By Sola Ogundipe

As long as they live, Alfred and Alice Soyemi, will never forget  June 2, 2018. Their joy knew no bounds and memories of that day remain indelible.  The birth of the couple’s healthy baby girl marked the end of a long and tortuous journey to parenthood that began since they were married almost a decade ago.

After surmounting almost impossible odds to fulfill the ultimate desire to be parents, the arrival of the little bundle of joy was mission accomplished for the middle-aged couple.

Alfred and Alice Soyemi,

For Alice, motherhood has brought a fresh start and vitality to life just as the brand new task of fatherhood has established a disposition of completeness for Alfred.

As a couple, both were thoroughly committed towards finding a solution to their mutual challenge but while Alfred had a more relaxed approach, Alice was perpetually on high alert and almost paranoid about their situation.

They opened up about their travails recently during an encounter. “We were married in June 14, 2008 and have been trying for a baby ever since, but without luck. We expected to get pregnant naturally but things lingered and we grew so worried and frustrated. We saw so many medical specialists and gone through so many different treatments and have practically become fertility experts ourselves.

“We fasted, prayed and searched high and low for solution to no avail to the extent that my wife (Alice) became almost paranoid about the issue.  If you talk about hospitals, we saw them all. Mention gynaecologists, we saw more than we can mention,” Alfred noted.

It was a similar experience for Alice. “Different doctors told me different things,” she remarked. “A few doctors actually told me point blank that I was too old and that it was no longer possible for me to have children at my age. Some doctors even refused to treat me again even after we had spent a fortune looking for solution.”  But Alice was undaunted. Her resolve was unshakeable and she tenaciously held on to her faith.

Friends, family and acquaintances all helped, but nothing tangible resulted. For years, the situation appeared hopeless and it was almost getting to a level of resigning to fate.

Alfred and Alice were already into their 40s when their journey to parenthood began in earnest. Because of their age, they had often been urged to try adoption, but as staunch Christians, they held on to faith that God would give them their own biological child.

Alice was not in Wonderland however the real journey to motherhood began for her like a fairytale. “I learned so much about infertility through browsing online. One day in January 2017, I was just browsing online when I came across an advert on the AliBaba’s Facebook page. It was about an initiative known as the AliBaba January 1st Concert and Fertility Treatment Support Foundation (FTSF) 2017 competition.”

The advert caught her attention and she read through with growing interest. The rules were simple. Married couples challenged by infertility with a compelling story to tell about their situation were to apply for a chance to benefit from the free fertility treatment programme for couples, organised by the FTSF. All each couple needed to do was send in a 3-minute video recording chronicling the couple’s infertility journey so far. Couples that told the most compelling infertility stories stood a good chance of being selected for screening and obtaining full IVF cycle treatment completely free of charge.

Previously, the Soyemis had never heard about FTSF – an initiative of Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, with potential of allowing more couples to enjoy the joy of parenthood. The FTSF is a non-profit organisation that first intervened with free fertility treatment options in 2008 from which dozens of couples have been receiving free fertility screenings.

Its intervention is to mitigate the high cost of fertility treatment that denies millions access to fertility treatment and prevent them from experiencing the joy of completing their families.

The Foundation has a mandate to provide free fertility screening and treatment to financially challenged couples in Nigeria.

Alice was immediately hooked. “Although my husband wasn’t too enthusiastic about the initiative, but I did not even wait for his permission before I prepared the video and sent it. We could appreciate the massive response such promotion would have generated, and the fact that IVF was not absolute guarantee but I said let me just try. There is no harm trying. I recorded the video with my cell phone and sent it believing God would help me pull through.”

Alice completely forgot about the video and the competition until one day in June of 2017 when she received a phone call that changed their destiny.

“The caller mentioned Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos and announced that I was one of the winners of the FTSF competition. I did not immediately recognise who or what Nordica was, but the mention of FTSF rang a bell. It was real after all! I was surprised and very happy at the same time. I told my husband about the development, he was also elated. We were really excited and full of enthusiasm.”

Alice had to undergo hysteroscopy twice. Some things were discovered that could hinder conception.

“I was placed on drugs after the first session, but while on the drugs I was told that I am no more part of those shortlisted for IVF because the number had been reduced. The couple was really disappointed but kept praying that God should have His way. Alice continued: “After the 2nd hysteroscopy, we went back to the clinic for review of the results, but we just got there and they said congratulations. You have been picked again as one of the winners. I just opened my mouth and burst into tears.” It was a big surprise that the couple could hardly comprehend.

Alfred said they started to pray that it must not go out of their hands. “Finally we had the lifetime opportunity to benefit from world class fertility treatments. It was a miracle.”

They began the treatment after obtaining their official FTSF certificate.  Alice adhered religiously to her drugs, was consistent for two months. The day of embryo transfer came and went and they were asked to return for pregnancy test two weeks later.

Before the transfer Alice was already feeling pregnant. “I Goggled everything and learned that it was normal to feel that way. But a week after the transfer the symptoms suddenly disappeared. I was worried and began to wonder if anything had gone wrong. Perhaps the implantation had not gone right or something?  On the way to the clinic, Alfred was prepared for the worst but silently thinking how he would manage his wife in the event of a negative result. She was going to be so disappointed, he thought.

“Our anxiety heightened when we arrived Nordica. We didn’t know what to expect,” Alice recalled. “We waited in the reception even as others were called into the doctor’s office. We were not called in. It was a long wait. Suddenly, all the staff gathered and started saying Boom! Boom! Congratulations! I was lost for words and could only call the name of God. I was calling God and saying ah God, you chose me out of all those people many that are even younger than me? I was just crying and people were congratulating us throughout that day. I cried and cried and I thanked God. I still thank God. We thank everybody in Nordica. We also thank FTSF and AliBaba. It’s a turnaround for us.

“My advice to women is that after trying do not give up. If you have done your own part, consult the experts, don’t die in ignorance. I went for my antenatal at St Luke’s Hospital, and everything went well. The pregnancy progressed and the baby grew normally till I put to bed safely at the hospital. I am so happy I’m a mother by the grace of God.” The Soyemi baby is the first live birth from the FTSF.