Real Women Real Stories of women conceiving against all odds
In 2019 I went to Cape Fertility to check my chances of conceiving due to endometriosis and it was discovered by Dr Heylen that it had affected my right Fallopian tube. He did surgery to try and save it but unfortunately it was too damaged and it had to be removed. After being on visanne for a few years my Endo had actually got much better so there wasn’t much for him to remove during surgery.
After failed relationships and my age catching up on me in April 2020 I decided to look for a Sperm donor as I could live a life as a single woman but my life would not be complete without a child. And I was happy to be a single parent (as my mom was and she too has no regrets)
I decided on a donor and did a round of IUI in June 2020 which failed. My gran was then diagnosed with breast cancer and with the chemo not having worked and the cancer having spread I knew I didn’t have loads of time left with her.
I did another 2 rounds of IUI which also failed and I lost my grandmother on 6 October 2021 on my moms birthday. She was like a mother to me having lived across from her all my life and her looking after me when my mom returned to work.
Along side Dr Heylen a fertility specialist at Cape Fertility Clinic (my absolute hero) we decided to do IVF and I was due to start in Dec 2021. My mom (who I live with) then got Covid which put me at risk to not start the treatment in case I got Covid myself. By the grace of God I didn’t get it and was able to continue with stimming for egg retrieval. I got a good amount of eggs and embryos and on 19 Jan 2022 we transferred the best one and froze 4.
On 26 Jan 2022, and only 1 round of IVF, Dr Heylen called me to say my blood tests were positive, I was finally pregnant! Not only was I pregnant but the fact that it was only 1 round made it even more of a miracle as usually it takes more than 1 round of IVF for a pregnancy.
I never ever thought I would experience this first hand – I was an Au pair and have looked after so many babies from birth and never thought I would be blessed with my own. The baby would be due 5 October 2022 – a day before my grandmothers passing and my moms birthday. A total gift from God and I believe my grandmother as well.
The 6 week scan hearing the heartbeat and the scan at 9 weeks seeing the little “gingerbread baby” wiggling was amazing.
I decided to have the baby via c section in September to let the baby have their own special day as I was a bit sad having the birth be a day before grans passing. But also to honor my grans month of birth being September as well. I also kept the gender a secret until birth as it was the only surprise I couldn’t spoil for myself by googling the answer…..Secretly praying daily for a baby girl.
My Gynae was amazing with keeping the secret and I had an amazing pink and blue baby shower organized by family, with only my best friend in Scotland knowing the gender so she could bring me amazing gender Disney clothing when the baby is born.
On 28 September 2022 with my mom as my partner in theatre, my beautiful baby GIRL was born at 8:19am and weighing 3.69kg. She is my absolute life and I would never change a single thing about how I went about having her in my life. She is the first baby in the family after 23 years and is our little miracle. She needed a name that was special to me so for a week I played with names and eventually decided and went with my favorite but changed the initial so it would be Italian (I am Italian) She is my little princess and is rare and precious just like a gemstone. Her name is Giuliette Olivia. – I asked my mom to give me options for her second name as she stood by me every step of the way and I wanted her to be a part of my daughters name.
There is no way I could ever thank Dr Heylen, he has given me the ultimate gift. The staff and other Dr’s at Cape Fertility Clinic that saw me when he was away were amazing. Every call and email was answered on the same day, even when mailing over the weekend with concerns. When at the rooms the staff were always friendly, smiling and empathetic. I have not stopped recommending the clinic to people I know having trouble conceiving. Saying thank you is just not enough for what they have given me.
My little girl is now 15 weeks old and she is thriving! I look forward to working with Dr Heylen and his team in the future and transferring another embryo and giving my daughter a sibling.
Thank you Donor’s to the Men and Women who donate as without you this wouldn’t be possible.
Story Provided By Daniella Sangiorgio