Day 244 - All My Eggs In One Basket

I should have taken the diazepam. I thought I wouldn't need it, seeing as my appointment was for 1230. Lo & behold, Valentina wakes me up at 0645. Then I hear a mosquito in the room that I couldn't find & took me two attempts to kill. Then Mom lets Valentina back into my room at 0715. Next comes the barking. So much for a good night's rest before the procedure!

Today was the egg retrieval at the Fertility Clinic. No more needles! Hooray! I tossed & turned in bed as long as I could. I was unable to eat anything & could only drink clear liquids, of which we had none, so I wanted to sleep as long as possible. 

I called Mom once I was up to see where she was at. She was driving the car (slowly) to Cochrane this morning to get the tires replaced. She was leaving for Saskatchewan the day after, so I couldn't be stranded without a car. She was kind enough to let me sleep, take the car, get it fixed & be back by 1130 when we had to leave for the city.  When she answered the phone I never expected her to say...

1. She drove 40 km/h & made it to the traffic circle

2. The cops pulled her over & made her call a tow truck. Apparently it was too dangerous for her to slow down traffic & the risk of blowing the tire & careening into oncoming traffic was high.

3. She tried to change the tire by herself.

4. Bikers stopped to help her get the nuts loose & she did the rest.

5. She only arrived in Cochrane at 1015 & some young punk was taking his sweet time.

It was not looking promising for her arrival back home at 1130 in time to leave for town! To my amazement she drove in the yard at 1125 & we left 10 minutes later! 

She dropped me off at the clinic & they told her to come back at 1545. They gave me some apple juice, as I was looking a little pale & the pharmacy downstairs was out. I headed into the back room & got changed into the fabulous fashion of the Medical World. We filled out the remainder of the consent forms & the nurse hooked me up to an IV. Unfortunately the IV gave her a few hassles & there goes my blood, running down my arm & spilling all over my new gown! Thank goodness it wasn't silk! :oP I've never seen such a big bag of saline! Wow! It must have been 1.5 or 2 L! It was massive! We waited for the Doctor to get ready. I didn't mind. The nurses were all very friendly & fun to visit with. Andrea, Jana & Natalie kept me entertained. 

While I was waiting, they wheeled a girl on a stretcher past me. She didn't look so hot. Then, when I used the loo after a previous patient, the bathroom garbage was decorated in 'red'. Wow. What on Earth were they going to do to me?!?! I was a little nervous to say the least, but they know what they are doing! Right?!

Finally it was my turn. In we go to the little room. Dr. O'Keane was the Doctor doing my procedure. He was the same Doctor that did the presentation at the hospital a few weeks back. I liked him then & I was happy he was my Physician today. He is from Ireland & has a great sense of humour.

I climb onto the bed & the nurse tells me to put my legs in the cradles. Er, feeling a little exposed here! Oh well, no dignity left anyhow! I look around the room. There are pretty little gold stars painted around the roof, a screen to watch, and a poster of 2 little kids sneaking a peck on the lips. Pretty soon Dr. O'Keane administers Midazolam & Fentanyl. Oh boy... It hit me like a ton of bricks! Everything went woozy & that poster on the ceiling just kept moving. It was like I was headed down in an elevator & it just kept on clippin' by. No matter how hard I tried to get off on the 10th floor, it wasn't happening! I pretty much babbled through the whole ordeal. Lord only knows what I actually said. I know we spoke about my blog, RateMDs.com, my GP, my husband and my upcoming treatment. When Dr. O'Keane heard about my blog, he asked the Embryologist, Kim, in the adjacent room to print me a photo of my eggs for the blog. 

The screen I could see was actually connected to the microscope the Embryologist was using to collect the eggs. Dr. O'Keane hazily showed me a little vial filled with the fluid that contained some of the eggs. Next thing I knew, there was the little pipette playing with my eggs. Crazy! The procedure wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. There was certainly some discomfort. When it got a little worse than normal, they gave me another ride on the elevator. :o) Soon enough, we were done. The Embryologist lined up all my eggs in a row & I took a happy snap on my point & shoot. Done! 

I shifted back onto a stretcher & they wheeled me back out into the recovery area. I babbled some more to Dr. O'Keane about Dr. Canellos & my current book on stem cell differentiation & how the Mother's uterus communicates with the embryo before it's become a fetus. I'm sure I was slurring my words & my eyes were crossed, but he just smiled & nodded. Bless his heart. 

I slept for a bit & took in the happenings around me. The Embryologist came by to tell me that we would be freezing everything after the eggs had been fertilized. They would be considered embryos, but they would not have cleaved yet. (No cell division) Apparently this is the best option when freezing embryos. Later on, when they are thawed, they will culture them to X number of cells before implantation. Additionally, she told me that this procedure wasn't even available 1.5 years ago, so lucky for us it's happening now! 

A while later, one of the nurses brought by a little 4x6 photo of all my eggs. There were 11 in total, although she explained that most likely only 8 or 9 of them would make embryos. Some were immature & one was deformed. That was probably the coolest photo I've ever been given! And, just to toot my own horn, they don't normally give a photo to anyone... Dr. O'Keane specifically asked the Embryologist for it... Yes, I do feel special! *Big Grin*

I ate a few Arrowroot biscuits (they taste delicious when you're starving!) and drank 2 apple juice boxes. It was time to use the loo. Success, no 'red' garbage from me! Don't know what happened to the other chick - gosh! I returned to the bed & sat down. I thought I was doing fine. Natalie, the Nurse, said she'd go check & see if Mom was there to collect me. As soon as she left... Uh oh... No elevator ride, but I got shaky & felt quite weak. Andrea looked at me & said I was looking a little green & I better lie down. Apparently I had a 'Vaso Vagal response'. After I stood up & used the loo, it freed up space & that shift dilated blood vessels leaving me feeling like I was going to pass out. Fun! Mom still wasn't there, so lucky for me, I laid back down & rested a little longer. 

Mom showed up a while later & I was strong enough to get dressed & get out of there. It seems so strange to think that now I won't be back to the clinic for a year or more until we're ready to have children!

We left for Jugo Juice & pizza. Jugo Juice botched the smoothie order & Boston Pizza used the wrong crust, so it was the longest wait for food of my life. I was starving & feeling rubbish. All I wanted was some food in my belly & to lie down & sleep. After an eternity, the food was finally ready. I wolfed it down & did my best to brace through the bumps on the ride home. As soon as we were in the door, I laid down to sleep. I woke up once at 1915 & then again at 2115. 

Jaco called & we had a good visit. He had phoned earlier, but unfortunately I wasn't in the frame of mind to give much conversation. Between hormones, starvation & pain, I wasn't the happiest girl on the block! Poor fella! Luckily the later call found me in much better spirits! Mom interrupted the call part way through to draw my attention to a young moose that strolled right past her as she was working in the yard! He was really close!

I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow is the balance of my teeth cleaning. At 0800. I hope I don't start snoring with my mouth wide open! :o)

Have a great sleep & see you soon!

xxxxx

Maria & Valentina

Mustangs & cattle

First sign of success!

Watchin' TV

More eggs

Getting the next generation ready!

Before the vaso vagal!

Aren't they pur-dy?

Food!

Can you see the moose bum?

Bullwinkle visits