Denise and Syl Sexton are expecting their first baby together after winning IVF from First IVF Ireland on Midlands.
The couple were told in April that they were the winners of the radio station’s ‘Gift Of Hope' competition after trying to have a baby for the past eight years.
During the entire process, they also tied the knot and went on their honeymoon, before finding out the incredible news.
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Denise nominated herself for the ‘Gift Of Hope' contest at first, but ended up with 15 people sending her into the competition.
She told RSVP Live: “My mam told me that Midlands 103 were running a competition for IVF. I nominated myself of it, my mother did too and she got my two sisters and my sister-in-law to do it as well. I had a couple of friends do it on my behalf as well. I didn’t know how many it would end up being though.”
She initially thought she was one of a few finalists up for a chance to win the prize, but soon found out that wasn’t true.
“They kind of played a trick on us,” she recalled. “They told us that we were one of the finalists and we were going in for an interview.
“We went in around April Fool’s Day and they were talking about the schedule for other people coming in.
“They started our interview and at the end they told us that we were the winners - that we weren’t there as finalists, but as the winners.”
She added: “It was unbelievable that day. I was balling my eyes out.”
Denise had previously been to her doctor for assistant getting pregnant, but they hadn’t tried IVF before as it is very expensive.
“My doctor put me on some tablets, but they didn’t work. They were actually excruciatingly painful. My husband didn’t want to see me going through that sort of pain again, so we stopped that,” she said.
“We would have tried IVF if we could have afforded it at the time, but it was very expensive. We were hoping for the new government services to come out, but the rules for that are incredibly strict and ridiculous we wouldn’t have qualified. We waited and waited for it, but we didn't qualify for it.”
Denise and Syl got 21 eggs during their first round of IVF, with 15 mature enough to use and 11 of which ended up fertilising correctly. However, only one made it to the end of the process.
Their doctor wanted to do around round of IVF to get at least one more egg, however, no egg made it to the end that time.
During the process, Denise was diagnosed with PCOS and an overactive immune system.
“Because of my immune system, my own body attacks anything it sees as a threat. That includes my own eggs, my husband’s sperm and it would have included our embryo.”
Doctors were able to come up with a medical protocol to ensure that this wasn’t the case when they implanted her embryo.
The couple found out they were expecting their first child on 13 September 2023, with their baby due in May 2024.
“I was standing in my kitchen when I found out,” Denise shared. “The feeling was amazing. You put in all that work for something that you never thought you would have. To be told you’re actually getting it now is amazing.”
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