Ever since I was a little girl I, Amy, wanted to be a Mom. I played with dolls every day, my large ornate dollhouse was my best present ever, I loved babysitting for neighborhood or family kids, and I was unabashedly feminine. I guess that I was a throwback. I honestly -- I cannot repeat this more -- honestly am proud of all of the women who are great athletes and those who have phenomenal careers like doctors, lawyers, Senators, CEOs, etc. I'm just not built that way, and I couldn't change if I wanted to.
Even though I'm not an athlete I am genetically slim, and have really nice brunette hair. The only regular exercise I do is walking and Kegel exercises (the latter virtually every day). I'm not really that good looking, and don't have really big boobs (although I do have nice puffy nipples) or a bubble butt, but I have an open and friendly face, dancing blue-green eyes, and natural femininity. At the real start of this story I was twenty and worked as a teller in a bank.
At twenty one I married Justin Boston, a guy that I had gone to community college with and who I seemed to be very compatible with. I really thought that I loved him -- but I may have loved the idea of marriage and having a family more than him, even though I know that in hindsight that wasn't fair to him. He wanted to hold off having kids for a few years, but when we were both almost twenty four years old I talked him into starting a family. When I wasn't pregnant after six months -- my Mom was very fertile and given her seven kids I think that she got pregnant just when my father lasciviously looked at her -- I experienced a mild panic. I talked Justin into going in for fertility testing with me.
Justin was at a weekend golf outing with some friends a few states away when I was at the clinic and got the results. He had a normal sperm count but I had fibroids located in my uterus in a place which made it unlikely that I could conceive. Fibroids can only be identified as the single cause of infertility in 2-3% of cases; unfortunately I was one of the "lucky" ones. I was told that my fibroids were such they would adversely impact the movement of the egg, embryo, or sperm through my reproductive organs so even artificial insemination wasn't an option.
I was so distraught that I had to call two friends to come together to pick me up; one drive me home from the clinic, and the other my car. I called Justin on his cellphone. When I reached him and cried into the phone he was sympathetic -- somewhat. I begged him to come home but his clinical approach of "If it would change things I would -- but I paid in advance for this trip and nothing I can do will help" was disheartening. I pretended that I would be OK for the forty eight hours until his return, but I wasn't.
After wallowing in self-pity for the better part of twelve hours I bitch-slapped myself and said "Do something." What I did was to look up other doctors/clinics to make arrangements to get more opinions, and searched the Internet until I was too exhausted to see. What I didn't do is answer the phone when Justin's cell number was on caller ID.
When Justin got home he was a little sheepish -- but not as much as he should have been. He tried to smooth things over, but I was blunt in response. "You know that being a mother has been the most important thing to me since I was four or five years old. You needed to be more sensitive. I accept your apology but you have to get more compassionate or else."
"Or else what?" he asked, this time with an appropriate amount of sheepishness.
"You'll find out; I'll start dinner," was my emotionless reply.
***************
Over the next two weeks I got second, third, and fourth opinions. Unfortunately they were all approximately the same, and surgery was not a good option according to those three opinions (I was too distraught to have even asked the first doctor about surgery). As I dissolved into tears at the fourth doctor's office he did his best to comfort me, and asked his nurse to help me recover before leaving. After he left Nurse Laverne had some advice.
"Amy, Dr. Burton wouldn't tell this to you because he is loath to recommend any technically non-medical alternatives. But, if you're interested, I can give you information about a consultant who has been successful in some cases like yours," Laverne said while patting my shoulder.
I immediately perked up -- "any port in a storm" flashed through my head. My tears almost instantly dried up as I enthusiastically beseeched "Please tell me more Laverne."
"Well there's a consultant who -- if his approach is right for you -- has had success. For the six people I've sent to him, one he told he couldn't help, two weren't interested after they talked to him, and three are now proud mothers of healthy kids. I know he's had lots of other women he's consulted with, but the only results-information that I have is with the six that I recommended," she replied with a sincere look.
"Do you have his card?" I excitedly gulped.
"Just a second -- while you finish getting dressed I'll get one," she smiled.
I dressed quickly, and by the time that I was ready to leave she was back. The card read:
"Babymaking, LLC; Consultants
Sean Platte, General Manager
Call xxx-xxx-xxxx for a free initial consultation
Check out our services and limitations on our website --------."
"Thanks," I gushed as I gave Laverne a big hug, and then hurried out as her brilliant smile beamed the way.
***************
I checked out the website as soon as I got home. There were lots of disclaimers, including -- repeated at least five times including once in grossly large print -- that Babymaking LLC was not a medical facilitate, offered no medical services, and did not accept medical insurance. The caveats didn't faze me and the information about the possibilities intrigued me; I was especially intrigued that his treatment was considered a trade secret and that I would have to sign a confidentiality agreement to not tell anyone the details of the treatment (although I could the results). I called for an appointment as soon as I finished reading the entire website.
I got an appointment in the early a. m. before work two days after my call; I was hopeful but apprehensive as I entered a standard glass and steel suburban office building. As I walked along the first floor I passed a law office and "Child-Brite Furniture, Inc." before I got to the door that said "Babymaking LLC."
The young gum-chewing, but well put-together, receptionist (her nameplate read "Dante"), who had obviously just arrived herself and hadn't yet had a cup of coffee, lifted the phone. I heard her say "Mrs. Boston is here to see you -- should I sent her in?"
Three seconds later the door to the inner office opened and out walked a guy who couldn't have been more than thirty years old who said "Hi Amy; I'm Sean Platte; please come in."
I was really taken aback by Sean's appearance. He looked like a professional athlete, well over six feet tall, curly blond hair, piercing blue eyes, biceps bulging outside his short sleeve shirt, and pectorals readily visible under the shirt. His hand was like iron and soft at the same time as he shook mine.
I was surprised that Sean's office was very large, seemed to have another entrance, and had all sorts of child-specific stuff. I sat across from Sean's desk and we chatted about nothing for a few minutes, obviously Sean's attempt to settle me down. He was probably used to the wide-eyed look that I must have had when I first saw him. Then he got to the point.
"So, Amy -- why are you here?" he asked in a professional manner.
"I've been told that I can't conceive because of uterine fibroids -- one of the 3% or so of women who have them to such an extent that they adversely affect the movement of all conception elements through my passageways," I responded.
"Do you have an ultrasound or any other images?" Sean asked.
"Yes -- I've seen them but I don't understand them," I nodded.
"Great; what I will need is your complete medical records before our next meeting. You'll have to get them yourself and have them delivered to me because since I'm not a medical professional I can't obtain them myself. After I review them I'll tell you what the chances are that I can help you."
"OK," I softly replied. "Exactly what can you do to help if I'm a candidate?"
"I find it best not to go into details at this stage. Let me just say that my techniques are unconventional. About ½ of the women that I could help decline my therapy for a number of reasons. Of the roughly ½ that accept it, almost 80% end up with a healthy baby and are capable of conception again -- in fact I've had four clients who have had two children, and one two sets of twins," he proudly proclaimed.
"I guess that it's probably not possible -- but can I possibly talk to one of the clients you've had success with?"
"Actually, there are five that are willing to share their experiences -- to a point. I've asked them not to provide details until I do, but here are their names and contact information," he continued, taking a standard size sheet of blue paper out of his desk and handing it to me. "The three with stars you can even visit if you set it up with them. I just ask that you be respectful of their time."
"Thanks," I said standing up.
"I look forward to receiving your medical records," he said with a smile, standing up himself and again shaking my hand. This time his touch sent an electric charge through my arm, down my body, to my -- well, "nether regions."
***************
I got my medical records -- including an "all clear" STD test that Sean had insisted upon -- the next week, and personally delivered them to Dante. As I was leaving a beaming attractive woman with a baby came out of Sean's office, with him close behind. Sean noticed me handing my records to Dante and perked up. "Hi Amy; while you're here meet Janice; she's one of the people on the list that I gave you. Janice, Amy -- I'm hoping that I'll be able to help her."
"Hi Amy," Janice gushed. "I hope that Sean can do for you what he did for me. This is Brian, the light of my life," she continued lifting her blond blue-eyed baby's hand.
Sean took my medical records from Dante, politely excused himself, and went back into his office. Janice walked out with me. I took the opportunity to ask her about her experience.
"Sean has asked me not to go into details at this stage; just let me say that in addition to being effective, his therapy is exceedingly pleasant. It makes me want to have another ten kids," she laughed.
"Why were you here today?" I asked.
"Sean hasn't seen Brian in two months, so I just brought him in for a quick meet," she replied with a diabolical grin on her face.