“The Faithful Road to Fertility”

I pull up to Jaime & Jason Madsen’s House in Sioux Falls, SD. It’s a beautiful soft yellow with white shutters and a wrap around porch. As I step out of my car, their Cockapoo, Howie, barks and runs toward me from the backyard where there is a real, life-sized playhouse that is painted to match the house. Jaime greets me with a smile and I stare at her with amazement.

After several years of trying to conceive naturally, it was determined that Jaime and Jason would need to use IVF if they ever wanted to have kids. Despite the heartache that comes with this, they fervently prayed together and had a band of family and friends praying for them as well. They knew that the road would be tough, but they pushed through and stood by each other’s side.

The couple began the IVF process with Sanford Clinics in South Dakota. After several appointments, hormones, tests, and egg retrieval were complete, the doctors had successfully created three healthy embryos. When it was time for the first transfer of eggs, Jaime shared with me how important it was to rest, but how hard it was to be patient.

Shortly after, they found that the first embryo transfer had failed. There were two embryos left, so they proceeded to transfer them both. Within a few weeks, the results showed only one confirmed pregnancy. Although heartbroken that one baby was lost in the transfer, the photos below capture their abounding joy that they were pregnant!

Sadly, their joy quickly became heartache. In February 2016, Jaime shared that they had gone to her routine check around 17 weeks and the worst had happened. The sonographer could not find the baby’s heartbeat.  They were rushed up for a further check, and sadly, she had miscarried. She was to be scheduled for a D&C–the surgical procedure to remove the contents of the uterus to prevent infection. Jaime was devastated.

After further investigation, she and her husband became part of a national lawsuit with the company that provided one of the medications she was using–Bravelle. So aside from coping with the loss of the baby, they also dealt with medical terminology and a class-action lawsuit. You can read more about the lawsuit, HERE. The couple continued to pray that their chance would come. They took a break from the process to regroup and reconnect emotionally. Fortunately for them, Jason is an avid softball player and his team was headed to Thailand–the perfect vacation to relax from the stress they had endured!

Shortly after, they picked up where they left off and continued with more appointments, drugs, and egg retrievals. Again, the doctors created three strong embryos. Jaime and Jason decided to move forward with another transfer in October 2016. They knew that there were one of each gender in the bunch, so they asked the doctor to proceed with the healthiest embryo without telling them which gender it was. Again they waited, and again, after the embryo transfer, it was unsuccessful. The continued cycle of heartache continued for this faithful couple.

Jaime described to me that “We had two embryos left and had decided that this was the last stop in our efforts to conceive. I was physically and mentally exhausted and the arduous process of everything we had gone through had become too hard to bare. We decided to implant the two remaining embryos. Jason was somewhat hesitant because if they both stuck, there would be twins to care for! This was our last chance so we were kind of anxious because we didn’t know what we would do if it didn’t work. We needed a miracle from God at this point.”

And to their amazement, Jaime and Jason were pregnant again. She told me, “We proceeded with caution, and I was hesitant to become too excited because of our past with miscarriage and loss.” As time passed, her pregnancy continued in good health. She beams, “We decided to have a gender reveal party to share this precious milestone and moment with the ones who stood by us through it all.” You can watch their gender reveal video here: Madsen Gender Reveal

There, in that big balloon, was blue confetti–a baby boy! But they had kept a secret from the party goers:  there was another balloon there, and in that second balloon was another explosion of blue confetti! They hugged and cried together with their closest family and friends–they were expecting fraternal twin boys! To put it simply, their humble approach to this tumultuous journey was simply inspiring. Jaime carried these twins like the strong woman she is and explains that “I was fortunate because I didn’t need any bed rest, wasn’t really nauseous, and I only had a little bit of swelling in my feet toward the end. The doctors had us going in twice a week, though, to hook me up and measure the boys’ heartbeats, so of course a lot of extra appointments, but all worth it in the end.”  You could hardly get a complaint out of her at any point. She is a true Warrior.

The doctors wanted her to make it to 37 weeks, and she did. Their continued prayer and faithfulness came to fruition on October 26, 2017. She and Jason welcomed their sons, Crew and Hayes into the world via planned C-section.

Crew was 6.10 lbs and Hayes was 6.13 lbs: healthy and thriving and able to go home within two days. This couple that endured so much over a number of years to become the wonderful parents they are, were blessed with these beautiful boys. Likewise, these boys were sent home with two incredibly dedicated and loving parents. Their Faithful Road to Fertility was a dream finally come true.

XO,

Linds

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