The
Cindy Margolis Story
 Many
people recognize Cindy Margolis, the beautiful super
model on the front cover of our inaugural issue of Fertility
Today Magazine. Cindy Margolis is a host, spokesperson,
actress, model, author and mother who happens to be
America's #1 rated celebrity Web site. That means that
she is the most downloaded woman alive today. What is
distinctive about her Web site is the demographics of
the people visiting her site. In fact over 43% of people
clicking onto her site are women. If you spend even
a few minutes with Cindy, you will quickly discover
that her beauty is as genuine on the inside as it is
on the outside. You will also quickly discover her remarkable
and painful story that resulted in the birth of her
first child.
Cindy
married restaurant owner Guy Starkman, who she describes
as the "man of her dreams," on September 6,
1998. They both had the desire to begin their family
as soon as possible, even hoping to conceive a child
on their honeymoon. However, the magic of the honeymoon
did not result in the wonder of an expanding family.
For the next two years the sadness of Cindy and Guy
grew as each month went by with no signs of pregnancy.
A decision was made to consult a fertility specialist,
but in spite of multiple tests, the couple heard a diagnosis
that many of our readers have heard, "unexplained
infertility."
The
doctors explained to Cindy that it could take years
for her to become pregnant naturally. Her intense desire
to have a baby and the fact that she was now in her
30's caused Cindy and Guy to look into IVF
(in vitro fertilization) as a possible route to
realize their desire to have children. And so a new
chapter in their lives and marriage began with Cindy's
first IVF treatment, an attempt that sadly resulted
in failure.
More
attempts would follow and Cindy describes this as a
"testing time" in their marriage, an experience
that was at times, "surreal." In fact Cindy
would undergo three unsuccessful IVF cycles. Guy would
administer the painful
injections. But time after time, the pain did not
result in any gain and sadly no positive pregnancy tests.
For Cindy it was a time of loneliness and desperation.
On top of this she was a supermodel that had to deal
with gaining five to fifteen pounds from the "fertility
enhancing meds."
Unable
to find out what was preventing her from conceiving,
Cindy was willing to try most anything. She describes
the time as "mind-boggling" and a time of
"heart break." After three unsuccessful IVF
procedures, a fourth attempt was made utilizing a GIFT
procedure where a gamete is inserted in the female's
fallopian tubes. At long last, the pregnancy test showed
the right color, but the hard part was still not over.
Cindy
describes her pregnancy in both positive and negative
terms. One the one hand it was a time of "anticipation,
optimism and dreaming." On the other hand it was
an experience of "fear, insecurity and self doubt."
The emotions' pendulum swung far in both directions.
Due to numerous complications that risked the health
and life her growing baby, Cindy was admitted, at the
24 week mark to the High Risk Pregnancy Unit of the
Tarzana Hospital. Not only was Cindy ordered to remain
on bed rest until she would deliver, but her stress
capacity would be taken to a new level when she and
Guy were advised against having another baby due to
the great risk.
The
pain, prayers and tears finally resulted in a genuine
miracle on June 9, 2002 with the birth of a healthy
and happy baby boy Nicholas Isaac. In a letter written
to the woman who would be a surrogate mother for later
children, Cindy explained that Nicholas' birth was much
more than a great relief. "He was indeed our little
personal miracle...our very own glimpse of heaven wrapped
up in a little blue receiving blanket. He was beautiful!
And becoming his parents that afternoon in June was
the greatest achievement and most humbling experience
Guy and I have ever known. We thank God everyday for
our precious Nicholas…"
Because
of Cindy's personal struggle, she readily shares her
story of "unexplained
infertility." Her voice joins a choir of millions
of men and women with similar experiences. Fertility
Today Magazine is committed to providing a place for
these voices to be heard and just as importantly providing
you with the very best in comprehensive treatment options
and counsel from some of the world's top researchers
and practitioners. Our desire is to be a resource that
will help you realize your own personal miracle wrapped
up in a receiving blanket.
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