STORIES
Bess Gossage
Bess shares her 3 year IVF journey, countless egg retrievals, and how they beat all odds.
@bess_ever
"My therapist told me that getting an infertility diagnosis affects your brain the same way as getting a cancer diagnosis. It’s just heartbreak, I guess."
Her Story
We’d been married for about a year when we started trying. At first, it’s pretty romantic. You spend so long trying not to get pregnant, that when you’re finally “allowed” to, it’s so exciting. At first.
After six months of trying, I still wasn’t pregnant, and I started to question whether we were doing it “right.” I downloaded all these apps, and started tracking my cycle. After six months of that, having sex starts to feel like more of a chore.
When we hit the year mark, I was like, “Huh, this is a little harder than I thought.” They say that if you don’t get pregnant within a year of trying, you should get checked out just to be sure nothing’s wrong.
With infertility, they usually start by checking the woman. So first we found out that I have diminished ovarian reserve, which is a condition that negatively impacts the quantity and quality of your eggs. It occurs naturally in older women as they approach menopause, but it’s rare for someone my age, and they don’t know what causes it. It essentially means that I don’t have as many eggs as you’re supposed to.
After we got that diagnosis, we figured that we might as well check my husband, too. He had to provide a sperm sample, and they found out during a semen analysis that he has a genetic disorder that means that his sperm count is way lower than average. At that point, the doctor told us that if it was just my husband’s condition alone, and I was healthy, we would have less than a one percent chance of getting pregnant without any interventions. So when you combine the two of us, it’s just a disaster.
It was devastating. I’ve always known that I wanted to have kids, and I really love the idea of having a biological child. I think as human beings, that’s something that’s ingrained in most of us. I also really want to be pregnant. I want to experience birth and breastfeeding. It’s really important to me. My therapist told me that getting an infertility diagnosis affects your brain the same way as getting a cancer diagnosis. It’s just heartbreak, I guess.
The doctors basically said that IVF was going to be our only option, and that we should start sooner rather than later, because diminished ovarian reserve means that my 30-year-old ovaries are acting like 40-year-old ovaries, and so the older I get, the harder it will be for me to get pregnant.
We started our first IVF cycle about two years ago. When we started, I really thought it was going to work, and I was going to have a baby.
That did not happen. We ended up getting seven eggs from an egg retrieval, and out of those seven, which were fertilized with my husband’s sperm, only one embryo made it. We transferred that embryo, and the transfer failed, which was devastating — it felt like we were pregnant, and then we weren’t.
At this point, we’ve had transferred four embryos, and none of them had made it to a successful pregnancy. The best way for me to keep moving forward was to keep trying, until I felt like I couldn't try anymore. We decided to do a third egg retrieval in February 2020, which resulted in two frozen embryos. But right around the time they were put in the freezer, COVID started getting really bad, and our clinic put everything on pause.
In March 2020, when everything was closing in NYC, I called the clinic. Everyone was going crazy at that point, because there are so many women that have embryos frozen who are in similar situations, or worse. The clinic basically said, we don’t really know what’s happening right now. They were very honest, saying that they still didn’t know how COVID-19 could affect a pregnant mother, or how it could affect a fetus or a baby, and they didn’t feel comfortable putting their patients at risk at that point. They recommended that I not move forward with any treatment that month. So I canceled my next appointment, because I felt like I needed to take a breather and think about things.
At that point, I was spiraling, for sure. I was freaking out, because I feel like I’m a ticking time bomb. My biggest fear was that we were going to have to keep our embryos in the freezer for god knows how long.
A few weeks later, we had a teledoc call with my doctor. He said that right now they are only moving forward in cases where time was of the essence, and that because of our circumstances, we had been approved to move forward with our embryo transfer in May.
Our doctor knew that we’d been trying for a long time. It’s not super common to do multiple rounds of IVF, because, for one, it’s insanely expensive. For us it was roughly $30,000 per cycle, and even if you have insurance coverage (lots of insurance doesn’t cover it), it almost always maxes out. It’s also so emotionally taxing. A lot of people just don’t want to go through it, which I understand.
Our doctor said that he felt like COVID-19 is not going anywhere, and because of that, he thought we could move forward, as long as we’re taking appropriate precautions. They said we would have to quarantine ourselves — we can’t go anywhere in public, or to the grocery store. I had to go in for my appointments alone, without my husband. That was my first time being alone for the transfer, which sucks, because you’re essentially conceiving alone. It’s a very sterile process to begin with. You’re in a surgical room with a bunch of medical staff, and they’re just like, putting your embryo inside you. It’s very impersonal, and it can make you feel a little sad.
Fast forward to May 13th, 2020. Our last two embryos were transferred. We were set to move across the country in just 7 days. On the 7th day, I finally decided to take a digital pregnancy test the morning of our move. It was POSITIVE! the best moment of my life. Finally! One of my embryos decided to stick around.
Margot Navy Gossage was born on January 25th 2021!
Related Stories
Alex Wood
"Before this it had been so hard to see all the pregnancy announcements being posted (although we were thrilled, it made us question our own journey)."
Denay Gonzalez
"I never knew how difficult it was until I came across my own journey of 1 1/2 years of trying, countless nights of crying and pain, day after day of medication & injections."
Stephanie Heisler
"Never in my life could I have imagined the emotional roller coaster being a surrogate would be. The hoops one has to jump through to birth someone else’s baby are mind-blowing! Between the fertility treatments, surrogacy therapist meetings, and legal contracts, you think you’re finished- but you’ve only just begun."
Richard Arceneaux
So disheartening to know that people can be so wicked to their fellow humans. I had experienced this in a rather awful way, I had fallen prey to a phishing email sent to the email address that I used in creating my Binance account. The email looked real and convincing. They had even masked the From email header so it looked like the email came from the original Binance official email account. They claimed my account had a security vulnerability that can lead to my crypto funds getting stolen by potential attackers. On hearing this, I quickly followed the steps that were included in the email message body. I had provided them my credentials to my Binance, and guess what….. Yeah… You got it, my whole crypto portfolio totaling $86k was swiped empty. I almost committed the unthinkable, but I later got connected to a recovery agent who specializes in crypto recovery. I didn’t believe it would yield any success, but to my surprise, the crypto recovery agency started tracking and tracing the funds on the blockchain and they were able to recover back $67k. They saved my life, so I owe it all to recoveryhacker101-Expert for helping me when all hope was lost. I can’t help but think that there are quite a several people out there who have lost their crypto funds one way or the other. You can reach out to the same agency that helped me, their contact info is recoveryhacker101@gmailcom. Don’t lose hope yet.
Leo Spark
Reach out to WIZARD LARRY RECOVERY to recover your lost funds.
After three years of attempting to solve the problem on my own and having already given up on my cryptocurrency holdings, I learned about these folks and, following a few days of waiting and a highly professional approach, I was able to recover my cryptocurrency! I am so grateful to WIZARD LARRY and Co. for your help and support! Extremely recommended
Email: wizardlarry@mail . co m
WhatsAp;… +44 (731) 114, 6749
Website; larrywizard43.wixsite.com/wizardlarry
SUSAN DERRICK
My sincere gratitude to Century Web Recovery for his professionalism, truly he is a real deal. I would not waste my time with any other hacker and wished I had known them sooner. I am writing this review to be of help to everyone out there, who in one or two ways has been scammed by online investment platforms. After going through a lot to recover my bitcoin although many people told me it’s impossible. If you’ve lost your bitcoin as a result of investing in binary options, trading platforms, your account was hacked or other bitcoin related scams or lost money to scammers online in whichever ways then You’re not alone. (I lost over $97,950 to skyrockettrade). Being a scam victim myself, I tried several means to recover my funds all to no avail, until one day I came upon an article in the Local News about Century Web Recovery, they literally saved my life, all i lost to these fake investors skyrockettrade was recouped in just a few days (a total of 3.7721 BTC) was recovered, Kindly send a message to the contact below if you’ve been in such situations and you are seeking recovery. contact them via Email Address: century@cyberservices.com website: https://centurywebrecovery.pro
Marshal Torok
Hello everyone, I want to share my story about losing $32,000 to a forex trading scam while living in Florida. This serves as a cautionary tale, and I hope it can help others avoid similar pitfalls. A few years back, I became intrigued by forex trading. It seemed thrilling and full of promise. I consumed articles, watched countless videos, and engaged in online forums where traders showcased their successes. I thought this could be my chance to grow my savings and achieve financial freedom. Unfortunately, things took a drastic turn when I encountered a broker that seemed credible. The broker’s website was polished and professional, complete with testimonials and eye-catching marketing. They guaranteed high returns with little risk, and I was captivated by the prospect of quick profits. I ended up investing $32,000, believing I could turn that into a much larger amount. Sadly, the initial gains I experienced turned out to be nothing more than a lure. When I attempted to withdraw my funds, I was bombarded with excuses and overly complicated processes. Eventually, my account was locked, leaving me unable to access my money. Feeling defeated and desperate, I started looking for ways to recover my losses. That’s when I discovered Rapid Digital Recovery. A friend in finance had highly recommended them, so I decided to reach out, rapiddigitalreco ve ry @ exe cs.com. From the very first conversation, I felt a wave of relief. Their team was knowledgeable, understanding, and reassured me that they could assist in this challenging situation. The recovery process took only three weeks, which exceeded my expectations. They walked me through every step, from collecting evidence to filing the necessary claims. Their expertise was clear, and I felt supported throughout. In the end, I managed to recover 65% of my losses, which was a significant relief after such a stressful experience. If you find yourself in a similar predicament or know someone who is, I strongly encourage you to contact Rapid Digital Recovery. They are well-versed in the complexities of financial scams and have a proven success rate in helping individuals reclaim their funds. It’s crucial to approach investments cautiously and conduct thorough research. I learned this the hard way, and I hope my experience can serve as a warning to others. Avoid letting emotions dictate your investment choices, and always verify the legitimacy of any broker before committing your hard-earned money. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I hope it helps someone out there.
WHAT SAPP: + 1 41 4 80 7 14 85
Quincey Murdock
This is so amazing and real; at first, I thought it was a scam because I was duped by a number of people who said they could help me invest my money in bitcoin trading, which is how I lost $89,000 seven days ago. However, with the assistance of a legitimate hacker at Redeemed Hacker Pro, A hacking and stolen digital assets/BTC recovery agency, I was able to withdraw $200,000 from an ATM without leaving any trace, which is more than the money I lost seven days ago. I will continue to tell people about Redeemed Hacker Pro if you are in need of a legitimate hacker or have any financial difficulties in order to pay off debts and begin a new life. reach out to team Redeemed Hacker Pro now by visiting their Email & website at: redeemed.h.p@hackermail.com or redeemedhackerpro.wixsite.com/redeem-hacker-pro