This episode may contain sensitive topics related to infertility. If these subjects are triggering for you, please listen with care. While there may be conversations about medications or medical treatments, I am not a doctor, and I am not offering any medical advice. Please consult an actual doctor for your own medical care.

This might be a difficult episode for many people. Please know that I see you, I know what you're going through, and I send all my love to you. Please stop listening if at any time it feels uncomfortable.

This is the last episode of season one. I last shared a personal update in May, and in this final episode, I'm sharing what has happened in my journey over the past four months.

It is September, and my second IVF transfer was successful. I'm currently 15 weeks pregnant. In this episode, I'm sharing the wave of emotions that I'm regularly feeling, how difficult it was to celebrate at first, and how I couldn't have made it through any of this without the support groups that I joined.

What's in this episode:

How my second IVF transfer went this summer [07:09]

How I learned I was pregnant and how difficult it was to celebrate [16:47]

The fear and loneliness I felt and how I've managed to lean into hope and joy [23:41]

How beneficial support groups can be for your journey [29:22]

How it's normal to feel trauma even if things are going well [41:20]

If you're feeling alone on your own infertility journey, I invite you to tune in to this episode.

For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://www.apieceofmyheartpodcast.com/episodes/027

To contribute to the fundraiser please visit us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1471595289934797

Looking for support on your own journey? Explore the support groups at Infertility Unfiltered: https://www.infertilityunfiltered.com/

Support us on Patreon here, where 10% of proceeds will also go to support others on their journey through The Stork Foundation.

Disclaimers:

This episode may contain sensitive topics related to infant loss. If these subjects are triggering for you, please listen with care. While there may be conversations about medications or medical treatments, I am not a doctor, and I am not offering any medical advice. Please consult an actual doctor for your own medical care.

In today's episode, Marisa and Christopher are back to share their experience with healing after the loss of their son Xavier. They're also talking about how and why they decided to go down the road to adoption.

The adoption process proved to be more difficult than they ever imagined, and they share the intense hoops that potential parents have to jump through to be considered to adopt a baby. When COVID hit, adoption became an even more difficult process, and this year, they decided to take a pause.

Their story is so remarkable because they have worked through the grieving together (as well as apart) and have grown stronger as a couple, in a situation where some marriages often struggle. Through therapy, honest conversation and time, they are continually working through how their son's death has changed them, the frustrations of adoption, and where to go from here.

What's in this episode:

• How they learned their new specialist was married to the doctor who performed Marisa's initial surgery [02:35]
• Why it's difficult to sue for medical malpractice [04:21]
• When and why they started down the road to adoption [05:32]
• How they worked through this as a couple and leaned on each other through their unique experience [07:36]
• How somatic therapy has helped strengthen them individually and as a couple [11:08]
• How getting an X tattoo for Xavier was a therapeutic healing experience for Christopher [14:15]
• How they started the adoption process and how intense it was [17:38]
• How things changed when COVID hit and why they decided to pause the adoption process [24:01]
• Questions and paths they've considered during the pause [27:51]
• Why it's difficult for them to consider adoption in light of recent abortion bans [30:45]
• The importance of staying open and honest and keeping each other's feelings in mind during this process [35:42]

If you're feeling alone on your own infertility journey, I invite you to tune in to this episode.

For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://www.apieceofmyheartpodcast.com/episodes/026

Looking for support on your own journey? Explore the support groups at Infertility Unfiltered: https://www.infertilityunfiltered.com/

Support us on Patreon here, where 10% of proceeds will also go to support others on their journey through The Stork Foundation.

Disclaimers:

This episode may contain sensitive topics related to infant loss. If these subjects are triggering for you, please listen with care. While there may be conversations about medications or medical treatments, I am not a doctor, and I am not offering any medical advice. Please consult an actual doctor for your own medical care.

While Marisa and Christopher were able to conceive easily the rest of their journey to parenthood has been excruciatingly painful. From medical errors to losing their son Xavier, to struggling with adoption, the last six years have been fraught with devastation. But through it all they have managed to grow closer than they ever could have imagined.

Even though Marisa was considered high risk at the age of 42, she and Christopher were so excited to discover they would be having twins! However, after initially being told that they were having twins, Christopher and Marisa were then informed that actually that had been a medical error, and they were only having one child, which felt like the first of several losses to come.

Soon after, Marisa found out that she'd need to have a surgery to keep her pregnancy, as she was at a very high risk of delivering earlier due to what is called an incompetent cervix. During the surgery, she received severe burns which made the recovery and positioning needed to keep her pregnancy safe nearly impossible. Just a week later, Marisa's water broke, and because of the high risk to Marisa and low likelihood of their baby's survival in utero, she gave birth to their son Xavier, who passed away shortly after birth.

In today's episode which is part one of this two-part series, Marisa and Christopher reflect on the difficulty of their journey, feeling responsible for making impossible decisions, learning how to navigate the uncertainty that comes with being unable to trust your medical providers, and handling the grief that comes with delivering a baby, but not being able to bring him home with you.

The dismissal and abandonment that Christopher and Marisa felt from their medical providers during and after the loss of their son Xavier compounded their confusion and grief. It's nearly impossible to gain closure after such an experience, but Christopher and Marisa are moving forward. Tune in next week for part two to hear more about their process of healing and recovery.

What's in this episode:

• How Chris and Marisa came to the decision to have children [02:24]
• The mixed feelings of having a high risk pregnancy [04:49]
• The first loss in their pregnancy journey [07:30]
• Marisa's cerclage surgery and complications she experienced during and after [10:14]
• How Marisa and Chris made the heartbreaking decision to deliver their son early after Marisa's unsuccessful surgery [14:11]
• How alienating the process of navigating the medical environment immediately after the loss their child felt to Chris and Marisa [15:18]
• The lack of empathy and communication they felt from medical professionals immediately after Xavier's delivery [18:47]
• How Marisa felt an utter lack of mental and emotional support from her medical providers after her son's death [20:46]
• The community that helped support Marisa and Chris after Xavier's death [24:50]
• How the confusion of their traumatic experience led Chris and Marisa to second-guess themselves and their decisions [25:59]
• How their religious community encouraged and supported through Marisa's difficult labor [29:13]
• The discoveries that helped Chris and Marisa begin to heal and move forward [30:22]

If you're feeling alone on your own infertility journey, I invite you to tune in to this episode.

For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://www.apieceofmyheartpodcast.com/episodes/025

Looking for support on your own journey? Explore the support groups at Infertility Unfiltered: https://www.infertilityunfiltered.com/

Support us on Patreon here, where 10% of proceeds will also go to support others on their journey through The Stork Foundation.