Case Studies
Good news on Christmas Eve
The best Christmas present ever for Fiona and Reeves Watson was when they found out last year that Fiona was pregnant.
The couple have been together for fifteen years and had been following all the recommended advice about the time of the month and frequency, were careful about diet and health, but nothing happened.
So they decided to seek medical advice, and as part of the investigation it was discovered that Reeves had a lower than ideal sperm count. The couple weren’t overly concerned as Reeves thought that perhaps he hadn’t kept the samples properly.
"I didn’t know I was supposed to keep the sample for testing warm," he explains. "It was winter, I was leaving them in the car for the journey to the lab and would leave them longer than I should and they had cooled down. Once this was realised there was hope, but it was later confirmed with a properly cared for samples that the count was still low."
The couple were then referred to the Isis Fertility Centre, now part of the Bourn Hall Clinic Group, for NHS funded IVF treatment. This would be with ICSI (intra cytoplasmic sperm injection) where a single sperm is injected into an egg. This technique can be used successfully even when only a few healthy sperm are available.
"The treatment proved to be a real rollercoaster," says Fiona. "I went through egg stimulation and then the scans showed that the follicles weren't ripening as they should to produce the eggs and that we may have to abandon the treatment. That moment was horrendous. They changed the dose and two days later we were back on track, the egg collection was fine and on schedule."
For Reeves there was another obstacle to overcome. Timing in IVF treatment is critical and eggs need to be fertilised shortly after collection to ensure the highest chance of success, this requires the man to provide a sperm sample. Unfortunately, on the day insufficient quality sperm were found and emergency surgical sperm retrieval was needed.
"I was relieved that the clinic was not too far from home, as I just wanted to get back and recover," he remembers.
All went well until 4 days before the home pregnancy test when Fiona was alarmed to find she was bleeding.
"I rang the clinic in a panic. It was good to have the nurse at the end of the phone and know that if I needed to go in for a scan I could be there quickly."
Fiona had two embryos implanted but had lost one in the bleed. The other embryo continued to thrive and on Christmas Eve the couple got the wonderful news.
"We got up at 7.45am to do the test and it showed that I was pregnant. It was fantastic, the best news you could have at Christmas." In September 2009 Elliott James was born.
"All the staff were wonderful and supportive," says Fiona. "Having a local clinic is very important, during treatment you have to have blood tests every other day and it would be awful to have to travel for hours just to have a 15 minute test."
"We were very fortunate to be treated at Isis and delighted that this small, friendly clinic will continue as part of Bourn Hall."
Patients in the East of England that meet the NHS criteria are entitled to funded treatment. If couples in the Essex and South Suffolk choose to have IVF treatment at Bourn Hall they can elect to attend either the Cambridge or Colchester location.
