The Call That Changed My Life

It was an early morning I’ll never forget—one that now seems almost surreal. I woke up at 5 a.m. on autopilot, my heart pounding with a mix of excitement and dread. At this point in our fertility journey, I had a ritual—a somewhat awkward yet intimate moment with my husband. Before I could do anything else, I needed his help with the progesterone shot, which had become a constant part of our life.

This shot wasn’t just part of the routine; it was essential for our frozen embryo transfer (FET). I had to take it before the transfer and continue for weeks afterward until we knew if the pregnancy had taken. This morning, however, was different. Today would be the day we would find out if all our efforts, emotional ups and downs, and countless sacrifices had been worth it.

The Road to the Transfer

After the shot, I dropped my husband off at work, knowing he was just as anxious as I was. Then, I drove to the fertility clinic for my HCG blood test—the final step in the agonizing two-week wait. Those days had been a blur of hope, doubt, tears, and determination. One moment, I was convinced I was pregnant; the next, I doubted it entirely. The emotional rollercoaster was overwhelming.

As I sat in the clinic's waiting room, my nerves were a tangled mess. But what happened next would change everything.

The Moment of Panic

The nurse led me to the back for my blood draw, casually asking, “Did you just get your period?”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Period?” I froze, my heart stopping. Was I bleeding? Was I miscarrying already? I tried to steady my breath, panic rising inside me.

Before I could react, I snapped back, “I hope not. I’m here to find out if our transfer worked.”

The nurse, almost nonchalantly, replied, “Oh, you have some blood on your white sweats.”

The color drained from my face. Blood? Where? Was I bleeding? Was I losing the baby already?

I quickly spun around and examined every inch of my sweatpants, frantically searching for any signs of blood. And then, I spotted a small stain near my injection site—the result of the progesterone shot my husband had administered just an hour earlier.

The panic that had overtaken me began to fade. It wasn’t from the transfer. But in that moment, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated with the nurse’s casual tone. Didn’t she understand how sensitive this was for someone undergoing IVF? Her words had stirred up an emotional storm, but I tried to refocus on the outcome of the blood test—that was what really mattered.

The Wait: The Longest Hours of My Life

After the blood draw, I walked out of the clinic, my mind swirling with a hundred questions, but no answers. The uncertainty was suffocating, and the wait felt endless. I tried to distract myself with journaling, talking to friends, and calling my sister. Anything to pass the time.

Earlier in the day, my husband had called me. His voice was full of optimism, and there was never any doubt in his tone. He believed this was it. His unwavering faith gave me comfort, but deep down, I still felt a nagging uncertainty.

The hours dragged on, each one adding to the anxiety. Every time the phone rang, my heart raced. And then, it happened—the moment I had been waiting for.

The Call

The number I had been waiting for flashed on my screen. It was the clinic. My heart skipped a beat. This was it. The call that could change everything.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone, trying to steady my nerves. To my surprise, it was my doctor’s voice on the other end—rare, since doctors usually leave these calls to the nurses. His warm tone immediately put me at ease.

“Hello,” he said. “This is Dr. Levine. I’m calling with the results of your blood test. Congratulations… you’re pregnant.”

The world seemed to stop. Time stood still.

Pregnant. Those words echoed in my mind, and I felt every ounce of tension I had carried for years release in an instant. I could feel the relief, joy, and disbelief wash over me. After five years of trying to conceive, after all the tests, procedures, and disappointments, it had finally happened.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I could barely speak. Was this real? Was I really pregnant?

I had spent so many years asking myself if we would ever have a child. I questioned whether our dream of becoming parents would ever come true. But in that moment, everything changed. We were going to be parents. Our little miracle had taken root, and this was the beginning of a new chapter.

A Life-Altering Moment

The call ended, but I was left sitting in stunned silence, trying to process what I had just heard. The rollercoaster of emotions over the past few years crashed down on me, and I felt a profound wave of gratitude and relief.

I immediately called my husband, my voice trembling with joy. He was over the moon, of course, but remained calm, steady, and filled with love. His simple words, “I knew it,” were exclaimed as soon as I shared the news.

This wasn’t just a call saying “you’re pregnant.” It was a call that represented everything we had gone through to reach this point. It marked the moment our life truly changed.

I’ll always carry the memory of that call with me—the call that forever changed our lives.