In 1990, after the birth of my second child, my husband (at the time) and I decided to have my tubes tied. I was a little unsure of this as I didn't know if I wanted to have my choice to have more children taken away. I remember laying in the hall on my bed before they took me into surgery, wondering if I was doing the right thing. But I was fairly young (25) and didn't want to change my mind at the last minute and cause any waves. So, I let them wheel me into the operating room. I felt so sad afterwards, but the deed was done.

In 1995, my husband and I divorced. To make a long story short, I met my current husband and we were married in October of 1998. He didn't have any children of his own and I had told him that if there was a way that I could have another child, I would be willing to do this. Not even six months after we were married, we let my gynecologist talk me into trying in-vitro instead of having the tubal ligation reversed. I just knew that the in-vitro would work and we'd be successful the first time, even though we were cautioned that it may take several attempts. Well, my optimism was crushed--it didn't work and I spent days crying over the loss. To me, it was just like I had lost a child. I didn't want to think about in-vitro again and suffer another disappointment. So, we sort of "forgot" about it until 2002.

In February 2002, my girlfriend told me about Dr. Levin's website. She had also gotten remarried, had a tubal ligation and wanted more children. She gave me the URL and I immediately went to the website. It was wonderful! So many others who were in the same position and so many who had had success! We did the interview and sent away for information. I joined the support group and felt like I had a whole other family. I was so excited, I convinced my husband to borrow the money to pay for the surgery so we could have it done right away. I was not going to wait!!!! We scheduled the surgery for April 4, 2002. My girlfriend who told me about the site went with me and so did my 14-year old daughter! We had a blast. Dr. Levin and Venica are sooo absolutely wonderful. The hospital and the hotel are just so friendly too and they go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and important. No one bugs you, but they're there if you need them.

The surgery day came and I got to meet Dr. Levin and Venica face to face. He's just as nice in person (if not nicer) than on the phone. They really do care for their patients-not as numbers, but as people. He could charge a lot more too for his services, but it's reasonable and even less than some other places that don't have 1/10th the experience he does! (Believe me, we checked!).

The day after surgery, Dr. Levin and Venica came to my room. They told me some good and bad news. The good news was that he was able to do the reversal. The bad news is that they only gave me about a 25% chance of conceiving. I was really hoping for more like 50-75% at least! The doctor who performed the tubal ligation was in the military. From what I can understand and remember, normally, when the tubal ligation is performed, the tube is cut somewhere from the middle to the end of the tube and then tied or burnt or whatever. In my situation, Dr. Levin explained it to me that the military doctor, not only cut the tube, but she cut part of the fimbria away (or as he explained it so I could understand it), the fingers that hold and grab the egg and make it go into the tube. He could not reattach the tube. He had to roll the tube back like a sleeve and "hem" it. He said there are fimbria-like fingers in the tube that will still grab the egg, but the chances aren't as good.

I was a little disappointed upon hearing that! I wanted good chances! I wanted to be assured that all was well and we would definitely have a baby. But, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel either. I just tried to remain optimistic about everything. I decided I would pray and let God decide whether we would have another baby or not.

So, off I went home to recover. In July 2002, I thought I was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Then, in September 2002, I just knew I was pregnant! I bought a home pregnancy test at a drugstore close to my work and I ended up taking the test in the bathroom at work. It was positive!!! I could have screamed for joy. But I didn't want people to know until I told my husband at least! So, I ran back to my office, shut the door and called my husband! He was happy and scared I think too. We knew our chances weren't the greatest, but here the test said we were pregnant!!!!

The first days were so wonderfully exciting and scary as we confirmed it with the doctor and made sure the egg was implanted in the uterus and not in the tube. I felt like I could breathe again when the ultrasound showed everything was fine. Then, the joy waned just slightly as morning sickness hit! But our baby was worth every minute of sickness and discomfort that I went through. I tried to be good about being sick as I told God that I wouldn't complain about morning sickness if we could have a baby. God kept up his part, I felt I had better too!

So, at 10:25 p.m. on May 8, 2003, Alexander Joseph Horvath was born!!! He weighed 8 lbs., 12 oz and was 20" long. Our newest bundle of joy! We can't thank Dr. Levin enough for all he did for us. He could have told me he couldn't fix my tubes and left it at that. But he gave me a chance! And what a chance! It only took us 4 months to get pregnant!!!

I really feel like my friend was led by God to tell me about Dr. Levin. I never would have thought to look on the Internet for a doctor-and I worked in Information Systems at the time! Everything just clicked and we knew it was the right choice and meant to be! And, who knows? Maybe we'll have another one, or two, or three!