{"id":3228,"date":"2012-10-24T15:28:30","date_gmt":"2012-10-24T15:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2014-09-23T11:35:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T11:35:03","slug":"low-sperm-count-boy-part-3-misreading-the-signs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-3-misreading-the-signs\/","title":{"rendered":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 3) &#8211; (Mis)Reading the Signs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Upon hearing our story many people are amazed by our faith. I don\u2019t see it entirely that way. As I look back on events that have transpired I see God\u2019s hand at work in a myriad of ways. These are mostly small and the sum of their parts gives me some comfort, but I have to be honest if it had only been one or two I might not have seen God\u2019s hand so readily or indeed wanted too.<\/p>\n<p>However one of the hard things in a journey like ours is wanting all the signs to say \u2018yes\u2019 to whatever it is you are desiring. It\u2019s natural when what you want is a baby to take all sorts of things as a \u2018sign\u2019 from God that this is what will happen.<\/p>\n<p>We took almost two years to decide on IVF. IVF is one of those things that is easy to form an opinion on when it doesn\u2019t directly effect you, but now that it did affect us we prayed, sought advice, and weighted up the pros and cons, eventually leading us to explore IVF. The thing that struck us both was that there was so many stages where the process could go wrong. As we passed each stage and got closer and closer to embryo transfer, we tried not to get our hopes up too much.<\/p>\n<p>It was so hard, as we felt within sight of the finish line with so much more that could still go wrong. And yet so many stages had gone right, some that we were statistically unlikely to get past. Could this be God\u2019s had at work? I mean we got through collection (which I called harvesting) to fertilisation and then to transfer where one healthy embryo was placed into the womb. We couldn\u2019t believe we\u2019d come this far, and we so hoped we would have a child on our first IVF.<\/p>\n<p>On one of the many journeys back and forth Anna and I had discussed names. We couldn\u2019t agree on a boy\u2019s name but we both liked Maisy for a girl. That night at a friends house we discovered this name meant \u2018wished for child\u2019. It all seemed so perfect.<\/p>\n<p>What do we do when it seems like all the signs are indicating one thing and then the opposite occurs? How do we cope when we felt God was telling us something but it never transpires? What conclusions can we draw about a God who seems to cruelly trick us like this? As I look back at this event which seemed so amazing at the time I still believe God was speaking through it. As Anna and I come closer to adopting children I hold on to the promise in that name. I believe we will receive our \u2018wished for child\u2019 but that it will be in God\u2019s timing and on His terms, not ours.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>If you&#8217;ve missed out on the story so far, here is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-firing-blanks-part-1\/\">Part 1\u00a0(Firing Blanks)<\/a><br \/>\n&amp; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-2-the-sperminator\/\">Part 2\u00a0(The Sperminator)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-3-misreading-the-signs\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upon hearing our story many people are amazed by our faith. I don\u2019t see it entirely that way. As I look back on events that have transpired I see God\u2019s hand at work in a myriad of ways. These are mostly small and the sum of their parts gives me some comfort, but I have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[312],"tags":[458,87,447,460,457,459],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-Q4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3467,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-5-catalogue\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":0},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 5) &#8211; Catalogue","date":"5 December 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After the miscarriage we decided to try IVF one more final time. There were more occurrences that could have been taken as \u2018signs\u2019 from God. Including almost half the money required arriving on our doorstep over the course of a weekend. We hadn\u2019t asked anyone for any help. But unfortunately\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3294,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-4-time-heals\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":1},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 4) \u2013 Time Heals","date":"7 November 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The famous maxim leads us to believe that time heals, my experience is that this isn\u2019t true. What I am coming to learn is that I don\u2019t want or need it to. Our first IVF cycle progressed all the way to pregnancy. We found out we were pregnant on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3474,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-6-the-worst-day-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":2},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 6) &#8211; The Worst Day of the Year","date":"12 December 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"For couples who struggle to conceive Fathers' Day and Mothers' Day can be some of the hardest days of the year. As soon as you check Facebook you are assailed with reminders of the day which then reminds you of the fact that you are not a parent. Church services\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/q1wy6MGoG7Y\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3090,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-2-the-sperminator\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":3},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 2) &#8211; The Sperminator","date":"4 October 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"WARNING: This is a 'raw' entry dealing with masturbation, don't read it if you are likely to be offended. When I was 18 I went on a Christian year out. I don\u2019t remember much of the training but I do remember them shipping in an elderly gent to talk to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3479,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-part-7-grow-a-pair\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":4},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy (Part 7) &#8211; Grow a Pair","date":"19 December 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have tiny balls. Literally. I wasn\u2019t aware of this incredibly affirming fact until I was examined by a urologist as part of our fertility investigations. I knew that I had been born with undescended testicles and that the local hospital could only find one of them. I knew that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2856,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/low-sperm-count-boy-firing-blanks-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":3228,"position":5},"title":"Low Sperm Count Boy &#8211; Firing Blanks (Part 1)","date":"12 September 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this year Nick led a seminar at the Northallerton CVM Men\u2019s day on disappointment with God. During this seminar he talked about Anna and his journey through infertility. After he remarked to Carl that although he was happy to share his story, he didn\u2019t want to be labelled \u2018low\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Welford&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3228"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5625,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3228\/revisions\/5625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}