Case Studies
CREATIVE KATIE DELIGHTED WITH HER NEW LIFESTYLE
Katie Green is used to gift wrapping presents at her country living shop in the pretty village of Monks Eleigh but now she has her own bundle of joy. Baby Thomas has arrived after five years of fertility treatment at the former Isis Fertility Centre, now Bourn Hall Colchester. Katie and her husband Alex with their six month-old son will help former patients and staff celebrate the 'unwrapping' of the rebranded clinic on 24th April.
Katie was 32 when she realised that her hopes of becoming a mother were not being fulfilled.
"We began to get concerned and went to our GP for advice. We were referred to the hospital and had a series of tests. They found a number of things such as minor endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, none of which was serious but when combined were probably creating a problem.
"I was recommended for treatment on the NHS, but this was before the current funding arrangements had come in and it was not straightforward. So in the end, we decided to go private and had treatment at the former Isis Fertility Centre which is now part of Bourn Hall."
Unfortunately Katie over responded to the drugs and suffered from over-stimulation of the ovaries (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or OHSS). This is a rare event and affects less than three women in a hundred.
"My condition was managed well and the treatment was excellent. I couldn't have asked for anything better, but it was quite alarming at the time."
This first cycle was unsuccessful and a further frozen embryo transfer also came to nothing. The couple then decided to risk it all and thawed all the remaining embryos, letting them grow to blastocyst stage, which helps in selecting the best embryos to transfer. Sadly, none of the embryos grew successfully.
Katie describes herself as very pragmatic and thinks this attitude of mind is helpful in managing the stress involved with fertility treatment.
"I just wanted to be certain we had done all we could do and that I wouldn't look back with regrets. We decided to try one last time with a much lower dose of drugs. I managed to produce nine eggs and we took all the fresh embryos to blastocyst stage which gives the optimum chance of success. Only one of the embryos grew and this was the one that became Thomas.
"I never expected it to work. I just wanted to say I had tried and ticked all the boxes before accepting that it wasn't to be.
"Looking back it was a good experience. I had expected it to be awful, but it wasn't. We just took one step at a time and we were extremely well cared for by the staff at the clinic."
Katie is still on her maternity leave from her shop The SummerHouse but expects to be back at work soon. Fortunately she has a supportive business partner - her mother Erica Bolam!
"We set up the business together and now this has a special benefit. Thomas is my mother's third grandson and well worth the wait."
Sarah Pallett, Clinic Manager at the Colchester clinic, was part of the team at the former Isis Fertility Centre which was acquired by Bourn Hall in November 2009.
She comments, "We attract patients from across Essex, North London and South Suffolk and we have had enthusiastic feedback since the clinic became part of Bourn Hall.
"The fresh new look has been invigorating, but for me the most rewarding aspect has been the additional know-how and expertise we can now deliver to our patients by being part of the long established Bourn Hall team."
Bourn Hall Group now has two clinics in the East of England. The world's first IVF Clinic based in Bourn, Cambridgeshire and the new clinic in Colchester, Essex, both of which provide a full fertility service.
