AUSTIN, Texas — The deadly winter storms in Texas caused life to come to a halt as thousands struggled to function in the midst of unsafe road conditions and significant power outages.
Just as residential neighborhoods sat in the dark for days, so did some hospitals and clinics, causing patients to find themselves in some dire situations.
One local fertility clinic, Aspire Fertility, was lucky enough to keep their power throughout the week but other locations didn't have the same experience.
"As many people may not realize, many fertility treatments are time-sensitive and oftentimes they can take weeks, if not months, of preparation. So for some people, their treatments fell during that fateful week of crazy winter weather," said Dr. David Prokai, with the Aspire Fertility Clinic in Austin.
When some of the other clinics lost power, doctors couldn’t have a woman’s body release upwards of 20 eggs on her own – this has to be done under anesthesia and a specific number of hours after a trigger shot is administered.
"So for some of those patients, we were able to modify and shift around things in order to make sure their fertility care wouldn't be interrupted. But for a select few patients, this was kind of the culmination of their fertility journeys," Prokai told KVUE.
Although plagued by the unsafe road conditions, Prokai's staff found a way to get to work in order to keep operations going for not only couples in Central Texas, but for others across the state.
"We were able to do all the necessary procedures for that week to help local clinics and some clinics in Houston with the fertility care of their patients because they knew we were running. So we stepped up to help all the patients, not just our own," said Prokai.
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