When April and Rochelle met, sparks flew.
They knew they couldn’t live without each other and so they got married and hoped to have children; it was a dream they felt they’d never really obtain.
The couple tried five rounds of artificial insemination (IUI) with a doctor in Dallas, but were unsuccessful using April’s eggs.
“We got really discouraged and down and out,” said April. “I thought we would never have a family together … and then we went to a Kid Rock concert.”
In a last-ditch effort, April and Rochelle agreed to try again and “google someone” while they were waiting for the concert to start. They believe that God had a hand in who they found.
“We wanted to find a female fertility specialist, someone who would understand us, and we found Dr. [Dara] Havemann,” said April. “We called the next day and spent half of the first appointment crying because she gave us a reason to hope.”
A new plan under our McKinney fertility specialist
After testing April’s ovarian reserve, Dr. Havemann recommended a change in approach. She suggested using Rochelle’s eggs instead and moving on to IVF because of the couple’s over-35 status.
This is our chance, April remembers saying. “We are not getting any younger.”
They saved their money and scheduled IVF, which resulted in four frozen embryos. The first round unfortunately ended with an ectopic pregnancy and April had to have her fallopian tubes removed. While April was still in the recovery room, Dr. Havemann saw that Rochelle, in the waiting room, was hurting.
That was another turning point. The McKinney fertility specialist reassured the couple, saying that it will happen for them. “We really want to get you a baby this year.”
In that trying time, April credits the staff for making it easy to schedule appointments with minimal wait times. They were driving to see the McKinney fertility specialist from Paris, Texas, and Rochelle says it was worth it. “The staff – from the front door to the back – is amazing, and we felt like family there,” she said.
PGS provided answers before reciprocal IVF
“We had frozen embryos – four that were healthy – three boys and one girl,” said April. “We decided to do PGS (preimplantation genetic screening) because Rochelle had turned 40 and we wanted to know for sure that the embryo we chose was healthy.”
They had genetically tested embryos, but Dr. Havemann was adamant about waiting for uterine conditions to be perfect, too. The embryos created from Rochelle’s eggs would be transferred to April’s uterus in what’s known as reciprocal IVF.
The doctor made the difference
“Dr. Havemann really got to know us; we were people to her,” said April. “She explained everything. We had done our research – I’m a nurse. But talking to her about [fertility treatment] made everything so clear.”
What’s more, the Dallas IVF staff treated the women like any other married couple. “Dr. Havemann and all of her staff showed us that our marriage was truly accepted and valued to them,” April said.
April delivered the baby boy they dreamed of in November; his name is Zayde Evan. “He’s perfect and an answer to our prayers,” said April. “We sit and look at him, and then each other, and tear up. He’s a little miracle.”
To anyone still struggling to get pregnant, and same-sex couples searching for family-building options, they say: Don’t give up and give Dr. Havemann a chance.
“Sometimes it just takes the perfect doctor,” said Rochelle, who adds that there are not enough good words to say about Dr. Havemann. “She made our family complete.”
…almost complete. April and Rochelle hope to add to their family with a sibling in another round of reciprocal IVF.
If you are interested in scheduling a consultation with our McKinney fertility specialist, please contact us here.