Father’s Side of Infertility | Frankie Corrigan

Living in Utah I listen to 97.1 ZHT every morning. I feel like Frankie, DB and Jessica have become a part of my life because I listen to them religiously. Recently, Frankie talked about something a little more personal and the listeners are going crazy with joy for him.

Frankie Corrigan recently announced that him and his wife were having infertility issues and he wanted the listeners in on his journey. He has been really open about the whole thing and I thought I would have him share what he has been thinking and experiencing.

I remember the day we talked about IVF as an alternative to having a baby. Neither one of us knew a lot of about it. We looked into RCC (Reproductive Care Center). It opened our eyes to many options for a lot of different situations. At the time, Tammy was 43. I was 44. We’re now 44 and 45. So time was of the essence.

What worked for us, was the donor egg program. Initially, it hit Tammy hard, that it would not be her egg. The more we discussed it with RCC and with each other, we realized this baby is going to be a huge part of her. Tammy’s DNA is all over this child. She’s the one making it. Once we decided to move forward and be very open on the air about it, things just fell into place. Tammy picked the donor she connected the most with. Then we started to gear her body up for the transfer.

That meant hormones. A lot of hormones. I came up with a couple of “safe words” just in case things get a little crazy. Maybe crazy isn’t the word I should use, in case one’s perception is skewed. Luckily as I write this (14 weeks into the pregnancy), I haven’t had to use them. I’ve become more familiar with a uterus and it’s lining, than I could’ve ever imagined. She immediately started giving herself shots in the stomach, daily. Transitioning into daily shots in her rear. I administered those. Which was something completely out of my comfort zone. I don’t like needles. And definitely don’t like to see them in action, especially if I’m giving or receiving. I had to suck it up though.

We did those for a long time. Even after the transfer. Which by the way, went down December 18th. New Year’s Eve morning comes around and we drive to RCC for the blood test. They told us they’d call with the results in 2 hours. We went to have breakfast. I don’t even think I knew what breakfast was at that point. We were pretty nervous. Also very realistic. A lot of transfers don’t take on the 1st try. Some people try and try and try. We drove home, pulled into the garage and got the phone call from RCC. We were pregnant. We sat in the garage for about 15 minutes. In shock. Things just got real.

We’ve both been realistic throughout this experience. Sharing it early on, with 1000’s of people. Knowing that anything can happen. At the same time, we’re ecstatic And TERRIFIED.

For me personally, I wonder, am I too old? Am I going to be able to keep up with this baby? Wait a minute – what happens when this kid starts asking questions? Questions about everything. I don’t know ANYTHING. And then I think of how my late father (who just passed away Feb. 9th, 2016, 10 weeks to the day of our pregnancy) shared experiences with me.

One of which was exposing many things to me throughout my childhood, like, old time radio programs. The same ones he listened to growing up in the 40’s. It would be the very reason I decided (at 14) to go into radio, as a career. I didn’t make that connection until I was about 38 years old. So I think about all of the experiences my dad and ma shared with us, growing up.

This is what excites me about being a first time father… sharing things that my parent’s shared with us, and the experiences I’ve had along the way. Then those feelings of elation are quickly overshadowed by fear. A thought will pop in my head, what if I can’t relate to this child on any level? That is always a possibility. Then I’ll think, It’ll force me to look within to try and connect with him or her.

I’ve gotten a little better at soothing my fears. I think the biggest fear for both my wife and I is, the fear of the unknown. Having no idea what to expect. Except for lack of sleep, and that our world is about to do a complete 180. The fear of having a boy, is that he’s going to break all of my stuff. Because that’s what boys do, they break things. The fear of having a little girl – enough said. Girls can be emotional and very complex. Either way, I’m excited. And petrified.