Update

I just thought I would write since it has been a while. Here are the updates:

Work has been stressful but I am so thankful that I have it to focus on as it keeps my mind off of other things.

My poor sister is having a bad month and it will be her 31st birthday on Thursday.

1. She had a car accident on 07/03/2008 that was not her fault but everyone was fine although her car was ruined.
2. My nephew (her youngest son) had a firework accident on 07/04/2008 and had to be taken to the hospital for 2nd degree burns on 3 of his fingers and...
3. Yesterday, she was the passenger in her brand new 3 day old Honda in another car accident in Rogers, Arkansas. Again, everyone was fine but her brand new car is completely totaled again. Now she has 2 claims pending with the insurance company for 2 accidents in the same month. How does that work???

POOR THING! I feel so bad for her! I am just so thankful that everyone is safe and we all made it home okay.

Some good news....We just arrived from a fantastic weekend at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. It is a fantastically beautiful area and I would recommend it to anyone. We rented a 6 bedroom cabin right on the water with a fantastic 180 degree view of the lake for $400/night. It was amazing and the cabin was MORE that accomodating. I told my husband that I wanted to stay forever and never come back home. But I did : ( We went out on the lake in the boat, cooked out, played cards, and roasted marshmallows. It was amazing! We need to plan a few more of those trips throughout the year.

On to IVF, my donor has her 1st phone consultation with Dr. S on Thursday. My husband will also be there but I am going to stay at work and try to save up as much leave as possible. I told my husband that if we are not pregnant by the beginning of next year, I want to seriously take a month-long vacation to some beautiful beach somewhere in the tropics and not think about the word "INFERTILITY" ever again. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Anyway, I am assuming that the phone consult will basically be about my donor's medical history and will probably require the scheduling of some testing for her. Did I tell you guys that she has had a partial hysterectomy? How does that work?....you say. Well, from what I understand. She still have her ovaries and still ovulates every month but she does not have a uterus so no periods!! Dr. S. seems to think that we have a good shot at this working so we are going to wait and see what happens.

To tell you the truth, I am unusually calm about the whole situation. I am not feeling anxious nor do I have any unrealistic expectations about this. We are going to aim for cycle #3 around October/November and hope for the best!

Back to Life

Today was my first official day back in my office since the M/C and OH how I was so dreading it....but it went well and I made it through. I am so lucky to work with such a great bunch of people.

My life has been so up in the air since April 2008.

At that time, I was commuting back and forth between Dallas and home while at the same time in the middle of my second IVF cycle. Although IVF did not go as expected, I was still not in a place to evaluate all of my options because I was in the midst of an 11-week training for the Agency. Now I am home! Back to my wonderful husband and fantastic dogs and my lovable family and friends! Things can finally go back to normal.


We are proceeding with IVF #3 with DONOR EGGS!

We have decided to accept my best friend's offer of donating her eggs. Although she has had a partial hysterectomy, Dr. S says that because she still has her ovaries, she should be an excellent candidate for ovum donation. I need to call Dr. S to schedule a consultation with my egg donor ASAP! I will work on doing that sometime this week. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping she qualifies for ovum donation. She has been my best friend since 9th grade and I will forever be grateful to her for offer. Her journey will not be easy and I thank her for the offer everyday. I have yet to meet very many people who have chosen ovum donation with a KNOWN donor. Any stories would greatly put my mind at ease. I will continue to keep you guys posted.

Update

It has been a while since I wrote so I thought I would take a few moments to get some stuff out.


Here goes....I have been thinking a lot over the past week regarding our next cycle in October and I feel that our best chance is with donor eggs. From everything I have gone through and everything that I have read, and from what Doctor S recommends, it is our best shot of having a full-term pregnancy.

Although we have not received the results from our karyotyping yet, Dr. S feels that my m/c was probably chromosomal due to an embryo quality issue and from his medical opinion, thinks that DE will be our best chance. I have done some research about DE and it is
C R A Z Y ! ! ! It is just not fair!! The risks both financial and emotional is enough to drive you to give up! Although I am not absolutely positive we are going to use DE, we are at least researching it as an option and weighing the benefits and risks.

I will continue to research and keep you guys updated on our decision.