My first marriage ended in divorce and childless despite a vasectomy reversal and major efforts. I got together with my second husband later in life, and we didn’t start trying for kids until I was 40! We tried for 3 years before we sought infertility treatment. I wish we hadn’t waited that long, but he travelled and we both worked all the time, so I wrote it off as we were never in sync despite the most expensive ovulation kits.

I went to see my regular OB/GYN and he recommended two infertility specialists. He also said, “Dr Silber can get anyone pregnant.” We did not make an appointment right away. We continued to try on our own.
I work in a hospital, and one day I randomly ran into an old friend, someone I had worked with previously. Her daughter was having triplets at my hospital. I went to visit when they were born, and I asked some questions. It turned out she was a single woman who desperately wanted children, so she’d done IVF. I told them about my struggle to get pregnant, and they said, “you have to go see Dr Silber! He can get anyone pregnant.” I felt like it was a sign. This was the second time I’d heard of Dr Silber. My husband and I knew I was running out of time, so we made the appointment.

We did two rounds of egg retrievals, got very few eggs each time, and only ended up with three embryos.
Dr Silber recommended we do more egg retrievals, but due to cost and time, we decided to transfer two of our embryos. It failed and the third embryo died. We had no second chance. I was devastated.

Dr Silber did not recommend we continue to try with my eggs. He recommended an egg donor. The clinic provided information about egg donor agencies. I did my research. I looked at donor profiles. I could not see this working out for us. We had already spent our savings, and we could not see a way to go through an agency and pay for everything. I was desperate and posted on a social media page for healthcare providers. I was mainly venting my frustration and heartbreak and asking for advice. I got hundreds of responses and the post was viewed by thousands. I never expected to find an egg donor on social media, but I did! It was a long shot, and a meant to be miracle. Of all the thousands of people who saw and reacted to my post, this woman lived 2 hours from me. She was 27 years old, and she and her husband were both nurses. They had a beautiful young son. They came and met with us and Dr Silber. She started taking the medications the very next day! She drove back and forth from Illinois to St. Louis for monitoring and blood work. Each time she showed up to the hospital at 6 am, I couldn’t believe she was there. She gave us 14 eggs, and we ended up with four embryos. Three days later, we had two embryos transferred. (We compensated the donor for her time and travel.)

Ten days later was Father’s Day, and I showed my husband the positive home pregnancy test. 38 weeks later we delivered the most beautiful baby girl. I was 45 years old!

Dr Silber, Dr DeRosa, and our nurse coordinator, Stacie were wonderful. Stacie helped me navigate working with our donor, getting her health history, setting up appointments, and kept me informed on all test results and next steps. The clinic helped us find a lawyer to draw up a contract with our donor. We know we would not have our beautiful daughter, Eloise, without them. We are so thankful for the work they do!