WHY MY MIRACLE BABY WAS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER

The Evening Telegraph, Friday, April 6,2007

Tom and Elaine Musson met and married in just a few weeks but, though they found love swiftly, time was not on their side when it came to starting a family. In fact, Elaine, who was in her 40s, had given up hope, especially when fertility treatment hit problems. But miracles do happen, as Wendy Roberts discovered.

WHEN Tom and Elaine Musson swapped numbers in a crowded bar, they never envisaged planning their wedding nine weeks later.

But after a whirlwind romance, the pair set a date and exchanged marriage vows. Life was looking perfect for the couple. But it’s been even better since their baby son, Jacob Alexander Gabriel, was born on Christmas Day. “We weren’t looking for love and we’d certainly ruled out ever having children,” said 44-year-old Elaine. “Now we’re married and have a lovely baby boy. It’s absolutely amazing,” she smiled. “He came on Christmas Day. He was the greatest gift we could have received. “These last months have been wonderful for us and Jacob is the most beautiful, contented baby. He’s adorable.” Elaine and Tom Musson, 46, of Scaddows Cottage, Ticknall, still cannot believe how much their lives have changed in the last three years.

Just finding each other and falling in love, they say, is nothing short of a miracle. But they believe having Jacob is their biggest achievement – especially when you hear how they needed intricate fertility treatment to get him. “Our wedding day was very quiet,” said Elaine. “We invited eight of our friends to Burton Register Office, and enjoyed a simple ceremony. Afterwards, we went to a bar for champagne. It was lovely.” Elaine and Tom started to try for a baby but it wasn’t long before they realised something was wrong. “We tried getting pregnant for a few months, and then I started thinking about my ticking body clock,” said Elaine, a psychiatric nurse. “I went to see the doctor, who ran a few tests.” News that Elaine’s fallopian tubes were blocked came as a shock. Elaine underwent treatment to try to clear them.

She said: “At my age, we were told that we’d have to pay for any kind of fertility treatment, but we had savings.” But Elaine became pregnant straightaway – and naturally. “I was over the moon,” she said. “It was great news. I could hardly believe it.” Then disaster struck. At six Weeks pregnant, Elaine had a miscarriage. The couple decided to invest £6,000 in a course of fertility treatment with CARE Fertility in Nottingham. They were advised to have IVF, where an egg is combined with sperm in a laboratory dish. If the egg fertilises, the resulting embryo is transferred into the woman’s uterus. Usually more than one egg is fertilised to give couples a better chance of having a baby. ICIS (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) was also recommended. This is a procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.

The couple were given an appointment at Derby City General Hospital, where CARE has a satellite unit. Elaine said: “It was quite daunting, because it was all so new. I felt a bit stressed because I knew time was against me. I was 43 at the time.” Almost as soon as Elaine and Tom started their first course of treatment doctors decided to abandon it. Elaine was not responding to the course of drugs she was taking and there was no chance the treatment was going to be successful. “It was a slap in the face,” said Elaine. “I was disappointed, but I knew that the doctors were right in their decision.

“We agreed to try again the following month with a higher dose of medication.” Elaine quit her nursing job to concentrate on the treatment and Tom did as much as he could to support his wife. “It was very stressful when we discovered that only one egg was good enough to be fertilised,” she said. “Some women produce loads of great eggs, but we just had one.” Elaine admits that she thought the treatment would probably fail, but piled all her hopes on her one embryo. “The doctors said it was a very healthy embryo, but I shouldn’t get too excited,” she said. “I was told to rest for two weeks and then return to hospital for a pregnancy test.” Their wait was well worth it because the news was good.

Elaine and Tom were told they were expecting a baby. “I knew already,” laughed Elaine, “because I’d done a pregnancy test at home. “I was so happy. We felt so lucky. This tiny embryo was our baby and I was so grateful. I was so surprised because our chances were very slim.” Elaine took things easy over the next few months and made sure she looked after herself. But at week 32 of her pregnancy, doctors started to worry about the baby. A scan showed that he was not growing properly and medics were worried that Elaine’s placenta was not functioning properly.

On Christmas Eve, it was decided that Elaine should be induced at the City General. She said: “I was nervous, because the baby was only just 35 weeks, but I knew I had no choice. The baby needed to be born because it wasn’t getting what it needed from me.” On Christmas Day 2.30pm, baby Jacob was born by Caesarean section, weighing 4lbs 6ozs. “We missed our Christmas dinner,” laughed Tom. “But we had more important things to do. Our son was born and that was just amazing. “We felt very blessed. We never dreamed we’d ever have a baby. He was lovely.” Elaine and Jacob stayed in hospital together for a week. Elaine came home on New Year’s Day and Jacob moved to the neonatal unit. She said: “It was hard leaving him, but he needed extra care. He wasn’t feeding too well and the doctors needed to keep an eye on him. ”When Elaine brought him home, on January 6, she was the proudest mother alive. And since then, she has enjoyed every single moment with her precious son. Jacob is now 12 weeks old and weighs a healthy 10lbs 2oz. Life couldn’t be more perfect for us,” said Elaine. “I love being a mum –it’s the best thing. If someone had told me that by 2007, I’d be married with a baby son I’d have laughed and laughed – but it’s no joke.”

Dr Suhaimi Hassan, who performed both Elaine’s egg collection and embryo transfer at CARE Fertility, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been able to assist Elaine and Tom in achieving their dream to become a family and wish baby Jacob and his parents every happiness.”

WENDY ROBERTS
THE EVENING TELEGRAPH