HOPE, PAIN, TENACITY AND VICTORY = EGE

Emel ÖZDEMİR – December 2005

Hi,

I think that we aren’t very interested by the life stories of others.Especially if the story is one of success, it may be totally unbearable if we have already lost all hope.So I will not bore people with details, which I do not even want to remember anymore.
I will try to be brief: I got married in 1991, when I was 27 years old.

As I could not get pregnant even though we did not use protection for a year, I applied to the Faculty of Medicine at Aegean University.After routine tests andtubal insufflationwere performed,I got pregnant within three months. However, this pregnancy was terminated in the 19th week due to a complication.As I could not get pregnant in the following months, I went through the same routine tests, inductions, inseminations and the inevitable laparoscopy.I was diagnosed with endometriosis via an endoscopy and the endometriotic patches were cauterized.We waited 6 more months for a natural pregnancy.When that did not occur, we started IVF attempts at Sevgi Hospital.A lot of eggs were obtained and a lot of transfers were performed but the resultswere negative.I underwent the first frozen blastocyst transfer in Turkey; the results were still negative.When Sevgi Hospital was closed down, we moved to Ankara and then to Istanbul.For many years I devoted all my work vacations to treatment;I even obtained medical reports to acquire extra leaves of absence when my vacation days proved insufficient.

When I applied to Bahçeci Clinic, I think it was my sixth attempt.In a consultation with my doctor, Mr. Mustafa Bahçeci, we decided on a second laparoscopy.The endometriotic patches might have returned.The second laparoscopy yielded a surprising result:there was no endometriosis.Nonetheless, Dr. Bahçeci was upset.He said, “Emel,I ligated your only open tube.I could not wake you up and ask for your permission but the tube was filled with fluid, which might have enteredthe uterus by contractions and prevented the adherence of embryos.”My confidence in the doctor did not change, but it was a bit shocking to learn that I had no chance of getting pregnant naturally.

I obtained a positive result on the very next attempt!I was pregnant.I was 39 years old and would be 40 by the time I delivered the baby; it was a razor-thin success.Amniocentesis revealed that I would have a girl.I was very careful throughout the pregnancy.We bought pink furniture, etc.I was in the 35th week of my pregnancy.My doctor in Denizli asked me to come for an examination five days later .The day before the exam, I realized that the baby was not moving and the following morning, we had to face the sad truth in the doctor’s office.I had a difficult two-day delivery.

I had to recover psychologically quickly Three months later, I once more knocked on the door of Dr. Mustafa Bahçeci.It took a long time to restore my hormonal balance.In additionht embryos were destroyed during the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.Anything that could have gone wrong during this treatment did. My number of attempts reached ten (only counting those that ended with a transfer).I do not count the interrupted ones.

Dr. Mustafa Bahçeci sadly informed me that my eggs had markedly decreased in number.I said,“The existing ones will suffice, doctor.” I know he informed me of this because he did not want to give me false hope.In November 2004, I got pregnant once more.This time, the periodic follow-ups were performed at Bahçeci Clinic.On June 18, 2005, in the 34th week of my pregnancy, the baby was delivered via c-section. Although everything was going well with this pregnancy, the c-section was performedin order to prevent the occurrence of the same incident. As this was a preterm delivery, the baby was put into intensive care the very same day.It was suffering from respiratory distress.It remained there for a week.We took the baby home in Denizli by plane when it was fifteen days old.The first two months were very hard;it was a hot summer and I was suffering from postnatal depression.However, the cute baby was slowly growing and the mother was recovering .

I am sure there are infertility patients who have undergone harder times than I.Or easier times, for that matter.Some can have a baby and others can not.I do not know what to say at this point.As I said in the beginning, the life stories of others may be boring – but their advice is worse.So, I do not want to seem to be giving advice; I am what I am and you will choose who you are…
Best wishes, Dr. Emel ÖZDEMİR