Part 1 – Endometriosis Journey
Blake and Shania got married in June 2021, and shortly after planned to have kids and started trying in August 2021. After some time passed by with no luck, Shania started having pelvic pain in September 2022. She booked an appointment with her doctor soon after, and the doctor did a surgery to diagnose what was causing the pain in October 2022. During the surgery, they discovered she had stage 4 endometriosis, along with 2 ovarian cysts, and blocked fallopian tubes.
Due to the diagnosis, Blake and Shania were told that they would likely not be able to conceive on their own, and the best route to take would be In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). While awaiting for an appointment with a fertility clinic to discuss IVF, Shania started having severe pelvic pain again in November 2022, and they knew shortly after that her ovarian cysts had come back. They would have to wait until January 2023 for their first fertility appointment before the cysts could be removed, and the physical pain for Shania became unbearable in that timespan. She ended up being bedridden, lost an unhealthy amount of weight, required around the clock care, and was unable to work.
In January 2023, Blake and Shania went to Fertility Answers in Lafayette, LA and met Dr. Storment, who confirmed they would need to take the IVF route, and also scheduled a surgery to remove the ovarian cysts and endometriosis, as this would be required before starting the IVF process. Shania had her next surgery in February 2023 to remove the cysts, and was relieved of the pain caused from them. Dr. Storment was able to remove some of the endometriosis in this surgery, but not all of it. They also discovered some of Shaniaâs organs were fusing together due to the endometriosis.
In May 2023, Shania started having severe pelvic pain once again, and brought this up with Dr. Storment the same month at a scheduled appointment to start the IVF cycle. During the baseline ultrasound, they discovered Shania had developed new ovarian cysts, larger than before. They scheduled another surgery for late-June 2023, but due to the rapid severity of the pain, the surgery was moved up to mid-June 2023. In this surgery, they had to remove half of her right ovary, two ovarian cysts, and were able to remove some more of the endometriosis. After the surgery, Shania and Blake were informed that their best possible chance of pregnancy would be to go through an egg donor, in addition to the IVF process. Her sister, Brittany, offered to donate her own eggs to Shania and Blake.
In August 2023, Shania and Blake started the IVF process using Brittanyâs eggs. To do this, they had to first travel to Ohio where Brittany resides as the fertility clinic there required in person appointments/sample collection. In October 2023, Brittany had her egg retrieval, and Shania and Blake were able to receive 19 eggs from her. The eggs were fertilized, and after the process Shania and Blake ended up with six genetically viable embryos. During this time though, Shania started having pelvic pain and was once again diagnosed with ovarian cysts. She had a surgery for this in December 2023 to remove the cysts, more than half of her left ovary, all of her right ovary, and both fallopian tubes.
In February 2024, Shania and Blake were due to start the process for an embryo transfer at Fertility Answers. But, they then were told they could not start the transfer as some legal documentation was not completed by the Ohio clinic. They then had to wait while an attorney worked on finalizing the documents. After the legal documents were completed, Shania was able to start the medications and self injections required for the transfer in May 2024.
Part 2 – Harrison Noel James
In June 2024, Shania and Blake were able to have the embryo transfer, and Shania was now pregnant with a baby boy. At first, the pregnancy was running smoothly, but Shania started having complications at 12 weeks of gestation. Shania started experiencing a lot of bleeding/spotting, but after several weeks and a couple ER trips, her OB diagnosed her with placenta previa. Shania was put on pelvic rest, but after her OB saw the placenta was moving, she was taken off rest.
In November 2024, a week after she was taken off of rest, Shania suddenly went into labor and her water broke at 23 weeks. By the time Blake and Shania got to the hospital, she was already 4cm dilated, and was rushed in for an emergency C-section. Later, it was discovered that the reason she went into labor so early was due to an incompetent cervix.
Harrison Noel James was born November 9, 2024 at 23 weeks and 1 day. After being transferred to the NICU at a different hospital, he was in need of much care and intervention to survive. Shania and Blake were told hours after birth that he was doing great, but still had a very long road to recovery and things could take a turn for the worst at any moment. He was also on a ventilator as his lungs were not fully developed. While Shania was recovering, Blake was able to spend time with Harrison at the NICU.
On the afternoon of November 10, Shania was released from the hospital and able to go visit Harrison for the first time. Harrison was still doing good, but was having issues with his oxygen on the ventilator and the NICU moved him over to an oscillator, which would supply oxygen without him needing to breath on his own. At first, Harrisonâs vitals were great after moving to the oscillator, but suffered a setback around 8:30 PM that night as his right lung collapsed, in addition to having blood inside of his lungs. Vitals were still stable, but the NICU informed Shania and Blake that Harrison would be âhour to hourâ and they would keep adjusting as needed. Shania and Blake were also granted a hospital room close to the NICU to stay in, and were able to visit Harrison until around 10:30 PM that night.
In the early morning of November 11, the nurse practitioner woke Shania and Blake up and informed them that Harrison suffered another major setback with a collapsed lung, and that they would need to head over to the NICU quickly. A couple minutes later, as Shania and Blake made it close to the entrance, the doctor and nurse were walking out and informed us that nothing more could be done.
Harrison Noel James passed away November 11, 2024 at 2:30AM. Shania, Blake and their immediate family were able to spend time holding him and giving him much love the entire morning before Harrison was transferred to the funeral home. He was so loved, and will always continue to be loved by his family and in Heaven. God has a great plan for Shania, Blake, and Harrison. They will all continue to fight hard through this journey, and this is just a setback before a bigger blessing for them.
