After many long and perhaps tearful medical
appointments you are informed you need a donor then thrusting yourself into internal healing-acceptance and soon begin
your research. In this daunting area of egg donation one needs to remember they
are searching for a human being, not a commodity or a purchase from an online
retailer. A human being. A being with
day to day life events, to-do lists, maybe a cat, a gym class to get to, and a
haunting final exam or work paper to submit. This being has emotionally tasked
herself with helping someone achieve pregnancy.
To take
responsibility for organizing the avenues for these two or more separate beings to come together
takes a considerable amount of time, patience, and heart. Agencies or in-house
programs have the first contact and glimpse into the future and making of
another life.
Fertility Bridges places its heart on its sleeve. This heart that has
been overfilled with joy, also crushed, bruised, and broken; yet perseveres
because joy is always out there. "Thank you" is never any less
fulfilling to a bruised heart and ego. When you care deeply for the people in your
care you persevere. With 100 matches in the last year and 30 known pregnancies;
these families maintain a personal relationship with their Fertility Bridges
coordinator after their services are complete with a donor retrieval.
"There are employees
who show up to work and do the minimal as they watch the clock. Then
there are those who go above and beyond…sometimes not even caring about pay or
recognition. They do it out of pure and genuine care for the people they
serve. They do it because they have that personal integrity of doing
what’s right and going the extra mile. Again, that’s Jenna…the superb
employee. Because she was so attentive to me, I felt like she was my
personal agent. She is so humble that I’m sure there were more behind-the-scene
stuff she did for me without telling me. As for my donor who had no
companion on retrieval day, Jenna took it upon herself to be the companion and
to drive the distance. This was a huge service to the donor and to
me." -Intended Parent K.B.R
To care
is hundreds of emails, calls, texting, and late night Skype videos in various
time zones. Intended parents find kindred friendship with their agency
coordinator whom cares for their experience as if it was their own.
Everything is third party.
Sometimes it takes fifteen
phone calls to collect a simple piece of record or get approval from a medical
staff member. Coordinators’ fingertips are quick to find and bring resolution
to the roller coaster of hiccups and delays working with at least six parties
involved in a cycle as the sole communication between them all. Appointments
incorrectly scheduled, lab closures, change in hours, flat tires, delayed
planes...Expecting the unexpected and creating calm
solutions is a large part of caring. It is no easy task to orchestrate around a
person's unique life and many third parties. Fertility Bridges Coordinators go
the extra mile from accompanying donors or intended parents to their
appointments to holding their hands as they wait for the result numbers.
Their
"thank you" comes in the form of the ever-anticipated baby pictures.
Many intended parents nurture a relationship like the strength seen in long
time college mates through their tiresome journey together: new scary experiences, excitement, rushing,
disappointment, bliss and joy. The
journey is shared with weekly baby belly pictures and venting into their friend and once
coordinator's ear. Fertility Bridges opensthemselves and their hearts to a
personal experience and welcome the lasting bond.
