Marle and Erwin's Story (May 2015)

We are incredibly happy that we chose Human First, who arranged the trip to Istanbul for us and where we met Dr. Cem. We'd love to share this special experience with you. In 2012 we were told that we would never be able to have a child naturally. Of course our world was turned upside down. Something you want so badly suddenly seems so far away.

We soon chose the hospital in Groningen. They work together with the hospital in Emmen, where all the follow-up tests took place. These tests made clear that we were eligible for ICSI treatment. The first round was with my own cycle. I was allowed to go through this 6 times, equivalent to 1 stimulated treatment. The reason we chose this was because I was still so young. The risk was that the follicle might not be there, or not good. Twice it wasn't there, which was of course a huge disappointment. Four times there was a good egg. We were happy every single time. All these eggs were fertilized and transferred back each time. And each time it was such a disappointment that it hadn't worked. But we didn't give up hope.

In June 2013 we started a stimulated cycle. Because of all the stress, this treatment was stopped. First a nice holiday, then we'd see where things went from there. In October we picked the treatment back up. Our heads were completely clear again and we were ready to go for it again. Injecting hormones and hoping everything would go the way it should. 14 follicles, 7 on the right and 7 on the left. On the day of the retrieval I was actually glad the follicles were being taken out. I could barely walk anymore and it was pretty rough. In the Netherlands they do the retrieval without anesthesia. This retrieval was so painful that I couldn't walk for several days. For my partner it was awful to see me in so much pain. Two good embryos came out of it, each transferred separately, and unfortunately both without result. For us it was just completely done for a while. This was a traumatic experience for both of us. So we decided to spend a year enjoying each other, and everything happening around us. We had put things on hold for a year and a half.

In December 2014 I started feeling the itch again. What options did we have left? We had one attempt left and I absolutely did not want to do it in the Netherlands. No stress from driving back and forth to the hospital for ultrasounds, and definitely no retrieval without anesthesia. After some research we found Human First and I was immediately excited. I signed up and was soon called by the director, Evren. A very friendly woman, which gave me confidence right away. We were going to go in February, but my partner wasn't ready for it yet at that point. It became May.

May 2015, how exciting it was. Our last attempt, but we had every confidence in it. Everything was arranged for us. The hotel, the trip, we got a host and our own driver. We really didn't have to arrange anything ourselves. Dayon was amazing! All the hospital visits were arranged and Dayon came along everywhere. If we didn't quite understand something, she helped us and kept track of everything, from medication to follicle size. The doctor was incredibly kind and highly skilled. We both felt it was going to work out. I had 19 follicles, partly thanks to the peace of mind and no longer rushing around or flying back and forth. We could focus completely on the treatment. And then of course the retrieval, which this time was under anesthesia. What a relief to feel nothing during a retrieval. Afterwards I did have some pain, but that's just part of it. In the end six follicles were fertilized, of which two remained. Both of these were transferred back.

And the outcome? We can proudly and happily say that we are now entering the 12th week of pregnancy. Proud, happy, but also incredibly grateful! We want to thank Human First, Evren, Dayon and Dr. Cem with all our hearts for the wonderful care. We never gave up hope, and I hope we can be a source of inspiration for many, because I can recommend Human First to everyone.

Lots of love,

Marle and Erwin

This story was translated from Dutch by our team. Read the original Dutch version →