My name is Kasia and my husband's name is Jarek. I am 35 years old, my husband is 39 and we have been parents to a wonderful little daughter Helena for 4 months. I decided to tell our story about IVF and our fight for the longed-for child to show that it is worth trusting good doctors, even when it seems that nothing will help anymore. We had been trying for a baby since 2012. We succeeded in 2020 - thanks to IVF.

Good beginnings

In September 2012 I took a pregnancy test - the result was positive. I got pregnant without any problems. I was very happy. However, the happiness did not last long. A few days after the test I felt a terrible pain in my lower abdomen. This pain was getting worse and I felt very unwell. I went to the hospital. I thought it was nothing serious, that I was exaggerating and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, when I got to the hospital, the nightmare started.

Ectopic pregnancy

The doctor, after examining me, said I had an ectopic pregnancy developing in my right fallopian tube. My whole world collapsed, I was heartbroken and had to stay under control. I lay in hospital for 15 days. After leaving the hospital, my husband and I decided that we would try again in a while. A year passed. Before trying again, I went to Dr Jakub Pankiewicz, who took care of me in the hospital. After the tests were done, we were able to start trying for a baby.

In 2013 I had another pregnancy. I made an appointment and unfortunately... another ectopic pregnancy. This time in the left fallopian tube. At the time I didn't know what to think, what to do, why is this happening to me, what is wrong with me? After this pregnancy in 2014, I underwent a fallopian tube patency test and a diagnostic laparoscopy. Everything was fine. However, my husband and I decided to take a break.

In 2017 we tried again - I got pregnant in March. I was happy that it might finally work out. The joy was short-lived. I went to see Dr Pankiewicz and it turned out to be another ectopic pregnancy. I was referred to hospital. Already in the ward I found out that I would have my fallopian tubes removed along with the pregnancy. I was devastated, thinking I wouldn't be able to have children again.

New hope

After leaving the hospital, I went to see my doctor for a check-up and there I heard words of support. The human approach of my doctor, made me want to try again. He told me not to give up, that I had been through so much and I could cope, that after all there was still a chance of having a baby through IVF treatment. After having my fallopian tubes removed, IVF was my only chance of having a biological child.

Unfortunately, in vitro fertilisation is not a cheap procedure and as of 2015 the government programme was no longer working. We had hoped that something would change....

Lubuskie programme

More years passed... It was only when I came across an article on the Internet that I found new hope. It concerned the launch of a programme to subsidise IVF by the Marshal's Office of the Lubuskie Voivodship. It was possible to receive up to PLN 5,000 in subsidies for the procedure. I immediately grabbed the phone and called InviMed. This was our chance to have a baby. On 9 March 2019, I received a call from InviMed inviting me to an interview for the IVF subsidy programme.

On 10 April, we took all the documents and went for our first visit to the InviMed clinic in Poznan. At the clinic, we were looked after by Dr Michał Małek. He is a very nice, kind doctor who is able to explain any doubts. His positive energy could be felt from the moment we entered the clinic.

The doctor, reviewing the documents, said that I had been through a lot. The fact that I was getting pregnant without any problems was a good prognosis. The lack of fallopian tubes, on the other hand, was already an immediate indication for IVF, which meant that we could basically go straight to ovarian stimulation. I was very happy that we were able to get funding from the province - it was the support we needed.

Finally...

After going through all the procedures, the day of the transfer arrived. On 12 June I was given my 5-day-old embryos. After a few days I took a beta hCG blood test. It came out positive - we were positive. After all, it had to work this time.

After a few more days, we went to InviMed to confirm the pregnancy. When Dr. Michal Malek confirmed the pregnancy with a smile, I was the happiest person in the world. We had succeeded the first time, on the first cycle and in the very first transfer! Tears in my eyes, an incredible dose of joy, relief, hope... We had been waiting for this for so long.

The further course of the pregnancy was managed by my doctor Jakub Pankiewicz. I returned home and followed the doctor's recommendations. I thought that nothing bad would happen again. However, one day when I got out of bed, I felt a pain in the upper abdomen. Fear swept through me - what else could happen?

Yet another horror

I called the doctor in charge of my pregnancy, who instructed me to come to the surgery immediately. The pain was getting worse by the minute. When I arrived at the doctor's office, I immediately went for an examination. It turned out that I needed to go to hospital quickly. I felt worse and worse, I couldn't stand up, the pain was terrible. The doctor called an ambulance immediately, which took me to the hospital. It was a horror show. My condition was getting worse by the minute, on top of that I was very scared for myself and the baby.

I ended up in the operating theatre. A corner of the uterus had ruptured and fluid was entering the abdomen. After the operation the pain was gone, but the fear remained - I was worried about the baby, was it alive? It was the longest four days of my life. Four days waiting for a test to check the status of the pregnancy.

The sweetest melody

Successful. The test showed that the foetus was alive. Every day I prayed that I would persevere to the end, that I would maintain my pregnancy, so that I could cuddle my baby in a few months. After a week of lying in the hospital, I had another check-up - that's when I heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time. Tears of happiness rushed to my eyes, I couldn't hold them back. It was the most beautiful day. After so much to go through, after so much danger... the sweetest melody - the heartbeat right under my heart.

After leaving the hospital, I led a sparing lifestyle. I knew it was a high-risk pregnancy, that I had to take care of myself and be very careful and attentive. Days, weeks, months passed until the magic moment arrived - 2890 grams and 54 centimetres of happiness were born - my little girl.

Despite the hard, winding road, it was worth it. My little girl made up for everything as soon as I saw her.

Thanks to you I have a daughter

Heartfelt thanks to Dr Michał Małek and the entire InviMed Poznań team for their treatment and care - thanks to you I have a daughter. Helenka is our great pride - a healthy, smiling gem. I would also like to thank Dr Jakub Pankiewicz for managing the pregnancy, reacting quickly to the danger and saving my life.

It's worth the effort, it's worth striving - a person is able to go through more than they may think at first... I'm an example of that.

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THANK YOU

We would like to thank Mrs Catherine for sharing her story and photos of her baby with us, which can be seen on InviMed's Facebook page in a post dedicated just to baby Helena. To view, click here.

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TELL YOUR STORY

If you would like to share your experiences with us, please feel free to contact us. Each story is important - for the author himself, for the readers, for people in a similar situation, but also for the cause - the possibility of undertaking effective infertility treatment in Poland. The possibility offered by IVF (in vitro) in the most difficult cases.