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"From Hope to Happiness" takes you on a moving journey through the lives of people who faced the challenges of infertility and found their path to joy with Dunya IVF. This podcast showcases heartfelt stories of resilience, determination, and ultimate fulfillment as families share how their dreams of parenthood were made possible.
The IVF Story of Joanne & Ed
So thank you so much for joining
us today and answering our
questions and sharing your
experience and your journey,
basically.
Would you like to share briefly,
like,
how this journey started when
you started trying to conceive?
How did that all begin?
We had...
We had a miscarriage and then we
had a child naturally after
the miscarriage.
So they call it like a rainbow
baby because you're
quite fertile.
But then. So I think I had.
And then I had some polyps.
So I came to Dunya and had the
ivf and the first cycle
wasn't successful.
And I asked about the quality
of my results and my eggs.
The quality of my eggs were
very poor. And I said,
is there anything I could do
to improve the quality?
And they said, well, you know,
because I already ate healthy
filler, didn't drink too much,
did lots of exercise,
there's very little I could
do to change the result.
And I didn't want to keep
repeating the cycle and not get
the results. So I said, what.
What could we do to ensure
successful result?
And that was going down
the donor route.
So we had a donor which
was super fast.
As soon as we made that
decision, it was really,
really fast.
We was given two options of two
donors and we selected one.
And then literally a couple
of months later,
I was pregnant and we had pgd
genetic testing on the embryos.
So there were very high quality
ones that were able
to be implanted.
And the whole experience was
just really professional,
but warm and personal.
And I had Inna,
who was my coordinator, huh,
who was like,
just like an angel.
So she was on WhatsApp regularly
with me, keeping me up to date.
When I did go through the IVF
myself, you know, the drugs,
what should be taking, when,
how I'm feeling, all that.
And then again,
when we did the donor route,
she again kept me up to date
with everything. And,
and when I was in the clinic,
she was with me at all of the
appointments or procedures.
The clinic was like, really,
really clean and modern and it
has a separate space
for everything.
So in reception it was very
open and airy and bright.
And the staff in reception was
really friendly and warm.
Because you are quite nervous
when you arrive there.
It's a scary thing to go
through. So it was a very calm,
warm,
relaxing place to be to that.
And then there's just everything
had a separate area,
so anything financial
was in the office.
Then there was like the separate
rooms for, like,
procedures or appointments.
Ina was always there so
she could, you know,
just keep me calm on or
translate anything, if.
Or elaborate,
if I didn't understand.
And then, like,
downstairs there was
the theatre. Very,
very clean and very,
very modern. And, you know,
when I was put to sleep,
when I woke up,
she was there right next to me.
And the clinic was just there
was like modern high tech.
You know, they're using, like,
thumbprints to get through doors
and just everybody was very
warm and friendly and.
But it was also very.
It felt very professional and
very well thought through.
And so there's. So the.
So it was just such a good
experience and obviously we did.
We did have some children
out of it,
so we have two healthy embryos
now. At the time,
I didn't really question about
putting two or one in.
I just said,
are we putting both in?
And they said, yeah, like,
obviously, in hindsight,
we've got twins.
We weren't after twins and it was
quite a shock for us.
But I suppose two babies over
no babies, I think,
because sometimes I think,
should I have put more thought
into that? But then I suppose,
yeah, like,
two over one is better.
And I think if I had
my time again,
I probably would end
up putting two in.
But at the time I was thinking,
what have I done?
Why have I put two in?
And.
And perfectly healthy pregnancy.
Gave birth naturally.
They were not early. Everything,
like, textbook, you know,
no issues whatsoever.
I was out of hospital within
24 hours of giving birth.
Less than 24 hours.
Yeah.
And they're both healthy,
they're very different.
But think twins often are.
They're not identical,
but a lot of people think that
they are because they look very
similar and they've just started
school. So yeah,
they're thriving.
And I'd recommend, like,
particularly the donor route,
because I think a lot of people
just keep going over
and over again.
And if they can't get
what they want,
then I think this is a really.
And because I've had a baby,
not through a donor, you know,
I can compare the two and,
you know,
you are pregnant and you
are giving birth,
so it is still the same
experience, other than,
you know, that it's.
That's what I was going
to ask you.
How was it deciding to go
through the donor route and not
with your own eggs? Was it.
Was that challenging?
Was it difficult?
Was it a hard decision to make?
Not for me,
because I so desperately wanted
the right result and
I just didn't want to keep going
through it over and over again,
not getting anywhere. And I am,
like, a realist. I.
I want to know the facts.
I want to know what
the likelihood is.
And if the likelihood is my eggs
are so poor because I was in my,
like, mid to late 30s.
If I'm not going to get the
result of my eggs or it's going
to take a long time, you know,
for me, once I'd heard that,
I suppose it's like the not
knowing of something is,
is horrible, but when you know,
you can just tackle it.
So once I knew and that wasn't
pushed on me, I mean, the dirt,
it was really brought up by me
because I'm the one that
wanted to know what,
what the future was going
to look like. So once,
once I even remember where I was
in Cyprus when I made
the decision.
And I felt so at peace with it
because I knew that this was
likely gonna result in a child.
And it did.
Yeah And I.
Completely the same experience
than with my first child, so.
Wonderful.
Yeah.
So that's kind of.
I think some people might
struggle a little bit more
with that choice,
but it feels like it came
more naturally to you.
And I suppose, like,
for somebody who doesn't
have a child,
they might worry about how it
would feel and, you know,
using somebody else's egg.
But yeah,
all I can say is it doesn't
really feel any different.
I mean,
you still carrying a child and,
you know, it is no different.
And at the end of the day,
you have,
you're able to be a mum.
So I think it's a very
positive message.
I think a lot of people will
appreciate hearing that if
they're going through something
like this. Yeah.
Awesome.
So you talked a lot about Dunya
and how your experience
was there,
but what led you to going to
Cyprus in the first place
or choosing Dunya?
You are listening to the Dunya
IVF Clinic podcast From
Hope to Happiness.
To learn more about IVF
treatments, visit our website,
www.dunyaivf.com and
download our eBook,
A Complete Guide to Assisted
Reproduction. You know,
we did a lot of research
and once we were there,
we kind of once were
in the clinic,
it were obvious that this
was a very, you know,
like a backstreet clinic.
It was a very, you know,
established a very good clinic.
Yeah, like,
it felt very legit and very.
We were very looked after.
Very, very much so.
And you know, and the, like,
the fact that they have
interpreters for all these
different languages is so
good because, you know,
everybody speaks the
same language.
And it just means that if
doctors are not able to
articulate things because
of the Language barrier,
your interpreter is.
And it's almost like they become
like your best friend because
you can just be asking questions
all the time.
And because you're on WhatsApp,
you can just buy a message
to them and you know,
they will send you everything
because, you know,
doctors are there to be doctors
and to do all the technical
things and the hard things
and the, you know,
whereas the interpreters are I
don't know what you call them,
but they're there to
really be there.
They're like accessible
like constantly.
And she came and met me
and it just felt like.
Just very, very comfortable.
Like somebody's looking because
I suppose they appreciate.
Don't you appreciate that?
You know,
if you was going to just a
clinic in your own country and
you just popped there, you know,
whereas you are coming
from another country.
It's not the same.
So I think that's why the
service is so personable,
because it's different than just
going to somewhere in your own
country. And they really,
they've cracked that.
They've made that so you can
feel, you know, really,
really secure with that
situation. And you know,
if you do need to go to like
a pharmacy, you know,
they're telling you where
the pharmacists are.
Like there's nothing not
thought of at all.
I think,
I think as well the just going
back to the doctors looking
after the technical aspect.
But I think going through IVF
and particularly for Joanne,
it's a really emotionally
stressful experience.
Particularly if you have a
failed cycle, which we did.
And I think certainly the
coordinators and the staff
around the medical professionals
have done here really smooth
that experience.
Particularly for Joanne,
when she got emotional and
upset and you know,
the coordinator was there for
for emotional support as well
and helping her overcome
some of that.
So I think that's what Joanne's
trying to say is that it was
like the whole package were
taken care of, which I think,
you know, isn't always the case,
to be fair, with,
with different clinics and
hospitals that you can visit.
Right.
You're not just another patient,
are you? You are really.
You're a person.
You are very much person,
aren't you?
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
Because it's a it's a scary
thing nonetheless to have to go
through this and then going
abroad is obviously something
difficult.
And so it's very important that
you have the structure and
the report system to.
Yeah,
and that's why
I recommend Dunya over anywhere else
because of that.
Because you are so desperate
for a child.
The utter desperation and the
thoughts you go through, like.
You go for every detail of the
whole experience in your head
so much that it, you know,
it's not just about the travel
and the going somewhere else.
It's. Yeah. Like, it's very,
very. It's emotional.
You want it so much.
And when you feel like you
can't have something,
you want it even more.
And particularly for people
who've not got a child at all.
I mean, I did have a child, but,
you know,
for people that haven't,
I cannot even imagine. I mean,
I felt desperate. It.
And it took over my whole life,
you know,
that's the only thing I could
think about. So. Yeah.
But it just felt just like
a hand holding, really.
So I kind of think of Inna as
like an angel sent from heaven,
you know, Just.
Yeah.
So you did not have any attempt
of IVF at home? Everything.
Your IVF journey started
in Cyprus?
Yes.
Okay,
so you don't have any experience
regarding that.
So you said that you had
one failed round,
but that was with your With your
own eggs, Is that correct?
Yeah.
So would you like to share just,
like,
what that experience feels like?
I mean,
I know it's a very emotional
thing. It's very difficult to.
To go through.
I don't know if you have
anything you'd like
to share on that.
I mean.
So the first time when
I had the polyp,
it felt like an obstacle because
I didn't realise I had polyps.
I knew I'd had a miscarriage
before,
but I wasn't fully sure if there
was anything wrong with
my eggs or anything.
Because I suppose Henry was this
rainbow baby after
the miscarriage,
so I suppose he was more like
a miracle baby, really.
But the Pollock felt like an
obstacle and a frustration and
almost like a layer
of desperation.
Cause is this because the polyp
kept reoccurring and it.
And I felt like this is just
spoiling everything.
And why is this quality.
I've had an operation
to have it cut out.
Why are polyps coming
back all the time?
And then when it failed, it's.
Yeah. Like, it's just.
It's. Yeah.
The thing that you want the most
in the world is you can't
have it. It's just.
It consumes you.
It's desperate.
It's not worth it. You say it's.
It was a feeling of desperation.
You know, it's. It's. I mean,
it's a few years ago now,
but you.
I think you start positive
because when you're doing the.
When we were doing
the drug cycles,
you think you're going
to get what you want.
You're on a journey to
get what you want.
And then when you're told.
And I think it was also the.
The feedback on terms of like
the quality of the.
The embryos that none were
viable or anywhere close
to being viable.
And I think some of the embryos
had even when they were trying
to do the PGD testing,
it just disintegrated.
So it was,
it was that sort of feeling of
desperation in that and that.
That you know,
that you think you're going
somewhere and then you're told
that actually you're not going
there. And then. And it's.
And not only not going there,
that there isn't many options
in terms of the quality of the.
There's nothing you can do
to change the content.
It is very. Yeah, it was a.
It wasn't. Yeah,
it was a kind of stack.
Like I was told you could just
not drink alcohol and you
could just eat so,
so healthy and you could maybe,
you know,
change the chances a little bit,
but it wouldn't be significant.
And so.
But for me it's like once you've
been told that as much as it was
really horrible, it was okay.
I know that now this
is really terrible.
But there must be another way.
Like, tell me if there's a way.
Like, is this it.
Is this the end of the
journey or is.
Because I didn't really want
to go down adoption,
even though I would have done
if I had to. I really was.
Didn't really want to do that.
So. Yeah,
it was just
when I was faced with what could
be next and was told that
there was an option,
it definitely massively helped
it because then it was just a
case of trying to get my head
around that because.
And actually
it really helped a lot because I
thought this can still happen.
And you did have to battle with
the fact that, you know,
I had sperm's been used that
kind of not anything from me.
And I felt some kind of guilt
for that a little bit for my
husband because I'm kind of
pushing him into this that I
really want and does he.
But you know,
I was so desperate that I
kind of. It was tough.
That's just what I
wanted to happen.
But you know,
because I kind of felt like I
have to grapple with this but
does it really matter to you?
But yeah, like,
yeah,
we meant we could have what we
wanted and I think Ed just
wanted me to get the
result and was.
And we did. Yeah.
Sorry Go ahead.
I was gonna say it's just quite.
It is.
It is a big deal to do that.
And also, like,
the guilt because I felt
like somebody has,
you know,
gone through IVF for me and it's
not just, here's my egg,
you don't just hear. So,
here you go.
She'll have had to gone through
ivf and, you know,
be put to sleep and have the a
tick and all the thing
I went through,
she'd gone through that for me.
And that's something I struggled
with a lot. Like,
how can somebody do that for me?
And, yeah, like, it.
And it's anonymous,
but I was so, like,
desperate to sort of have any
information about her
and because I just.
And then I was like,
pestering Ed, Cat,
can't you give your sperm away?
Like,
we need to give back somehow.
And, you know, because, yeah,
like,
that's the thing I maybe
struggled with the most is just
that somebody has done that and
not a small thing for me.
And.
Yeah,
and that's not very
common in the uk.
Not many people do
that for people.
So, yeah I just can't.
It's just mind blowing that
somebody would do that. And.
Yeah, I just.
I wish I could do it,
but obviously my eggs
are rubbish,
so nobody would want my eggs.
But maybe the girls would
do that in the future.
And I'd love that because,
yeah, like,
it makes things possible
for people.
And it's different to surrogacy,
because surrogacy must
be very hard.
But you get to experience
the pregnancy.
You get to give birth.
You know, it's.
And I think some of you is kind
of in the child and they do kind
of pick up traits from you
along the way. This.
There's not all that much about
it on the Internet,
but there is bits about it.
And they do pick up bits of you.
So you do still feel that
particularly one of the girls is
very much like me and the other
girl is very much like Ed.
And, you know,
you kind of start to see, like,
resemblances of you and that
child and then it does make you
feel more connected to them.
And they know about the
whole experience.
I know they're a bit small and
because I don't want them to
ever be in the future,
sort of be told to have
this from on them.
I want them to sort of
be aware of it from.
From when they're young enough
to not really understand it.
So then it's something.
Because you know,
I worry that they'll
be upset about it.
But I hope they'll just see,
like, the beauty of it.
Yeah. How old are they now?
So four and a half.
Okay. Yeah.
This is around five years ago
when this all started.
How long were you trying to
conceive naturally before you
decided that you're gonna
go down the IVF route?
Was it about a year?
Yeah, about a year. Okay.
Not a very long window.
No.
Because once I found out about
the quality of my eggs,
I just wasn't willing
to keep going.
Yeah.
Or to, you know,
all the weight as well.
Yeah.
Because time was ticking by and
actually get harder. Yeah.
I just didn't want it
to drag on. I mean,
I am a very impatient person to,
you know, what's my options?
Let's just jump on
it straight away.
And once we started the journey,
to me, that's it.
Now we're on the journey.
We want to do what we can and
make this journey happen and not
drag it out for years and just.
Just hope. Let's try again.
Let's try again. Let's hope.
You know,
she had And she had
the polyps in.
They found polyps in her
ovaries as well,
which had to be removed
in operation,
but then they recurred as well,
so.
To delay things a little bit.
Yeah.
So.
And that was a recurring
situation that you would get
them removed and they would come
back and. Okay, I see.
Well, would you maybe like,
for the purpose of this video,
to bring back the kids and maybe
have them introduce themselves?
Yeah.
Yeah, that'd be awesome.
I'll go get them.
I'll go get them. Perfect.
Hello again.
Hi.
Can you guys tell me your names
one more time? Because I forgot.
Emma,
Anna
It's so nice to meet you.
It's wonderful to meet you guys.
Look great.
Family.
Little twinies. Yeah. Yeah.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Is there anything else you would
like to share or advice that you
would like to give someone who's
going through the same thing?
I suppose the main two things
are just. I have not.
Not one bad thing to say
about Dunya. Like,
100% perfect in every possible
way and the way we would want
and ne ed in IVF and two that,
like the donor situation,
you know, it really is worth it.
And I think it's.
People should consider
it more because.
Yeah, like,
I think it's a very important
message. I really do.
Yeah.
I just don't think a lot of
people consider it, but, yeah.
Yeah.
Get little cuties like this.
Yes.
It was so nice to meet you.
Thank you so much for sharing
your your story and
your experience.
Thank you. Yeah.
And we wish you all the best.
Thank you, son. Yeah.
Good giveaway.
Goodbye.