Mike, Danielle and 9 month old Ava are a lovely family. It'll be Mike's first Father's Day, and a special one. It took five years for the Mateos to conceive a child.
"It's going to be overwhelming especially after hearing that it might not have happened for us. It makes it all the more special," Mike said.
The Mateos spent four years and a lot of money. They went through many procedures without success. Enough to frustrate any couple.
"We just didn't want to hear that we couldn't have a child," Mike said.
So they went for a second opinion with Dr. Hyacinth brown. She found that Danielle had an immune system problem that was hampering pregnancy, and that Mike had a low sperm count.
"I think the misconception is that infertility is a female problem whereas 40 % is the result of a male problem, which is definitely real and definitely treatable," Dr. Brown said.
The diagnosis didn't bother mike.
"It was one of those factors and we had to have it addressed, but I'm not ashamed about it at all," he said.
Many times, that's not the case for guys.
"Fertility has a macho component and many men have a very hard time talking about it," Dr. Brown explained.
With the help of Dr. Brown and with only two in-vitro fertilization procedures, a sonogram showed the result. Ada was growing in Danielle's tummy. Danielle's gift to Mike for Father's Day.
"There are no words to describe it. No matter what I buy him this week, there's nothing that will top Ava," she said.
She's daddy's little girl.
"She definitely has ,me wrapped around her little finder that's for sure," he said.
Some of the problems that guys face are a low testosterone level in the blood, blocked passageways for sperm to exit the testicles, even problems with the pituitary gland. In almost half, there's no identifiable cause, but Mike's problem was pretty clear and treatable. Happy Father's Day, Mike, and to all you dads out there.
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