Our journey to become parents was not easy; but was worth every second of it. Without the dedication and compassion provided by Dr. Peter Ahlering we wouldn’t have accomplished that dream. After several failed cycles on Clomid with my OBGYN and a referral from that doctor to an Urologist for my husband to increase sperm count which resulted in complete sperm depletion; we found ourselves desperately seeking the help of a Reproductive Endocrinologist. A family member referred us to a physician at St. John’s Mercy who performed 3 IUI cycles; all of which did not produce a pregnancy. Since St. John’s Mercy is a Catholic hospital; In vitro fertilization procedures are not allowed to be performed at the hospital or the doctor’s building connected to the hospital. Our physician worked with Dr. Ahlering and that is how we met him. Dr. Ahlering observed us as we went through our IVF cycles with our physician. We followed the same IVF cycles as all the other patients that were Dr. Ahlering’s; the only difference was that our physician did my retrieval and transfer of the cycle.
Under our initial physician, we had 2 failed IVF cycles. His suggestion was to try a third cycle with the same protocol. My husband and I were not happy with that option. It wasn’t something trivial to us; it was deciding our future of becoming parents. We spoke to our coordinator and explained our disappointment in his lack of encouragement and lack of willingness to “try”. Our conclusion was to strictly use Dr. Ahlering for our entire cycle. The third cycle using just Dr. Ahlering’s expertise and changes to our protocol went so much better and produced much better results; although not a positive pregnancy it was the closest we had been. Finally, because of Dr. Ahlering’s passion and dedication, our 4th and final IVF was a SUCCESS!!! We will be forever thankful to Dr. Ahlering for not giving up on us and for seeing us as a challenge rather than a defeat!
I was pregnant with triplets!!! We could not have been more ecstatic!! Unfortunately, getting pregnant was not the end to our difficult journey to become parents. At week 26 of my pregnancy, we lost our son Jackson due to complications with his umbilical cord and placenta. A week later at 27 weeks and 4 days, our daughters were born nearly 13 weeks premature due to complications from their brother’s passing. Both Abigayle and Olivia were born very sick and required a lot of medical attention to survive. After 90 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; we were able to bring our little miracles home with us!! Today thanks to Dr. Ahlering and the grace of God we have two healthy, beautiful girls that brighten our everyday!!!
In addition to our daughters, we also received a HUGE SURPRISE!! With all the trouble we had getting pregnant the first time; we never dreamed we would get pregnant on our own. 4 years later my pregnancy symptoms returned. When I told my husband his exact response was “yeah right”! I contacted Dr. Ahlering and staff. Immediately they got me in for blood work and an ultrasound to confirm we had yet again received another miracle!! Our little guy Ryan is perfect!! Dr. Ahlering was just as thrilled to share in that experience with us as he was helping us through infertility!! There is not another man/doctor more caring or more dedicated to his patients and making sure he does everything in his power to help his patients achieve their dreams of becoming parents!!
There is a special place in heaven reserved for Dr. Ahlering!!
The Pfershy Family
Watch the Pfershy Family on KTVI presenting their story to assist the March of Dimes March for Babies (4/24/2013)]]>