By Jemi Ekunkubor

For five years he tried having a child to no avail. He went to several hospitals, subjected to several fertility tests until he was given the news that he and his wife Amanda cannot have children.

The bumpy journey searching for solution to his problems left him emotional and financially drained.

Just when he thought all hope was lost, encouraged by his sister, he tried one more time and today, he is a proud father of a set of twins!

Elie Kouaiky is currently helping women and men who are looking to having children.

He tells how in this interview.

When you found out you can’t have a child, what was that news like?
Something died inside of me, I guess it was hope. The doctor just looked me in the eyes and said: ‘I just want to be straightforward with you, you guys have to think of donor sperm or you have to think of adoption. I went home while standing in my garage trying with all these bad feelings and emotions, trying to figure out what I’m going to do because I love my wife and I want kids with her, I got a phone call from my father and he says to me without mincing words because I am his only son; ‘so what are you waiting for to give us kids? Are you waiting for us to die?’ I just got on my knees and broke down. I couldn’t tell him anything. I just said I’m sorry, we’ll try and think about it. What we went through is so bad it leaves scars not marks. Today, helping other couples is like healing for my wife and me.

How did you hold manage your relationship in those five years so that the issue does not tear the family apart?
I held on to God and I told my wife to hold on to God as well. We believe in the triangle of marriage: God first, then me and my wife, and then the whole family. So we made sure when we fall down, we’ll be facing up because if you’re facing up, you can get up. And that was how we did it every day. We believed that God has bigger plans for us and we had to believe in love, that’s all.
Love has miracles and that’s what kept us. When things go down, we reminded each other why we got married in the first place. We reminded ourselves of all the fun that came from our dating days, things that we used to do. We believed that God is good and He will make it work for us.
The funny part was when I gave up on the issue, that was the day I got a contact to go and see this doctor. A friend’s wife called my house and told my sister about a doctor. When my doctor called him, he said we need two years to book an appointment in advance. She told him my story and he said: “you know what? On Wednesday, I want him to come and see me”. So my sister told me come I want to take you to a building you haven’t seen in Lebanon. So I’m like, okay let’s go. As the door opens, I saw a fertility clinic and I just fell on the floor.
The doctor saw me, and came out, he held me, hugged me and he told my wife and sister to stay outside. He said one thing to me. “I’m not God. I can’t promise you the world; but one thing I can promise you is that, I will do everything in my power and everything I’ve learnt in my life, and invest in this case. The rest is for God. I said to him, you know what? If you believe I believe. I just went with it and it worked and I had my twins after I gave up. Every time I look at my children, knowing what I went through and the joy I feel now, I know I have a good reason for doing what my wife, Amanda and I are doing to help other couples.

So that journey to finding the solution, how did it start?
We have families all over the world. I am Lebanese, my wife is Greek born in South Africa. So we have quite an exposure to the world around us. And you know how Nigerians have families living overseas, that’s how Lebanese are. So if somebody finds something in a pharmacy she thinks will help, she sends it to you. People send us one item after another, many of them we didn’t get to use.
One day, I was sitting with my wife at table and she emptied the bags of old stuff and then I saw a full range of products. I said to her, you know what? We got to do this. We have to try and make this product available for people who are trying to get pregnant. She said to me, how are we going to do this, we’re not doctors? But I said to her, we may not be doctors but we are the children of God and he has blessed us with a journey that has a successful ending.
So we went back to the doctors that told us we can’t have kids. They ended up buying goods from us. They gave us full endorsement, because they haven’t seen any couple in the world that did that, that took their journey and turned it into joy for other people. Our r products are authentic because they tried and tested and people are also getting educated about fertility.
So how did you develop this product?
So we started thinking, what did we need when we were on our fertility journey? Sometimes, you don’t have the finance to go to a fertility clinic. What helped us emotionally and financially? For me, it’s the story that helped me. They saw me as the man who has been trying for kids but can’t have. I know the feelings for a man when you are told to take a cup and go to the men’s room.
So from a man’s perspective, what are the emotions that will stick with me and prevent me from doing whatever needed to be done to have a baby; and, for a woman also, we started identifying where the doctors made money off us that could’ve been avoided because it’s a financial strain on the family.

So what items do you have now to help couples?
We have natural progesterone cream. Progesterone is the pregnancy hormone cream. Many women suffer from what’s called estrogen dominance which means progesterone levels are low. This can cause the above-mentioned luteal phase problems, miscarriages, irregular periods and ovulation that are related to fertility issues. There is the Home sperm count test kit.
When a couple has fertility issues and have not fallen pregnant in due course, we often find that a woman will have no trouble in carrying out the restated tests. With this home sperm count test kit for men, it eliminates the ego- crushing experience of producing a semen sample at the doctor’s office. It’s over 90% accurate, easy to use and easy to read the results. Let’s face it; some things are just more comfortable at home.
We have a Saliva Ovulation Microscope that detects when a woman is most fertile and is ovulating. Unlike midstream testers (urine tests), The Maybe Mom Saliva Ovulation tester, gives her a bigger window of opportunity to fall pregnant each month. It is re-usable up to 10 000 times and can be used to test on daily without additional purchase of anything more.
We also have the Snowballs cooling underwear. Each order of Snowballs cooling underwear includes two pairs of special underwear, designed to be worn all day and three of our unique snow wedges that will always be ready to keep you cool.
This underwear is used as a natural fertility aid for men. Studies have shown that lowering scrotal temperature can increase sperm count and treat issues like varicoceles, hydroceles and spermatocytes.
There is the Know your fertility starter Kit. This is the only kit on the market to address the needs of both partners.
The tests are designed to be taken in the comfort of your home. Before having to see fertility specialists or spending a lot of money, this kit is designed to ‘Start your journey’ and lead you in the right direction to understanding you and your partner’s fertility status.
Once a couple has fallen pregnant we have a fetal Doppler that mom can use from 12 weeks of pregnancy to hear her babies heartbeat and eliminate any worry of counting babies’ movements throughout the day.
In our recent visit to Nigeria, we began the process in negotiating with leading pharmacies to have Maybe Mom products on the shelves and available for the public. We look forward to being part of your journey to becoming a mom and dad.

In your case, was the issue with you or with your wife?
Both of us and that’s what makes it interesting.

So now, what do you do with your story?
I would love to inspire every couple out there not to give up. I can tell them the truth and honestly, there’s God out there, but they also should listen to their heart, it will never fail you. Go with your heart and don’t give up. Also remember, in the beginning, it was you and her. So keep it like that because even your kids are going to grow up one day and they’re going to leave. It’s just you and her. Just wake up from that nightmare. It’s not really a nightmare, it’s your story. Make the best out of it.