An interview with Shaun Greenaway aka Knackered Knackers
May 2023
Hello all!
Here we are, just weeks away from the Fertility Show, so naturally this month’s newsletter is all about it.
There is so much going on this year, we’d absolutely love to see you there. We have more seminars, talks and workshops than ever before, so it you are thinking about your route to parenthood then you must come along.
It's a great place to start to make those informed plans for your fertility journey.
We have some incredible show ambassadors supporting us this year.
For this month's newsletter, we are meeting Shaun AKA Knackered Knackers!
Shaun, tell us a bit more about your fertility story...
My wife Jenna and I have been together for 14 years. In 2017 after 8 happy years enjoying life as just the two of us, we started trying to conceive, to begin the next chapter of our lives together. Like many couples do, we assumed it would be easy, and were discussing baby names, and sharing hopes and dreams of how our next few years would look.
However, after many months having no success, we went to the Doctors to explain our concerns. Following initial tests on both of us, it was established that I had Azoospermia – no sperm in my semen. This was most likely due to having Mumps as a young adult, but I also had a large varicocele - a cluster of enlarged veins above the testicles - which also creates problems with sperm production.
In 2019 I underwent two operations to try and rectify this and find some sperm. Firstly, a Varicocele Embolization, which was unsuccessful, and latterly a Micro-TESE – a more invasive operation. Again, this operation was unsuccessful, and that was the end of the journey for me to ever have a biological child.
However, I am so proud to be able to say that I am now a father. My wife and I elected to use donor sperm to continue our journey to become parents, and in February 2021 she gave birth to twins – a boy and girl, Ray and Evelyn.
It’s a truly amazing feeling, and I love them both so much. I wouldn’t change my infertility for anything, as it led me on the path to Ray and Evelyn, and I am exactly where I should be.
You do such a great job helping raise the awareness of male fertility, did you find it hard/ lonely when you first discovered your diagnosis?
It was incredibly hard, and a very lonely place to be. My diagnosis left me questioning my masculinity and my role as a husband. This was compounded by a feeling of isolation. I didn’t know anyone that had faced anything like this, and I couldn’t find any forums or accounts for other men experiencing the same. I felt alone. I thought that I must be the only person this had happened to. So I went inward. I was being dragged along a tide of grief, pain and trauma, desperately trying to keep my head above the water.
There were many forums and champions for women facing fertility issues, which were helpful to a degree, but I wanted to speak to other men in the same situation.
Male infertility has been a taboo subject for too long. Outdated gender stereotypes tell men that they should be the strong and silent one, to ‘man up and get on with it’, and suppress their emotions. And that’s exactly why I’m now doing what I am, to provide that voice and support for other men, so they know that they are not alone, and they can open up about what they’re experiencing.
You are coming to the show as an ambassador this year - what would you tell any men reading, who may be considering going to The Fertility Show?
I bet there are a lot of men that are needing quite a bit of persuasion from their partners to come along. What I would say to those men, is to go along with an open mind. It’s a wonderful event full of top professionals in the fertility world, as well as ambassadors who have been there, experienced what you are going through, and ‘get it’.
Not only do you get the chance to hear these people speak, but you can have a chat with them around the venue throughout the day if you see them.
So go along, listen, talk, enquire, engage, and ask questions. It may be a real game changer for you.
So finally, what's the one piece of advice that you would give the fellas out there who are on a fertility journey?
Talk. It’s as simple as that.
All those feelings you are experiencing, that pain, anger, loss of identity, grief, sadness, shame – they all thrive in silence.
It’s important not to suffer in silence. It’s not your fault. Have a conversation. That’s the first step to understanding and healing.
Thank you Shaun. We are happy to say that Shaun will be in this year's Let's all Talk Lounge on Sunday 21st May at 11:30.
We also have dedicated sessions for male fertility on Saturday and Sunday with incredible experts:
Saturday 20th 4.30pm
Helping male fertility & lifestyle
Dr Jonathan Ramsey & Mel Brown
Sunday 21st 12.30pm
Time to talk male fertility
Professor Asif Muneer
We are also delighted to have some amazing partners at the show this year!
Leeaf are our partners of the Let’s all Talk Lounge, where three times a day our host Sophie Sulehria will be joined by our incredible show ambassadors and special guests, having free informal and engaging chats about real fertility experiences.
We know how important sharing patient stories are, they bring much needed support and community. We encourage you to come and listen, and join the conversation.
Empowering patients and physicians, Leeaf is a data-driven and research-backed fertility treatment portal and mobile app that provides a full suite of personalized tools.
Leeaf allows patients and physicians to jointly make meaningful decisions and optimise the outcomes of assisted reproductive treatment. Through their prospective data collection and multicentric 4-dimensional research study, Leeaf seeks to improve conception rates and the quality of care for every IVF patient.
Find our more about Leeaf here
Then there's GAIA, our seminar theatre partner. The seminar rooms are where we try to cover every aspect of fertility, getting you that much needed expert advice for whatever your situation.
We are so grateful to be hosting some of the world's leading fertility experts, all on hand to answer your questions.
This is too good an opportunity to miss if you are thinking about your next steps on your route to parenthood. Whatever your situation, we have got it covered.
Gaia have a wonderful personal story of how they launched. This is why they are so passionate about helping you to make your IVF treatment more affordable...
In 2016, Nader AlSalim and his wife started their IVF journey. After years of treatments across multiple clinics and countries, they were fortunate to have a son.
Exhausting, expensive, and full of surprises, he knew that there must be a better way. How could you spend £50,000 and end up without a child? Gaia was founded in 2019 to solve that single question.
Gaia are a team of people dedicated to making sure that everyone who wants a family has the chance to try.
Find out more about Gaia HERE
Finally, we have partnered with Parla, to bring to the show for the very first time Parla Well Being Workshops.
From journaling to protecting your relationship to coping with loss, or if you just want to join us for some much-needed yoga to relax you (don’t worry, you don't have to come in lycra!) we can help you find ways to destress during what can be an emotional day / situation.
Find out more about our workshops here and book yourself a place
That’s all from us this month!
We really look forward to meeting you at the Show in a few weeks' time, but in the meantime, enjoy the bank holiday celebrations... and the rain!
Laura & Sophie – The Fertility Show