Hopeful moms get the joyful news they've been waiting for
Dr. Lawrence B. Werlin grips his office phone and pushes his black, round-framed glasses up his nose, away from his bushy gray mustache. His staff surrounds him, clad in colorful scrubs and giddy with anticipation. The 73-year-old physician is anxiously waiting for Kelly Cabrera to answer the phone. He's about to give her some life-changing news.
When Kelly answers, Werlin and his staff shout, "You're pregnant!" then applaud and cheer while Kelly and her mom cry tears of joy on the other end of the line.
Kelly and her husband had tried to conceive for years without success before trying Werlin on a recommendation. They weren't disappointed. When an embryo transfer didn't work, or in moments of anxiety, Werlin was a tower of strength, sitting with Kelly and her family, crying with them, and reassuring them they were not alone. And their patience, perseverance, and faith in Werlin finally paid off.
"When he said I was pregnant, I just broke down," says Kelly. "My mom cried. My husband ran out and called his parents. It was a big day for us."
Werlin is nothing short of a miracle worker, or at least that's what his patients believe. On any Southern California day, you can find this nationally renowned fertility doctor strolling through the halls of his clinic to the sound of The Rolling Stones' songs, chatting with his enthusiastic staff, or relaying the best news ever to his patients.
Werlin is the founder and Medical Director of the Coastal Fertility Medical Center in Irvine, California, and has been a practicing Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility specialist since 1982. While treating patients who have trouble getting pregnant, he's renowned for his warmth and empathy. And his bedside manner is not all that makes Werlin stand out. With his mane of white hair and full mustache, there's something old school about his look. Indeed, some liken his quirky appearance to Dr. Emmett Brown from the 1985 movie Back to the Future. For others, he looks more like Albert Einstein.
"My husband and I consider him our crazy mad scientist doctor who we absolutely just adore," says Kelly.
After videos of Werlin's work went viral, his fame as a somewhat eccentric physician with a heart of gold began to spread. Previous patients couldn't praise him enough, which encouraged others to seek out his services.
Stephanie and Jacqueline Nguyen-Kusiak knew that as a same-sex couple, they may need the assistance of in vitro fertilization to get pregnant. After working with another doctor for two years, they found Werlin.
"I think Dr. Werlin gave humanity back to me during this process," says Stephanie. "Even though fertility and conceiving children are usually an intimate affair, with infertility treatment, you lose all sense of that."
Stephanie remembers how Werlin would suggest that she and her partner give each other comfort and kisses before procedures as a reminder of their ultimate goal, to make something beautiful together.
"As a romantic, it mended something in my heart I didn't know had been broken," says Stephanie. "I was especially moved because we're a same-sex couple. It's rare to find people outside the LGBTQ+ community who make space for us and see us just like any other couple."
Thanks to the help of Werlin and his staff, Stephanie and Jacqueline now have a newborn named Aurora James. Naturally, the couple is overflowing with gratitude. However, to Werlin, their joy is just part of his vocation.
As a boy, he dreamed of studying medicine. And as an eminent physician with a growing reputation, he is living that dream by helping people on their often long, arduous, and emotionally draining fertility journey.
Of course, the road to success can be a rollercoaster ride. And Werlin realizes disappointments happen and triumphs can be fleeting, so he savors every victory by celebrating a successful pregnancy with a full-staff phone call.
"When it's good news, it's the best news in the world for these people," Werlin says. "This process is physically demanding, emotionally demanding, financially demanding. If we have an ability to give them a chance to be very excited about something, we take that opportunity. The more goodness that you do, the more goodness that you get back."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fertility doctor calls patients to tell them good news
