When a Child is Bourn: Christmas arrives early in Wickford
26 Nov 2018
Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for those struggling to conceive. Amira and Stuart from Essex experienced the heartache of infertility before having successful fertility treatment at Bourn Hall Clinic. This year Christmas came early for them when they took their son Ismail to meet Santa for the first time.
For the last 16 years Amira, aged 34, has worked as a nursery nurse, surrounded by small children, and had always imagined that one day she would have a child of her own.
“Ever since I was a young girl I had dreamt that when I was older I would have children,” she says.
“It was a real shock to be told that we would need IVF.”
Amira and husband Stuart had fertility treatment using a procedure called ICSI at Bourn Hall Clinic and were delighted when Amira fell pregnant at the first attempt.
Son Ismail was born in January 2017 and as a special treat yesterday his parents took him along to the popular Wickford At Christmas Street Fair to meet Santa in his grotto inside Glicks Opticians. For the second consecutive year Santa’s appearance was sponsored by Bourn Hall Clinic – and with over 300 children eagerly waiting to visit his grotto this was the busiest year so far!
This is the third year running that the Wickford At Christmas committee of volunteers has organised a Christmas street fair which attracts 5,000 visitors to the town centre. The event raises funds towards the Christmas lights for Wickford – and this year the lights have been extended as far as Bourn Hall’s brand new purpose-built clinic in London Road.
“Taking Ismail to meet Santa was a magical experience and the icing on the cake for us as a family. I am not sure who was more excited about meeting Santa, me or Ismail!” laughs Amira. “We feel so incredibly lucky to have our wonderful little boy”.
Also joining in the fun was Katherine O’Connor, fertility nurse with Bourn Hall Clinic in Wickford who went along with her two sons. “It was a delight seeing Ismail meet Santa,” says Katherine. “The street fair and Christmas lights always bring a bit of magic to Wickford and it feels lovely to have helped make that happen.”
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“We went to an open evening at Bourn Hall Wickford and came away feeling really positive about the place. The staff were really friendly and the presentation was clear about the statistics regarding success rates and live birth rates; their data was very transparent. We came away feeling like we would really be looked after.”
Katy and Leigh are parents to Charlie after IVF
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“We chose to make an appointment at Bourn Hall Wickford because of the favourable reviews. When we got there and met the staff they were just so lovely, making us feel welcome and explaining to us what tests would need to be done and what our options were; we just thought ‘yes, let’s get the ball rolling!”
Jess and Fran are mums to Nathan after IVF with donor sperm
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