Being a patient at Life IVF Center has been life-changing for my family. As someone who got married late in life, our biggest desire was to just have a child of our own. We tried many different ways to get pregnant but failed each time. When we walked into that red building, I had a feeling of great hope. The staff was friendly and J was the first one to help us with our forms. Even when it gets really busy, they are never rude and tries their best to help. Our personal favorite is Stacy. For our initial consultation, Dr. Yelian was approachable, knowledgeable, and confident. Even as we explained our situation to him, he understood what was involved and gave us a comprehensive overview of what the clinic offered and the best option for us. There was no pressure to choose a particular treatment, just guidance and explanation of the processes. I was most impressed with his emphasis on the health of the mother and baby, which is why he stresses transferring only one embryo, two at the most. He puts more emphasis on quality, not necessarily quantity of the embryos. I can sense his earnestness when he told us stories and expressed sadness when mothers deliver low-birth weight twins. He was sincere and straightforward with what he can offer. Dr. Yelian gave us hope when we were looking for one, so we signed on for our first IVF treatment with him.

To make a long story short, we opted for the minimal stimulation and had 6 eggs total, all of them fertilized. A good 5 of them made it to the blastocyst stage, some 4AA and 4AB. We have to give kudos to Molly, the embryologist. She calls herself the embryo-sitter, but she is more than that. She does an amazing job with ICSI and we are grateful to her! We transferred two embryos for our first cycle, and we got pregnant with a singleton! The first ten weeks of ultrasound monitoring, weekly treatment plans, and follow-ups led us to "graduate" with flying colors, and the pregnancy was smooth until delivery. This all happened two years ago, and I now have a happy and active toddler! The other three blastocysts did not become embryos, sadly, and we wished we did PGS early on.

Because of our first experience, we decided to go back for a second round of minimal stimulation, hoping for a second baby. Our time at Life IVF Center was always shaped by the relationships we formed with the staff there, and this time was no different. Besides Dr. Yelian and his encouragement to "go for it," we found warmth and helpfulness all-around in the clinic. Jonathan from billing was helpful in accommodating our financial situation. Blood tests were done regularly so I got to know Courtney and Jenny quite well. Kim and Diana are wonderful ultrasound technicians. Miyuki and Julie are awesome nurses, always kind and helpful. We couldn't have been happier with how we were treated. Long story short, we got pregnant with our second! We will always remember our experience with Life IVF Center and grateful to the doctors and staff for literally giving life to our hope!

I know that everyone will have different experiences, as is the case anywhere. But if there is one rule of thumb I follow, it is to open ourselves to all the positives that life can offer, and it will come right back. Don't be afraid to hope. The worst that can happen is the opportunity to hope again.