IVF Updates & Prayer Requests

The last you heard from us, we were moving ahead with IVF. That was back in April. But after we had made the decision to move forward in that process, God, working through providence, caused us to hit the pause button for the better part of the summer.

While this was quite discouraging for us at the time, we have continued to trust that His ways are vastly higher than ours. Our sovereign Creator knows the end from the beginning, His purpose is established (Isaiah 46:10), and we have no choice but to submit ourselves wholly to His perfect will. This has been both a humbling and sanctifying journey.

So we halted the process, enjoyed a very busy summer, and went back to the doctor at the end of July to try again.

Fast-forward to last week – God has been abundantly gracious in allowing us to officially begin the IVF process. Paige went in on Tuesday and endured egg retrieval surgery. We praise God for blessing that procedure by being with the doctor, nurses, and anesthesiologist. Most importantly, He kept Paige safe and healthy. And the surgery itself was a success as they were able to retrieve and then fertilize the right number of eggs. 

Long story short(er) – We currently have children!...albeit in their earliest embryonic forms.

What an amazing God we serve; the Grand Designer and our Great Physician! We've seen how He works through means like doctors and technicians, and we praise Him for His guidance thus far. But there's still a long road ahead. While we hope you are praising the Lord with us, we continue to solicit your prayers on our behalf.

Pray for wisdom. Surely there remain questions we have yet to answer in this IVF process, so we are dependent upon the Lord for guidance. 

Pray for our witness. We have sought to speak of our faith in Christ and our moral foundation of God's Word throughout this process. The doctor and his staff know where we stand in terms of our Christian ethics. But pray that God would continue to use us as salt and light among those with whom we come into contact.

Pray for a safe pregnancy and healthy childbirth. In this process, fertilized embryos do not equal a pregnancy, and a pregnancy, of course, does not necessarily equal a birth. And yet we are being so bold as to ask God for a safe pregnancy and healthy baby. We know that nothing is too big for God, and so we ask you to join us in prayer for these requests.

Thank you for joining us in this journey of ours, through your prayers and words of encouragement. Some of you have asked if you can do anything to help us right now; just keep praying. Please. We are humbled by your love and kindness. And no matter how God chooses to work in our lives, whether He gives us children or not, we hope that you will join us in praising God for His everlasting goodness and mercy to those of us who are His children.

Thank you again for your persistent prayers and loving support. God is using you to encourage us!

With much love,
David & Paige

IVF: The Egg Retrieval

I'm still in shock that our infertility journey has brought us to this point. If you'd have asked me 5 years ago if we'd ever consider IVF, I would have said, "No way! We'll get pregnant before we have to do anything that extensive."

But God. He had other plans. And here we are, just a few days after the egg retrieval, weaving our way through the IVF process.

Thankfully, by God's providence, we were delayed in starting the process a few months ago. This allowed us to clear our schedules as much as possible, minimize extra stressors, and devote more time to prayer.

After a busy summer, we started the first step of the process – again – taking birth control. When I pulled up to Walmart on that hot July afternoon to purchase the prescription, I almost cried. What girl trying to get pregnant wants to take birth control? Not me! But with the doctor's orders and the need to "calm down" the follicles that would soon produce eggs, I started the pill. 

This was not a fun experience. My body does not like birth control! My hormones were out of control, and I wanted to eat everything in sight. Unfortunately, my body did not react as it should, with calm, "deflated" follicles, but rather continued to function as usual as if I was not taking birth control at all. So with that, the doctor ordered a double dose of birth control every day.

With almost every exam, Dr. Johnson would say, "Well, Paige, you don't look frazzled yet. I keep expecting you to fall apart the next time I see you because of the increased doses you are taking!" And I'd laugh and think, "It's only by God's grace!" After about a week and a half (which seemed like an eternity), things were looking as they should and we were ready to proceed with the next step: more hormones!

About a week after finishing my last birth control pills, I started a series of injections and medications that would stimulate my ovaries to produce a greater number of eggs than a regular cycle in order to retrieve them and fertilize them for a later transfer. Amazing that this is even possible!

Throughout these 2 weeks of injections and medications, I had to visit the doctor's office every day for a transvaginal ultrasound and a blood test in order to monitor the results and adjust the injection dosage(s) if necessary. By the end of the 2 weeks, my arms were bruised and I felt like an oversized pincushion! Of course, the published list of side effects for the medications was extensive; the good news, however, was that I only experienced a few minor side effects such as anxiety, sadness, shortness of breath, sleeplessness, and bowel issues. Probably too much information, but I want to remember the details so I also remember how gracious God has been to me throughout every step of this process!

David's workbench, AKA our home pharmacy.

David did anything and everything that had to do with the shots. He got up early and mixed them every day. He administered the shots, disposed of the needles etc. etc. I could go on and on! I am very thankful for the part he played in this process as it relieved A LOT of the stress just knowing he was measuring the doses and making sure the injections were done properly.

After 10 days of injections, doctor's appointments, blood tests, and ultrasounds, the doctor determined I was ready for the egg retrieval based on the size of the follicles, and I was scheduled for surgery on August 16th. The doctor said it was as if my body was saying, "Let's hurry this process up. I'm ready to go." He said I progressed quickly, and things were looking very good.

Before retrieval I had to have 2 final shots to trigger ovulation so that I was ready to go for the procedure. One of them had to be given at 12:30AM, 2 nights prior to the procedure. I was too nervous I wouldn't wake up, so I forced myself to stay up until 12:30 and then woke David up in time to give me the injection. The final trigger shot was given by my doctor the next day and we were set to go for the 16th.

My view while waiting for egg retrieval surgery

We arrived at the Scottsdale office about an hour before the procedure to re-sign the consent forms, prep for surgery, meet with the anesthesiologist, and speak with the doctor. When I first arrived they took David back right away, and I was left in a small space with a curtain around me and silence. I started to get a little claustrophobic!

Thankfully, the doctor came in and realized I had been left alone, opened the curtain, found David so I wasn't alone, and told me not to worry because it would soon be all about me for at least the next hour or so.

Around 11:40AM after being hooked up to an IV, I walked myself to the operating room, got up on the table, had my legs strapped up in the air, and was ready to go. I was quite a sight I'm sure! I told all the nurses and staff in the operating room, "I guess all modesty is out the window now!" They laughed. I made sure to thank all of them for everything they were doing for us. One of the nurses started crying and another one said, "See! Our job is worth it!" It was sweet! The nurse that had been taking my blood every day came to Scottsdale just to be there with me for the procedure. The staff and doctor could not have had better bedside manner; they clearly understand the toll that this process takes on a couple.

The doctor came in just as the anesthesiologist put me under. I had wanted David to pray with me and the doctor but it didn't work out, so I decided I'd just tell the doctor I was praying for him. And I did! He leaned over, patted me on the side of my leg, and told me everything was going to be okay. (He probably thought I was just nervous and afraid I wasn't going to wake up, ha!)

About 45 minutes later the procedure was completed. I easily woke up and about an hour later left the office with pain meds, anti-nausea pills, and a very tired body.

The surgery was a success. We trust God that just the right number of eggs were retrieved, and that He will work His will in creating life. We are praising the Lord for answering our prayers thus far, and are hopeful for the days and months to come. 

~ Paige

Thankful for God's goodness so far!

Parenting as a Creation Ordinance

I've been meaning to share this sermon recommendation for many months now. I think it was late in 2014 that a friend in the same infertility boat as us sent this to me. It's a sermon by Pastor David Campbell, a pastor and friend of ours in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. And what an encouraging listen this was for me and Paige when we first heard it. I've listened to it a few times since and have been blessed with every listen.

This message is probably the most clear, most concise, most biblically-balanced and practically applicatory message I have ever heard dealing the topics of marriage, parenting, and infertility. Pastor Campbell faithfully expounds God's Word, upholding the 1689 London Baptist Confession's position on marriage's primary purpose (hint: it's not child-bearing), as he deals with issues stemming from the Creation Mandate (Genesis 1:28) and relevant to the church of today.

In this one sermon, Pastor Campbell addresses important, though often overlooked topics such as the role of childbearing in marriage, birth control, suffering with infertility, and a biblical understanding of Christian liberty. Most helpfully for people like us, Pastor Campbell provides words of comfort to the infertile couple by pointing them to the God of all comfort.

I recommend this message to you for at least these two reasons:

1. To be informed. Listen carefully and learn as Pastor Campbell explains what God intended when He created man and woman and gave them specific duties. Hopefully you will, as we did, come to a better understanding of Genesis 1:28 and the Creation Mandate through this short, but important message.
2. To be encouraged. Whether you are suffering with infertility or not, this message should encourage you in your Christian walk. Hopefully you are a member of a local church, and as such, this message will encourage you in encouraging others who may struggle with childlessness.

Without further ado, here is the sermon. May God bless you through it.

~ David