Dear Dylan:

Your story touched my heart at a deep level this morning. I think it is wonderful that you are using your success and position to help bring awareness to infertility and secondary infertility.

My story:

Since as 19, I have always struggled with endometriosis and after multiple surgeries to correct the disease my first husband and I were ready to start a family at age 23. After multiple, multiple rounds of fertility drugs, and yet another surgery for endometriosis I was to become pregnant and resulted in an ectopic pregnancy with ruptured that lead to traumatic bleeding and almost my life. The physician tried to save my left tube hoping that I could get pregnant on my own. After 3 more years of trying At age 26, my first husband and I decided to see the infertility specialist and did 5 rounds of Artificial Insemination without success.

The devastation from not being able to have a baby led to non communication and depression and ending our 5 year marriage that I thought was rock solid. I attended nursing school and loved the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) feeling that I could save a neonates life would be fulling since I wasn't able to have a baby of my own.

At age 29, divorced and a nurse, I met my husband who already had a 6 year from a prior marriage. At age 31, we married. We immediately started trying to conceive on our own without success. After a visit to the same fertility doctor (we live in rural WV), he suggested we go straight to IVF since the other artificial did not work with my first husband. Lots of prayer and GODS strength led us to decide to do IVF.

The facility in which I work gave a discount for IVF to employees due to the hospital fertility physician works for the hospital. After the shots, daily blood draws, it was time to have the egg retrieval. I was able to have 30 eggs retrieved. At day 2 only 15 were fertilized. Daily the IVF specialist would call me and inform me of my quality of the embroys and the number. The number was reducing drastically (my eggs appeared to have a quick sand like appearance). At day 5, only 2 eggs were of quality to withstand the transfer. One an A++ and one an A+. Both eggs were transferred and on Christmas day 2010 I took the pregnancy test and it was positive. After much prayer and thanksgiving I carried my beautiful, perfect daughter to 34 weeks gestation. She is 7 now and I am 39.

I did have to have a hysterectomy when she was 2 and I also was dx with Multiple Sclerosis when she was 9 months old. My family has dealt with infertility as my sister who is 40 has had 10 miscarriages and was never able to successfully carry to term a baby.

Thank you again for sharing your story. God is the true healer, Much prayers.

Jessica Haas, Age 39

Huntington, WV