“Miracles Come True With Menopur”
The Principe family and their little miracle, Cole; Brea, CA

His big blue eyes innocently glance up at me as I run my fingers through his full head of curly blonde hair. He has that questioning look in his eyes as if to say, “Can I go momma?” I tell him to go find his bat and with the biggest smile imaginable from a mouth only half filled with teeth, he runs out onto the grass to get his big blue bat! He picks it up, looks at me and in his sweet little voice says “Baseball!” I respond, “Yes son,” and he retorts, “Ball!” That is my cue to throw him the ball. He cannot swing the bat yet, as he is only 18 months old, but he sure does like to rest it on his shoulder and stand at attention like a batter. I say, “That will cost you a kiss.” He runs over and plants an open mouth slobbery semblance of a kiss right on my lips. I venture to say that it is the wettest, sloppiest – and best kiss I have ever received in the past 40 years!

As I watch “Coley P,” my 18-month-old son, my mind reflects on the long and arduous journey that brought my husband and me to this place.

First, you need to know that I come from a large exuberant family – three brothers and two sisters, twelve nieces and nephews, and I was the last to get married. Family gatherings are huge affairs. Take Easter, for example. Last year between our aunts, uncles, our siblings, our cousins and our nieces and nephews, there were over 75 of us. We reenacted the game “Survivor” and split everyone into teams of 5-6 people of varying ages with six events to master before we even progressed to the actual “egg hunt”. It was mass hysteria filled with laughter and fun for all ages.

For 20 years or so, I sat on the sidelines during these events. I was Aunt Mo, event coordinator extraordinaire: I planned the games, dyed the hard boiled eggs, secured treasures in the plastic eggs, hid all the eggs, and orchestrated the hunt. It was wonderful…yes and no. I love my nieces and nephews. I love the noise and camaraderie of my family. I love being a daughter, sister, and aunt. But, I longed for more. I felt as though I was sitting on the bench hoping to be called in to run a play in the big game. I dreamed of being a wife, and a mother cheering on her own children in the hunt.

It took 40 long years, but I finally met the man of my dreams. We have so much in common – we both have the same faith and work ethic; we are both athletes; we actually attended the same high school (several years apart); we both hold family as a priority. We had the same dream. As soon as we married our goal was to start our family. We would no longer sit on the sidelines longing for our own child.

At first, trying to have a child was a lot of fun. You know what they say, “practice, practice, practice!” Then, nothing happened. Friends and family joked and laughed, “Try a bit harder!” We went along with all of the jokes and graciously laughed about it but in the back of our minds, doubt started to invade. We also tried not to “think” about it. Still, nothing happened. Doubt turned to strong suspicion. Making love turned into a chore. Each month brought another hopeful anticipation, followed by disappointment. Every month I would track my ovulation cycle and every month when I started my menses because I wasn’t pregnant, I was an emotional basket case. Then I would put myself back together, muster up the energy, optimism and confidence to start all over again and begin the hope, anticipation and waiting…again! A couple of those months my cycle was late and I thought that we were pregnant for sure! How could this happen to us? My mom got pregnant and had six kids with no problems, my sisters had kids with no problems and my mother-in-law had kids with no problems. Why were we having such a problem? It didn’t seem logical…or fair! Eventually, after many months of trying, not getting pregnant, and feeling like complete failures, it was time to consult a professional.

We went through the battery of embarrassing questions, outlining the most intimate details of our lives as husband and wife, and the intrusive physical exams. After every exam, we heard about people that got pregnant once they completed this procedure or that procedure and thought for sure we would be one of “those” people. We continued to hope, but with each procedure and each test the doubts and suspicions grew. Finally, we sat in the doctor’s office, waiting for the final results.

Have you ever wanted anything so bad that it hurt, only to find out that you might not ever be able to get it? The pain is excruciating. A trained professional looked us in the eyes and declared, “It will never happen!” I could feel the wells of my eyes filling up. I bit my lip to hold back the bile filling my throat. My stomach convulsed into a tight knot. The dream died. My advice to you when someone tells you that…say thank you, leave the office immediately and go to a doctor that is willing to work with you and try modern and innovative strategies, such as using the drug Menopur.

Ultimately, we decided to get a second opinion. I called my Ob/Gyn and asked for a referral. He recommended Dr. Daniel Potter with Huntington Reproductive Center. Dr. Potter was sensitive to our situation, positive and inspirational. We knew that he was the perfect fit for us. The best part was, he was absolutely positive that he could help us get pregnant and was willing to do whatever it took to do so.

Through Dr. Potter, we were introduced to innovative, groundbreaking strategies for conception. We tried oral drug therapies – again there was hope followed by disappointment. We tried other drugs (injectable) – more hope, and then more disappointment. Next, we tried IUI (artificial insemination) – At this point, the roller coaster ride of hope and disappointment was so overwhelming, we were afraid to even hope. Our fears were justified in yet another failure.

The next process on the check list was IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). Our doctor started us on a series of medications that I thought we would never be able to keep track of. We used Menopur to enhance our chances and the “miracle” drug became a part of our daily regimen. Mix this, take that, this one in the stomach, others in the hip. It was crazy! We needed a daily chart to check off and follow our drug regimen. My husband was skeptical but I was positive it would work! We would mix up an elixir every night and my husband would inject it. The injection spot became so inflamed, we both cried when he gave me the injections. But finally, with the drugs and the grace of God, we were able to conceive in our first round of IVF. On January 23, 2007 (my husband's 45th birthday), our dream became reality; we added a beautiful little boy, Cole Charles, to our family. Any pain, frustration or anxiety that we had experienced immediately disappeared when we held our miracle baby for the first time.

I’m brought back to the present, and I am again watching my miracle child. The disappointments, the feelings of failure, the countless doctors’ appointments, the tedium of daily medications completely wash away in the slobber of his wet kiss on my lips. He is the embodiment of our dream. As we traveled this journey, however, the dreams of children and family were nearly choked in disappointment. The disappointment was useless. I wish we had known this. There is hope. There is success. The dream would be realized. This understanding would have minimized the downs, the despair, and the feelings of failure.

If your story sounds even remotely like ours, my advice to you is to stay the course. Keep the faith and do whatever it takes emotionally, physically and financially to stay positive and carry you through with the process. Surround yourself with positive, caring, loving, supportive people. Most importantly, find a doctor that truly believes that you can get pregnant and is willing to try innovative strategies to help make your dreams come true. Like the old saying goes “pain is temporary” but the smile of your child and the joy that they will bring you, will last a lifetime.

My husband and I still sit up at night and watch Cole sleep. We marvel at all the new things he does and all the new words he can say. His capacity for love and joy is boundless, and our love can only increase. So, began the journey a second time. This time, we faced the process with patience, faith and understanding – and significantly less anxiety. We used Menopur treatments again and we find ourselves pregnant again, this time with twins! Menopur was our MIRACLE and it can be yours too!