful we had even made it that far.
I took the holidays off to enjoy time with family and friends and mourn the quick loss of our little one. We decided to try again and transferred two embryos. With finally became pregnant with one healthy beautiful baby girl!
It was unbelievable!!! All the shots, appointments, tears, and fears were worth it to carry my child for 9 months and deliver a healthy child! I knew I would do it again because no matter how low or sad I became, becoming a mom and building my family was the biggest win of my life and worth it all.

Round two

Fast forward 2 years and we decided to transfer our last frozen embryo. All the nerves and fears and concerns returned. We had since moved to North Carolina but knew we still wanted to use Shady Grove Fertility and Dr. Sasson so we went through a frozen embryo transfer with offsite monitoring. Dr. Sasson still called the shots and ultimately performed the transfer. I am now typing this 7 months pregnant with our 2nd Shady Grove Fertility miracle!

Working with Dr. Sasson and the SGF team

We wouldn’t be a family if it wasn’t for Shady Grove Fertility and the Shared Risk Program. Dr. Sasson’s faith in our ability to have a child and his calm, confident demeanor made all the difference. I am so grateful for him and my nurse Jami Baab every day when I hug my daughter, Cecily, or feel this new baby moving inside me. It’s surreal to have come so far. Thinking we may never have kids to an almost family of four. We are blessed.
Thank you to the whole SGF team. I tell anyone I know struggling to go see them. It could change your life, it changed mine!



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Diagnosis and treatment

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Infertility terms
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Male factor infertility
Endometriosis

Receiving care

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Dr. Isaac Sasson
Pennsylvania, Chesterbrook location
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DJ and I always knew our lives would involve children. At family functions, he was always the one my younger cousins were excited to see. After getting married we immediately decided to try for our first child. We were both young and healthy so we figured we’d be on the path to parenthood in no time.
Approximately 18 months of trying to get pregnant led us to a doctor’s visit with some questions for my OB/GYN. We decided the best plan was to do some initial tests that showed the issue was a lack of ovulation. At this point we had no idea there were any other issues contributing to our infertility.
A prescription of Clomid sounded like the perfect plan. After 3 months and no change, we decided to do some further testing, including an HSG. Everything seemed to be in order and we decided a few more months of Clomid would solve the issue. Three months later I was in the hospital with abdominal pain.
What I didn’t realize on the way to the emergency room was that this pain was a complication of endometriosis. I had always had painful menstrual cycles but thought that was normal. I never complained to my doctor since I thought it was what everyone went through. Just hours prior to my greatly unexpected operation my doctor spelled out all the possible outcomes.
We were told that depending on the severity of my issues, I may lose my ovaries. This was heart-wrenching news for both of us. Suddenly our journey to becoming parents was taking a serious detour. During surgery, it was necessary to remove significant adhesions and my Fallopian tubes, but thankfully my ovaries were unharmed. We had previously been told about Shady Grove Fertility by my regular OB/GYN. This new development immediately put Shady Grove Fertility on our radar.

Arriving at SGF

Our first visit to Shady Grove Fertility was just to get information. I called and scheduled a consultation with Dr. Esposito in the Frederick, MD, office to see what options we had. She reviewed our medical history and spelled out the entire process for us. Along with our nurse Jeannette, Dr. Esposito made us so comfortable. They answered all of our questions and helped to break down what seemed like an overwhelming process. We weren’t quite ready financially to start our first round of IVF so we took the information home to process and prepare.
Our first round of treatment began in early 2015. I was very nervous, especially since my husband would be giving me multiple shots during the process. After he received some training in the office from Betsy, he was suddenly a pro. Injections were not nearly as scary as I previously thought and I just had to remember that they were getting us closer to having a baby. Egg retrieval went well. We went to the Shady Grove Fertility office for the procedure and were well taken care of. Afterwards I had some minor cramping and discomfort but that only lasted a few hours. That day we were told 7 viable eggs were retrieved. Not a high number but all seemed to be good quality. As the days went on we ended up with 3 embryos.
After much deliberation and discussion with Dr. Esposito, DJ and I decided to transfer two embryos. The day of transfer was so exciting. We were amazed to watch on ultrasound as our embryos were transferred. What an awesome feeling! This was the beginning of the longest 2 weeks of our lives. It doesn’t sound like a long time but when you are waiting to see if you will be parents the minutes tick by so slowly. We tried to keep busy with work and spending time with friends. We were optimistic but there were some moments of doubt. I worried. Of course it wouldn’t work the first time. Everything we were so sure of in the past didn’t work, so I had constant doubt. DJ, however, was very positive. He kept me happy and tried to keep me busy.

The news

Two weeks after our transfer I went to my morning appointment to have a pregnancy test done. I was told I would receive the answer later that afternoon. As I sat at work constantly checking my phone I couldn’t help but be nervous. When Jeannette called with our positive results I couldn’t contain my excitement!
Our miracle baby was born on Christmas Eve 2015. We are so blessed and happy to be parents. It was not the journey we expected but everything happens for a reason and we met so many wonderful people because of this.

Our experience at SGF

I can’t tell you how comforting all the employees of the Frederick office were. Working with Shady Grove Fertility was a great experience. Dr. Esposito, our nurse Jeannette, and all the staff in Frederick took great care of us. They get used to seeing you and become friends along the way. I actually missed the morning monitoring appointments once we were released to my regular OB/GYN office. We can’t say enough good things about Shady Grove Fertility and can’t wait to try for another baby one day!

My advice to a friend

My advice to anyone hoping to become parents is get as much information as possible. I spent a lot of time prior to our first cycle just researching and reading all the information on the Shady Grove Fertility website. This helped me wrap my head around the timeline and what to expect along the way. One of my favorite things is that your nurse works with you from consultation until discharge. I could email Jeannette anytime and she would respond as soon as she was available. This allowed me to clarify and ask questions whenever I needed to. She was beyond helpful and kept us at ease. DJ and I were so excited to share the photos of our baby, Lilli Rae, with the whole team after she was born.



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Infertility terms
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Endometriosis

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Dr. Melissa Esposito
Frederick, Maryland location
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My husband and I met in April 1995. Back then if you had asked either of us about marriage or children, we probably would have laughed in your face. But in December of 1999, he proposed and on September 9th, 2000, we were exchanging our vows.
In 2001 we talked about having children and said if it happens, it happens. But after a year, we didn’t get any positive tests. We eventually had a consultation with Dr. Chang and found out I had endometriosis, fibroids, and tubal cysts. But due to the cost, we couldn’t move forward.

Beginning treatment

As time went on I found myself craving motherhood more and more. Not to mention I wasn’t getting any younger. In 2013, I consulted with Dr. Kipersztok (Dr. K) in Waldorf, MD, and the finances were now available. I qualified for the Shared Risk Program 100% Refund Program. I was on my way to becoming a mom.
I met with my nurse, Nikki, for my protocol. After receiving the call from the pharmacy about my meds, things were becoming surreal. The cost of the meds was intimidating but it was the cost of my dream. Luckily things were working in my favor financially. After days, weeks, and months of injections, pills (orally and vaginally) and bloodwork it was time for my egg retrieval.
I was so nervous the night before, I didn’t sleep because I was afraid that I would oversleep and miss my appointment! We ended up with six embryos. Now, I have six potential children and six tries to have them. My train of thought was, if I transfer two I’ll have twins and I’ll be done. So Dr. K agreed to transfer two embryos. The 2 week wait (2WW) seems like the 2-year wait. It was the slowest 2 weeks of my life. But the day came for my blood to be drawn, just to have to wait some more for a phone call.
Nikki called me and guess what, I was pregnant! I thought, oh my goodness, I’ve never heard those words before pertaining to me. I was beyond ecstatic! I didn’t tell my husband, I just told him we had an appointment the following week for an ultrasound. The day of the ultrasound came and wouldn’t you know it, we were pregnant with fraternal twins, both embryos stuck. We were in awe. We completed everything with Dr. K and his team and were discharged to our OB.
Things were going alright, I had occasional unexplained bleeding off and on. On July 14th, I had some spotting and went to the ER for precautionary reasons. I was told that I was 5cm dilated and I would be admitted to the antenatal ward. I was 19 weeks pregnant. I never wanted to know what sex they were, I only cared that they were healthy. Unfortunately, the next day I was fully dilated and delivered my son and daughter that lived for approximately an hour. It was then that I found out that getting pregnant wasn’t the only part of having a baby. It was then that I learned about preterm labor and incompetent cervix.

Trying again

My husband and I grieved but were hopeful that things would be different moving forward. We contacted Dr. K’s office around Sept/Oct of 2014 and began planning our next cycle. I was set on transferring two embryos again, but Dr. K talked to me openly and honestly giving me the pros and cons. He convinced me that one embryo would be safer this time around. I agreed.
On November 3rd, 2014 my blood was drawn after my 2WW and I was pregnant again. This pregnancy brought excitement, but it was accompanied by guilt and fear. At my first ultrasound, we saw a beautiful little flickering heartbeat. At my second ultrasound, I went alone, it’s only a follow-up ultrasound, but wait…….. In this ultrasound, there were two flickering heartbeats. I wanted to cry. In my mind I’m terrified, in my heart, it’s simply meant to be. But how in the world am I going tell my husband without him thinking I’m crazy?
I told him en route to our 3rd ultrasound! We were having a few unexplained bleeding episodes again but things were fine. On February 18th while at an appointment with my new high-risk OB my twin girls were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS).
My doctor explained that a procedure needed to be done to give them a better chance at survival. TTTS can escalate rather fast. I was at stage 1 on February 18th and was almost at Stage 4 by the 23rd, the day of my procedure. The procedure is called laser ablation and it was successful, however, unfortunately, my water broke afterward. So at 18 weeks 5 days, I delivered my twin girls. Beyond devastated, I didn’t know if I wanted to go through with any more IVF cycles, but I had learned another lesson about pregnancy. I learned about TTTS.

Our miracle

In September of 2015, my craving for motherhood was bigger than ever. On November 18th I got the call that we were pregnant once again after transferring one embryo. Before each of my first three ultrasounds, I prayed that this embryo would not split. Alas, I was finally pregnant with a singleton. But this pregnancy was filled with paranoia and fear of history repeating itself.
Reaching each milestone took very little weight off my shoulders. I turned to a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor for my care after being released by Dr. K’s office this time. I received a cerclage (stitch to help keep the cervix closed. Often done for incompetent cervix) at 13 weeks and was monitored weekly.
The cerclage was removed at 37 weeks 3 days and on June 23rd, 2016 (37 weeks 6 days) my dream became a reality. I delivered via C-section a healthy 9 lb 10 oz baby boy. Every injection, every pill, every blood draw, and every heartbreak we endured was worth all the love we have now.

My advice to others

If there’s anything we learned from this infertility journey, it’s there’s more to having a baby than getting pregnant. And if at first, you don’t succeed try, try again. But most of all, keep your FAITH. Our baby shower theme was “AFTER OUR STORMS, THERE’S A RAINBOW.” If this is what you want, you may have to endure hardship or two but give it all you have.



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Diagnosis and treatment

We understand you may have questions about infertility and how it’s treated. Gain answers from the diagnosis and treatments shared in this story.
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Tubal disease
Advanced maternal age
Endometriosis

Receiving care

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Dr. Simon Kipersztok
Waldorf, Maryland location
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We started trying for a baby 5 years ago and assumed that it would just happen. We got lucky and my wife got pregnant naturally. Unfortunately, after 12 weeks, we suffered a miscarriage, which really hit us hard. We carried on trying naturally for another year, but with no success.
It was such an emotional time—the hope, then the disappointment every month. We went for tests in the UK with the NHS (National Health Service) to ascertain why we had not been successful. Following the tests, the results told us that the sperm was an average count but the eggs were very poor quality. We were also told that my wife had endometriosis and her Fallopian tubes were partially blocked. It was a shock and we discussed whether to continue with more invasive tests.
We made the decision for my wife to have a laparoscopy, after all, we had nothing to lose. After the laparoscopy, the doctor suggested that we could conceive naturally. Unfortunately, a few months later we were still waiting.

Taking the next step

We looked at various routes for IVF in the UK, but to be honest, we were not impressed with the NHS during our tests and other fertility meetings with specialists. We received conflicting advice from the NHS that left us confused and wondering what to do. The chances we were given for successful IVF treatment in the UK were low and we knew we needed to use the money we had to give us the best chance of having a family. 
Some of our friends told us about their experience at Shady Grove Fertility, so we decided to check it out. Even on the first call, they spent the time explaining how everything worked and discussed our options. The team at Shady Grove Fertility provided us with much better care than we received in the UK and helped us with our dream to have a family.

Our visit to SGF

We visited Washington, D.C. to have an initial meeting in August 2014. Our first impression was fantastic. The setup was so much better than our experiences in the UK; the staff was polite, welcoming, and very knowledgeable. During our meeting with Dr. Levy, we were advised that the quality of my wife’s eggs was sufficient to try with our own, rather than a donor egg. This advice was provided in a manner that was so much clearer than in the UK and the time invested in us was much greater.
So, we decided to go for it, we had nothing to lose. If it worked, great, if not, we knew we would try the donor route, something that is less available in the UK. The injections the first few times were hard. One of the drugs came in a different type of bottle but we phoned our nurse and sent her a picture. She rang back straight away and helped us with the process. My wife was scared that she might be doing the injections wrong but soon got used to carrying them out.
We flew to Washington, D.C. a week after we started the injections where we stayed close to the clinic. Every morning my wife had an internal scan and blood test to see how her body was reacting to the drugs. It took longer than expected to get to the point where the egg retrieval could be done. We had 12 eggs but only 7 were mature. Every day we waited to see how many continued to grow into blastocysts. Finally, we were ready for the transfer where we had two embryos transferred. The next day we flew home.
My wife got pregnant, unfortunately, the embryo did not imbed properly, and as soon as we received the positive test result my wife started to bleed. We were devastated, but we knew that with Dr. Levy and Shady Grove Fertility we had other options.
After a call with Dr. Levy, we opted for the donor route rather than try again with our own eggs. We chose to do the Shared Risk 100% Refund for Donor Egg. This way we reduced the costs but gave ourselves a real opportunity of becoming a family. We spent a long time choosing a donor and working out what the most important criteria were to us.
Initially, we agreed we would each pick our top three and rank them. Then we would see if we had picked the same people. We both struggled with establishing what the most important things were, the age of the donor, was it looking similar to my wife, the health of the donor and her family, or whether they were a repeat donor. There was so much information we agreed that we would narrow the age range of the donors, opting to not review any donors over 27.
My wife traveled to Washington, D.C. in May 2015 for the transfer, where she was told we had two good embryos. When she returned she was convinced it hadn’t worked but over the next 2 weeks she continued with the injections as we nervously waited to see whether we would be lucky and get a positive test result.

The positive results

We were blessed enough to be told my wife was pregnant and then at 7 weeks, after the sonogram, that the pregnancy was viable. Charlotte Eleanor was born in February 2016, she is amazing. We are so so happy to have a family and a wonderful smiling daughter!!
We would not have had a family without Shady Grove Fertility. We are so grateful for all of the advice, care, and expertise that were provided. It was such a better experience than in the UK, we felt much more confident with the advice given and are obviously delighted with the result! There were times when we thought we would not be lucky and have a family. We will never forget how lucky we have been.



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Infertility terms
Shared donor egg treatment
Endometriosis

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Dr. Michael Levy
Rockville, Maryland location
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I’ve known for quite a while now that I have endometriosis. I just never realized how bad it was. It all started with excruciating menstrual cycles, but my doctor always acted like it was normal. Really? I never saw my friends in that much pain or lying on the bathroom floor during their cycles. I knew something wasn’t right. I needed my doctor to take me seriously.
Finally, I talked to her about endometriosis (my aunt on my father’s side also has it) and how I wanted to have a laparoscopy. Long story short, it was confirmed that I had endometriosis and my doctor didn’t even attempt to remove any of it because she felt uncomfortable doing so (it was too progressed for her).
Afterward, we talked a little about it and now I know exactly why I was always hurting during my cycles (and even in between cycles). But she never actually spoke to me about how my fertility was severely at risk. Maybe because I was only 21 years old at the time? So, I did the Lupron protocol for 6 months. I STILL didn’t realize how bad I had it or how serious this diagnosis was.
Fast forward to August of 2009, the month I got married. I always pictured myself being a mother and couldn’t wait for that day. I can recall stuffing my shirt with things to make me look like I was pregnant as I played baby dolls with my friends. There was just no question that I wouldn’t have children. That was what made me most excited to grow up.
So, I didn’t want to waste any time trying to get pregnant. We tried naturally for one year and then moved on to a few IUIs and one IVF in our hometown of Huntington, WV (after doing an HSG and other testing). It all failed. I couldn’t believe it.
This couldn’t be happening! I thought for sure IVF was going to be our way of getting pregnant quickly. After the crying stopped, I was even more determined than before. I decided to look for a doctor in a larger city, but somewhere still close to home. I found a facility in Cincinnati, OH and knew of other people who had success there. My first visit there was my last. After having my blood drawn, they wouldn’t allow me into their shared risk program due to my low ovarian reserve.

Discovering SGF

After researching more, I found Shady Grove Fertility. It was going to be about a 6-hour drive from home, but I saw that it was one of the top-rated fertility centers. All of the reviews of SGF were good ones. Could this be it?! Could this be the place to help me?! I called the following day and set up an appointment. The next thing I knew, I was qualified into the Shared Risk 100% Refund Program and didn’t waste any time on starting the process.
We started IVF in 2012. On our first cycle, we retrieved 12 eggs and transferred 2 embryos, but none resulted in a pregnancy. Our second cycle was canceled in the middle due to a large endometrioma on my ovary; therefore, there were no follicles. Everything was getting worse instead of getting better. This was causing me the most horrific pain I could ever imagine.
In between the IVF, I had two surgeries to have it drained (doctors didn’t want to remove it for fear that it would do more damage than already had been done by the endometriosis). I was a poor responder to the injections for IVF and we were thinking that if I had the endometrioma drained, that would help. It didn’t.
We tried different medication protocols, and my body would react the same with each one. It took forever to respond and at least 2 weeks’ worth of huge dosing. I WAS producing eggs, just not many and they were of poor quality. I could get embryos and make it to the transfer stage, only to be told that my pregnancy test was negative every time.
My husband was thinking of giving up the fight. My OB/GYN told me to look into adoption. It was a lot of time away from home, a lot of money, a lot of emotions, a lot of everything. But I couldn’t give up. I honestly felt it in my heart that I WAS going to be a mother and this WAS going to work. I absolutely wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
We decided to keep going and on our third cycle, we retrieved 8 eggs and had 6 embryos. Two were transferred and yet again – no pregnancy. We tried again, and unfortunately, our 4th cycle was canceled due to no follicles growing.

Our final cycle

Onto my final IVF. Same old story. My body was taking forever to respond and the outlook wasn’t looking too good. We even talked about canceling the cycle but I kept going. Dr. Chang and I even spoke about “hitting” my eggs with everything they could (assisted hatching, injecting the sperm directly into the egg, etc). I just wanted to give it everything we could!
We made it to egg retrieval, and as I was waking up from the sedation, was hit with bad news again (this was becoming the story of my life). Dr. Chang found I had fluid in my uterus. This meant that if any of the embryos made it to the stage where we could do a transfer; I wasn’t able to do it. My only option was to freeze the embryos. I needed to go home and figure out where this fluid was coming from. I cried and was asking God if I was ever going to catch a break?!
The following week was full of ups and downs – no sleeping and lots of crying. But what do you know? Three of our embryos made it to the stage where we could freeze them! They were strong embryos! I was beside myself. Not one…but three?! We were elated but were also not trying to get overly excited as that didn’t guarantee anything.
As weird as it may sound, even if none of the three took, that was still a victory (no matter how small of a victory it was) because at that point I realized that I could get good embryos. There was no way I would give up my fight anytime soon now.
My body had just been failing me from doing what I wanted it to do most – conceive and carry a child. I began to think that maybe the endometriosis had something to do with even my previous embryos not “taking.” I then decided to have surgery to completely remove the endometriosis. Only a handful of these skilled physicians are in the U.S. and the one I wanted to go see was in Atlanta. I thought, just let me get my body completely healthy and my endometriosis out of there before I go back and try our FET.
After two surgeries with that particular doctor in Atlanta, one of my tubes was removed, my appendix removed, a golf ball-sized endometrioma removed, 6 inches of my bowel removed, and all the other endometriosis (including on my diaphragm…can you believe that?!). I was ready to give my frozen embryos a try, but I had to wait 5-6 months before proceeding so that my body could heal. That’s the exact time I waited. I didn’t want to wait any longer!

Transfer day

The day came where it was time. Time to transfer one of the embryos. I already had it in my mind that it wasn’t going to work. I didn’t have my husband come with me for the transfer. I had my mom go so that I could spare my poor husband the pain of going through that again.
Sitting there, watching your embryo be put in and having all of these hopes. I decided that I would do things a little differently this time after the transfer was finished. I did not lie around afterward and I went on with my daily activities. I started to get menstrual pains about 2 days after the transfer and just knew it didn’t work. I went ahead and cried to let it all out before I went home.
During the 6 hour drive home my cramps got even worse. I was already preparing for how I was going to tell my husband that the pregnancy test was negative….again. But through all that time, I continued to remain hopeful that one of those little guys WOULD work. I kept thinking “okay, well, I will just go back and try again. We have two more tries.”
We surrounded ourselves with friends and family during that 2 week wait. My husband and I would normally talk about how I felt, but we didn’t talk about it at all this time. I think we were just too afraid to. The day came where it was time to go for my test. I took it and remember feeling so bloated and fat. I told myself it was time to start going to the gym and get back in shape. I went home and just went to sleep so that I didn’t have to think about it.
The day I had been dreading quickly became the day I will never, ever forget. That was the longest day of my life and that day changed my life in the greatest way. My nurse, Mickey, said to me, “Heather! Not only is it positive, but it’s a strong positive!” I broke down crying. I called my husband at work, he broke down crying. Our family all cried. The day I had been hoping and praying for was here. As I sit here and look at my beautiful baby girl, I am still in shock.
I don’t know if either of the other two frozen embryos will work, but I have one 12-month-old miracle from Dr. Chang and his team. None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for them never giving up on me and pushing to do everything they could. We are blessed beyond words. I owe everything to them.

My advice to future patients

I have already recommended Shady Grove Fertility to a few women that I know personally. From day one, they’ve really been nothing short of wonderful. If you’re looking for a great support system and a team that is not only extremely knowledgeable but also very personable and there for you every step of the way, Shady Grove Fertility is exactly what are looking for. I will forever be in debt to them.



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Need-to-know fertility resources and guidance

Diagnosis and treatment

We understand you may have questions about infertility and how it’s treated. Gain answers from the diagnosis and treatments shared in this story.
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
Endometriosis

Receiving care

Assemble your fertility care team close to home. Explore our different locations and physicians who will provide guidance along your journey.
Dr. Frank Chang
Rockville, Maryland location
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by

Like most women, all my life I knew I wanted to have children. I never thought that I would ever have “trouble” conceiving on my own. I started having irregular menstrual cycles when I was in high school so my OB/GYN put me on birth control pills to regulate my periods. Still being so young I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought this is normal, no big deal.
Well, all through college I stayed on birth control pills and when I met this guy towards the end of my college years who would later become my husband, I thought that once we got married I would get off of birth control pills and get pregnant, easy. I soon found out that it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Because I was on birth control for over 6 years, I thought that stopping the pills right before my wedding day it would allow me to get pregnant on my honeymoon, and my new husband and I would soon be announcing that we are expecting.
A few months after my husband Eugene and I got married there was a pregnancy announcement in my family but it wasn’t from us, it was from my sister. I was excited to be an aunt so I didn’t think much of it, just thought it hadn’t happened for us yet.

Searching for answers

Fast forward 3 1/2 years into our marriage and still no baby. My OB/GYN recommended I start taking Clomid so we did that twice. Still no luck and no baby. She then recommended that I go to Shady Grove Fertility.
So I called and made that first appointment with the Annapolis office to see Dr. McKeeby. I went through a series of tests to determine what was going on so Dr. McKeeby could best treat my case. It was determined that I had some signs of PCOS and endometriosis and I had a cyst on both ovaries, but nothing to be alarmed about.
My husband did all of his testings and everything came back normal, so it was all me. What a weight that was on my shoulders. I became upset and frustrated with myself because I wanted to know why I couldn’t get pregnant like everybody else.

Beginning treatment

From October 2012 (when we started at Shady Grove Fertility) to about March or April 2013 we tried Clomid (again) with timed intercourse and went in for monitoring. What a job that became and it was unsuccessful. Then in May 2013 the cyst on one of my ovaries became really enlarged and I was told to stop treatments and have it removed by my OB/GYN.
This was heartbreaking because I just wanted to have a baby and didn’t want to prolong the process any longer. So after I had my surgery to remove the cyst, my husband and I went through some personal issues and we did not start treatments again until December 2013.
Dr. McKeeby looked at our insurance and said that since it covers IVF we should go that route. So my husband and I agreed and the injections began. The injections were not too bad but they did leave the area a little sore after the first couple of days. My trick to help ease the pain of getting a needle every day was to ice the area before doing the injection and I place the oils under my arm to warm a little before extracting them with the needle from the bottles.
Fortunately, my husband was the one who administered my injections and he was more nervous than I was. He hated giving me injections because I would tense up when the needle would go in and having to watch the needle puncture my skin and sometimes bleed wasn’t a pretty sight for him to look at every day. It became like a chore that we did every night. A couple of times I didn’t want to have the injection because I was sore and too lazy to get up to ice myself, gather all the materials, etc. but we did what we had to do in order to bring our baby into the world.
I knew this time was going to be it, we were going to conceive. I had a few friends get pregnant around this time naturally and I believed I was going to join them soon. The medicines worked great, my egg retrieval was great (33 eggs retrieved), my husband’s sperm count was great, and I had 13 embryos that were in excellent condition.
So January 2014 was the day of our fresh embryo transfer. We were so excited that it went well. We had to go through that long 2 week wait for the pregnancy results. The day arrives and I received the call that I was not pregnant. Talk about heartbreaking. My husband and I agreed that we wanted to try again right away. So we did the injections all over again. This time I also really watched what I was eating, and worked out once in a while.
March 2014 was our FET. That went great and again the dreaded 2 week wait. I actually got sick the night before the pregnancy test so my husband and I prayed to God really hard that I got sick because I was pregnant.
I went in the next day for the pregnancy test and received the call later that day with the best news I’ve ever received…..I was pregnant!
I jumped for joy, cried happy tears. My husband and our entire families were so happy and excited for us. On November 29, 2014, we gave birth to our princess Carmen as a result of the successful FET. She was a perfectly healthy little girl and she is such a joy.

Round two

My husband and I decided to “try” again and have a second child and since we decided to freeze the remaining embryos we went back to Shady Grove Fertility in August 2015 to do another FET. Hello again, injections! We were scheduled for our FET in October 2015 and received the call that we were not pregnant. My husband and I decided to try again immediately, which meant more injections and meds.
In December 2015 we completed another FET and received the call that we are PREGNANT (currently 8 weeks)! We graduated from Shady Grove Fertility on January 21, 2016, and moved back to my regular OB/GYN.
My husband and I are so grateful to God and the doctors, nurses, and staff of Shady Grove Fertility for giving us the blessings we always wanted.

My advice to future patients

To all future patients, my advice to you is to never give up on your desires, trust in the promise, keep the faith, and remember you are not alone.



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Diagnosis and treatment

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In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Endometriosis

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