Work – Egg Freezing – School and The Fine Act of Balancing and Resilience

At the beginning of 2026 I decided to turn a new leaf. I know I wasn’t getting younger; therefore, I made an important decision to freeze my eggs before turning 40. I searched online and attended a well-known clinic. During my first consult I was questioned about my medical history, what egg freezing was, how many eggs were needed to be collected for a chance to have at least 2 children and different fertility screening tests.

After my first consult, I was directed to perform karyotyping test, different blood tests one of these was Anti Mullerian Hormone also known as AMH which measures ovarian reserve. During my wait for a urine test and after I left the clinic, I felt uneasy and searched for a different clinic. It was an internal knowing, an intuition that I didn’t feel comfortable.

 During my one month wait for my results, I managed to get an appointment with another well-known boutique clinic. It was a beautiful glamourous, art deco stylish apartment rather than a clinic. Across my transition, the first clinic was reluctant to release my medical results to my new fertility doctor and myself without a final consult. I had to recite, The Health Records Act 2001 and booked a final appointment before my results were released. Being told you have low AMH, not really viable was a dark moment in my life.

My experience at the boutique clinic was very brisk, organised, informative, and efficient. I got more done with my new fertility specialist in one session than the first clinic. Within a week of my consult, I was deemed a medical egg freezing patient, had a nurse patient information session; medications and pre-treatment vitamins organised; and going through another round of different blood tests, genetic tests checks.

In between appointments, I had one semester left before finishing my Certificate IV in Marketing and Communications. I was attending advertising classes, communications and website development classes spread across my week, on top of classes I had work to juggle.

From class commencement through to mid-way April my life has been chaotic. I was squeezing fertility related assessments, legal forms, GP appointments, ultrasounds, before and after class to fill my day. I had 2.5 days off were I worked on my assessments and kept chipping away at them all day, sometimes throughout late evenings. The remaining days I was scheduled in to work on busier shifts. The roster was prepared in advanced which gave me some flexibility to plan ahead.

I didn’t have much down time. My life revolved around a rigorous cycle of work, classes, study, completing assessments and fertility processes. I didn’t care how fatigued I was. On the surface, I floated like a duck, but deep down I kept telling myself everything will be easier, my struggles will fade soon, don’t give up, think about my future.

In these short couple of weeks, I had pivotal life changing decisions. I had to choose whether to proceed with egg freezing cycle? Despite receiving challenging medical news. Do I want to lose my chances at motherhood? Would my frozen eggs lead to successful embryonic development when I’m ready to use them?

Not only did I have to make these decisions. I had doubts about my course completion. My assessments feel heavy; will I finish them on time? Is my quality of work at professional standards? Should I continue my course? Is a career change at this moment in conjunction with fertility a good time? After my egg freezing payment should I defer and focus on replenishing my finances?

The verdict: Both life changing decisions were equally important. There was never a good time for change. I decided to go through the storm. I went ahead with my treatment and continued my course. I didn’t quit. I soldiered on. I received a medical rebate which gave me financial relief. Not knowingly I worked on soo many assignments that I was inevitably ahead.

From April onwards I started feeling more relaxed, my fertility had been organised, I’m waiting for day 1 to arrive before I start my stimulation medications; after that I’ll be admitted to day surgery for egg retrieval, more than half of my assessments have been completed and submitted early, my shift work has been non clashing, despite my hours been reduced because of class. Since starting my pretreatment vitamins, reducing coffee consumption. I feel lighter, less heavy, my body is as healthy as ever!

The story illustrates the challenging; psychological realities, physical toll, balancing studies, assessments and work, faced by a person. It highlights how work – life – health – study balance is personal and constantly evolving with multidimensional struggles. It also shows the resilience a person is willing to take overcome and succeed.