Darlene and Darren's Surprise
“We always knew we were going to have a family, one way or another,” Doreen recalls. “After two years of trying to conceive – and hearing ‘You’re young! Give it time! Take a vacation!’ – I took it as a sign when my friend, eye doctor and minister all suggested we visit Dr. Rebecca Green. This was 1997.
“Three IUIs with clomid followed, inducing a good response with follicles but nothing more.
“ ‘Enough!’ we decided, and I took a year off from our quest for children and worked on myself. I sought out support groups, took up yoga, started my own business, adopted a dog – all with the goal of reducing stress and feeling better about myself.
“I also joined Resolve, and began attending monthly meetings in Nashua. Finding some kind of support is so important. Partners are your first resource, of course, but a group can help validate your emotions and provide information you might not easily find otherwise.
“In the fall of 1999 Dr. Green recommended laparoscopic surgery to confirm and alleviate my endometriosis. There followed four unsuccessful IUIs in 2000, and finally a fifth, in January 2001. By then both Darren and I were benefiting from Healing From Within, a program for infertility patients seeking to regain control over their lives, by Dr. Alice Domar. We attended a satellite program in Concord, New Hampshire.
“We then took several months to decide if we wanted to pursue adoption or in vitro fertilization (IVF). In November 2001, my husband changed jobs and – amazingly – found he worked with people who spoke
Twins Lindsay and Melissa were born 15 minutes apart – each on a different day!
candidly about their fertility issues. Another sign, we decided.
“Our first IVF took place in March 2002 at the Reproductive Science Center in Waltham, MA, yielding 19 eggs but no fertilization. The protein enzyme defect revealed by this attempt would be corrected by ICSI, a lab procedure that helps sperm enter the egg. On Mother’s Day in May 2002 thirteen eggs were retrieved and eight fertilized.  Three embryos were transferred to me and the remaining five did not survive.
“Success! Lindsay and Melinda were born after a pregnancy with no problems and a delivery 45 minutes after we arrived at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. Four and a half pounds each, they spent two weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care unit before joining us at home.”  
The babies were actually born on different days: before and after midnight Jan 2nd.

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