Linda

“I remember contacting a colleague in Nijmegen to arrange a meeting, but then the COVID-19 outbreak totally took me by surprise. I sent her an email: “With this Corona issue, maybe it’s not the best time, let’s reschedule - I’ll get back to you in 1-2 weeks’ time”. What was I even thinking?! Soon after, all fertility care, except for fertility preservation in case of a malignancy, was postponed in the Netherlands. The impact was enormous for everyone, but especially for our patients. During a phone call with one of my patients, she told me it was not the cancellation per se, but mostly the insecurity regarding the time that she would have to wait, that was incredibly hard – thankfully, our patients have been very understanding. There have also been some funny moments, such as during very intense virtual meetings, when my cat just kept jumping on my computer keyboard. So much for my professionalism…”

- Linda Stevens Brentjens, Fertility doctor and PhD Student, The Netherlands