This one is for "R"

This post is the story of one special person who came across my way on this TTC journey. This person has impressed me with her compassion, efficiency and understanding and I wanted to write a post about her.

We shall call her "R" and she works for the sperm bank I used.

I first spoke to R back in July 2011. I was recently divorced and starting down the path of single motherhood. I had a lot of questions about the sperm bank, how they chose donors, etc and I had been connected with her. She answered all my questions and told me to call her back after I had picked my donors so she could tell me a bit more about them.

After I got access to the bank and I had I picked my top three donors I called her and we went over them all and she gave me recommendations. She was very complimentary of my top donor, told me what her sense was of him as a person and his personality. It really put my mind at ease knowing she had spoken with him. It just made the process a bit more human and less clinical.

Anyway, I bought 2 vials, naively thinking that IVF would work the first time (foolish me!) and I would still had one vial as a back up.

Well, the first IVF got converted to IUI due to poor response so I only had one vial left. My clinic had suggested having one back up, just in case something does not thaw properly.

It was now Sept 2011 and I logged back in to buy more sperm.

I was stunned to see that he was sold out!!! 

My heart sank and I was panic-stricken right in the middle of stimming. I was scared that if that solitary vial did not thaw then I would be stuck.  I called the bank they said there was nothing to do but pick another donor.  I recall spending an afternoon hysterically looking back at my other choices but none spoke to me like this young man's profile.

I was at my wit's end, and decided to call the bank back and ask to speak with R.

She remembered me from July and remembered my donor. She did some searching around and located 2 vials in another storage place. She said she would get it from that location and ship it ASAP. She was so organized and on top of things that I felt at ease knowing it was being managed well.

After my cycle I wrote her an email thanking her for thinking "outside the box" and getting me my vials. I asked her to forward my email to her manager so he knows what an excellent job she was doing. She replied back very appreciative of my email...and that was that.

Now when I had first chosen the donor I had downloaded two pics and his basic profile. I was in a huge rush and very stressed starting my first IVF and figured I would go back and download the rest of the information later since I had 90 day access to the bank. However, since he was no longer listed in September, I could not access his information.

Last night, I emailed "R" again.

I reminded her who I was and requested if she could send me the detailed information on the donor explaining what had happened in Sept and how I did not have that information. I told her I was pregnant - very early stages - and now its become even more important since I actually have a chance at having a baby.

This morning she sent me multiple mails with all the information I needed - photos, personality profile, and other details.

Isn't that amazing? 

She also emailed me saying that she remembered me and that I was one of her favorite Mom to Be's and was really happy for me. She said that they normally do not do this but she was willing to do so for me since she was really vested in my success.

I was so very touched. I emailed her back - thanking her profusely.

Its amazing how one comes across such wonderful helpful people.

So anyways, I just wanted to share the story since she will always be someone I will remember fondly. 

The really freaky thing is that when I had gone back for more sperm in September I only really wanted one vial. I had one of the two vials left from July and my thinking was 1 vial will be used for my IVF and I would have one more for DE cycle should I need to go down that path.

R however located two vials and I did not have the heart to tell her I only really wanted one, so I bought both given it was the last of them anyway.

Wouldn't you know it was the second (and last vial) that got used 3 weeks ago....so it was just meant to be!!

Below is a picture of the turtle charm necklace I bought on Sunday.