Chris: “Hey MTV will be calling soon.” Have you had that kind of statement thrown around in your house? Us neither until about a year ago. More on that in a minute. First, Candace and I wanted to say thank you to every single person that took the time to watch our episode of MTV’s True Life “I’m Desperate to have a Baby.” We especially want to thank the 100+ people that joined us at Buffalo Wild Wings for the viewing party! It was such a surreal experience to be surrounded by so many friends and family. Candace and I don’t typically find ourselves in situations asking people for support or help, but we have been overwhelmed in the beauty of others. We have been utterly dumbstruck by the amazing love, grace, and empathy that you all have shown and although I know I just said it, it doesn’t seem to do it justice so, THANK YOU EVERYONE!” It means the world to us for you to be a part of our journey.
Candace and I are going to tag-team this post so I will pipe in here in a bit. First, Candace has been asked a ton of questions about the show.
Candace: OK, now that everyone has seen me do the following:
1. Ralph in a car on the way to a surgery.
2. Show my pasty el blanco butt on national TV, a.k.a.”The Great
White Albino Burro.”
3. Display a stomach that looks like ‘Nam from the belly button down.
4. Have the world stand outside my bathroom while I wait for Aunt Flo.
5. Go through a complete snotty-ugly face cry emotional meltdown.
… we can now proceed with the questions!
The biggest question is, when will it re-air or become available online? We don’t know when it will re-air. The powers that be are getting back to us on that. Here is the link to where you can access it online!
True Life “I’m Desperate to Have a Baby”
True Life “I’m Desperate to Have a Baby”
How far along are we in the process? Well our blog is a good gauge as to where we are currently. Our “surro baby mama” + DH, has signed the contract(s) and we plan to begin the transfer in the Fall. Not exactly sure the date, as with all things IF, it is based on your cycle. Being that it is HER cycle, we are counting on, well … I have no freaking clue?! What I do know is we have some insurance (BS) red tape to push through which is what is stalling our progress. Otherwise, badda bing badda boom, it would have happened immediately following the words “I will carry for you.”
Will there be a follow up show? Not sure. Although many have spoken out that want to see more of the “Broken Uterus Chronicles of Chris and Candace,” we do not know if there will be a follow up show for us or for IF for that matter. I can imagine everyone is waiting for the dust to settle a bit. It is hard to even know what path lies before us two weeks from now! You can bank on the fact we will stay true to our roots and continue sharing our story right here on Our Misconception blog.
They barely brushed the surface of the topic, I would like to have seen more of XYZ … I agree, this topic was hardly even breached. We have also received much feedback from those that watched the show that MTV did not ‘Snookie’ it up and it was done with such respect and honest integrity towards the subject matter, but they only scratched the surface.” I could not agree more. There were some great scenes that were omitted. Over 100 hours worth of footage was recorded, just for our story. There lies the incredible challenge for these extremely talented producers, a.k.a. story tellers. They have the impossible feat to incorporate 20+ minutes of commercials (someone’s gotta pay the bills) with a less than 40 minute show to fit into a 1 hour time slot. After the barrage of necessary annoying commercials, they have two full stories to tell in two, 20 minute segments to a demographic that probably has no clue why cervical mucus is important or what the hell IVF w/ ICSI means.
Chris: How does one get involved with a show on MTV’s True Life, or more accurately, how did we get involved? By crazy tweet. Yep, it turns out that beyond having the advertisement about participating in the show, they have at least one societal genius that seeks out the right people for their stories. Let’s call her “Ms. MTV.” Candace got a tweet from Ms. MTV saying that she had looked into our story, checked out our blog, and was curious if we would like to submit our story. Although unsure of what the outcome would, be, we submitted it. A few days later, we got a response! We weren’t expecting to hear anything, but Ms. MTV wanted to talk to Candace. What!? A phone interview with an MTV producer. Candace was super nervous but, as usual, she knocked it out of the park. My phone call with Ms. MTV was not quite as smooth. See, that day I went running at work and so, I was away from my cell phone while I accumulated an awesome man stink. When I got back, I saw I had 24 missed calls from Candace … 24! I thought someone had died and braced myself for the worst. In near hysterics, she told me to be ready ASAP for the phone call from Ms. MTV. Needless to say, I was worried I would drop the ball and we would be out. Turns out, Ms. MTV called me right before I got in the shower. I had to get all of the stink off from my run still. I had no time to redress and did the whole interview in the buff. Talk about holding nothing back. Anyway, I must not have blundered it too bad and we became part of the show. Ms. MTV actually said that it was our photo on our blog from an ugly Christmas sweater party we went to that drew her in. And the rest, is small screen history? Side note, Ms. MTV has been an unbelievable resource to us and a sounding board for all kinds of different subjects. Her wit and compassion for others in unmatched.Candace: We have afterthoughts, A LOT of them. So, we will be breaking this post into two. I have to say MTV gets a bad rap no doubt. Really, the last time I watched it was when they played music. Yes, I am THAT old. Well, and maybe the occasional train wreck that is Jersey Shore (don’t judge me!) We did not know what to think about the crew that would come to film us. We decided one thing for certain though, at that point, if we were going to possibly risk our reputation and would go all in. We will let them into every aspect of our life which, lucky for them, is consumed with all things infertility. These guys were not some drama chasing film crew looking for the next pop culture fad to bag up into a show. They are kind, compassionate, funny, empathetic, brilliant, ethical, and talented, oh wow they are talented! Very few know the blood sweat and tears that goes into 1 show. It is awe-inspiring. From the casting producer to each member who stepped through our threshold. They have cried with us, they have invested in us and they are our family. I asked them on a random shoot a single simple question: “What was the hardest show emotionally you have done?” Care to guess their answer? THIS ONE. IF opened up a new unknown world to their eyes, it was something they had never seen before. The main producer of what we called the “A-Team” posted something on his Facebook after the show aired. It was this:
Over the past year I documented the stories of two young women battling a condition that affects 1 in 8 couples but is rarely discussed-infertility. See what these courageous women and their husbands are willing to do in order to realize their dreams of having a family on MTV True Life: I’m Desperate to Have a Baby. I hug my kids even harder now after this project.
I get weepy talking about these guys so I will wrap this up.
IF impacted them. They impacted us and our lives are forever changed as a result. They used the other side of a lens to capture our story and Jenna and Kurt’s story. To the A-Team – we love you and we thank you for showing so many through your eyes, unbelievable talent and vision, the pain, the highs and the lows of infertility.
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Hubby and I were going to be on the show as well but our timeline for ivf and our concurrent route of adoption didn’t fit their little box apparently. So that sort of sucked. I’d have liked more of different experiences to get out there but can’t win em all eh?
Oh C & C…where to begin? First off, I want to congratulate you for pushing me into the year 2007, and getting me to open a Twitter account 🙂 I was furiously Tweeting you, and emailing you my every thought and emotion as it happened, real time. So Im sure that was pretty special for you both.
I KNEW the story of what was going to happen, but to actually SEE the events unfold, and hear your words, was pretty tough to watch. I got teary eyed the first moment I saw you both (Hello Frandz!) but there were some pretty good waterworks through out. How many times have I lain in bed saying ‘Why is this so hard for us’, to myself, to my husband, to God…someone said it on Twitter that they knew your blank stare Candace, and I think that is why this episode resonated with so many people. The motions of IF vary from couple to couple, diagnoses to diagnoses; but the heartbreak it brings is universal. We want what we CAN NOT have, and the fall out from that is all to familiar to couple struggling with IF.
I watched for the 2nd time with my husband, and he said at one point when Chris was injecting Candace ‘why is her stomach all bruised?’…its questions like that that will get people who don’t know about IF, to have even the SMALLEST glimpse of what a day in the life of someone living with IF can be like. You two are strong. You two are brave. You two emote love.
I only wish I could have been wish you to watch it. The amount of times Ive referred to you both as ‘my friends’ while speaking of the episode, is funny/scary/creepy. :)I told my husband if I lived in VAwe would be friends IRL for sure. He said ‘how can you tell that by an hour show?’, and I said ‘because Id make her.’ 🙂 You’ve been warned.
I said on Twitter (ME?! On the Twitter! Who knew!?)that they only scratched the surface of IF, and that’s 100% true. They cant tell everyones story. I don’t feel its about ‘fitting in a box’ MTV wanted to portray, its about telling ‘A’ story of how IF affects lives. It isn’t about just Chris and Candace (although of course I think you guys fit the calling to a tee)but rather educating people in the broadest way possible. you two were honest, and real and relatable. Im so proud of you guys!
XOXO
Lynn
Lynn, We just heart you. Seriously. You are amaze-balls. We loved the tweets and congrats for stepping in to Twating? Terping? Ahhhh.. Tweeting!Above you had such a profound statement “The motions of IF vary from couple to couple, diagnoses to diagnoses; but the heartbreak it brings is universal. We want what we CAN NOT have, and the fall out from that is all to familiar to couple struggling with IF” So incredibly true. I will be quoting you- with this exact statement in a future post… fair warning. AND if you were in VA oh yes.. no doubt we would be at the least partners in Wine. HAHA We always look forward to your comments Lynn, they make our day. xoxox C&C