Here, IVF babble reader Stacey Anne Morgan tells us about how she channelled her anxiety into writing and illustrating a rhyming children’s picture book about IVF
“My name is Stacey, I am 33 years old. I have been married to my incredible husband for 6 amazing years. We live in Oman at the minute for my husbands work, and together have a dog baby called Kodie, who really is the cutest. I have a super cool stepson called Liam in the UK. I have worked in primary schools and nurseries most of my adult life, and just love being around children – they are so much fun and bring out the big kid in me!
“I have suffered with bad periods since I was in school and the combined pill helped control the pain, but when we decided to try for a family that is when my pain got so much worse.
“Four years of chronic period pain, four years of trying different medications and four years of the frustration of unexplained infertility.
“I knew from the start what was wrong with me but I tried every medication because I hoped it would be something that was easily fixed with a pill. It took me to have a breakdown in the doctors office for someone to actually listen to me. There is a history of endometriosis in my family and I have all the signs, why is it so hard to get diagnosed?
“Finally I had my first laparoscopy (a surgical diagnostic procedure used to examine the organs inside the abdomen.)I was riddled with endometriosis in my uterus, rectum, ovaries and Fallopian tubes. After my Laparoscopy we waited another year because your chances of conceiving are higher after a laparoscopy, but still nothing. To add salt to the wound my husband and I are not entitled to IVF on the NHS in the UK as my husband has a 13 year old son from a previous relationship. It’s a postcode lottery apparently, it’s just so brutal, I’ve never been a mum! Where is the fairness in that? Something has got to change here.
“Luckily we had the chance to take an overseas job, this was a great opportunity for us to save money for IVF.
“A few months ago we started our IVF journey, I had 2 eggs collected. I dreamt and thought about our embryos constantly, will they survive? What is happening to them? What stage are they at now?
“So I channelled that anxiety and worry into a writing a story for them. This was how my book ‘I knew I’d find you’ came to life.
“Our 2 embryos became Petrie (Petri dish) and Ivy (IVF) and their great big adventure is the stages of IVF from an egg to baby. Portrayed in the imaginative way, not the clinical way. It’s a heart warming, feel good story suitable for all children but especially if you have a miracle IVF baby!
“Our real life story hasn’t turned out as I planned in my book, yet! One of our beautiful blastocysts didn’t make the defrosting stage and the other was sadly a chemical pregnancy. That wouldn’t make for a great children’s story book now would it?
“I am waiting for another Laparoscopy before we do IVF again.
“I dreamt of a story and made it into reality, in a book. I dream of being a mother so hopefully one day that dream will become reality too. Anything that consumes your dreams is powerful, right?
I hope my story will encourage others not to give up hope.
“Out of the heartache came something lovely, written for the ones that never came to be. Gone but not forgotten, now they will always be with me.”
To buy a copy of Stacey’s book, click here
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