Our Quest for an Earth Baby

Our second IVF appointment was yesterday, Dec. 29. We were in for another long visit with the

doctors so Dana took the day off and luckily I'm still on vacation. This was a big day for us and BIG money.

The morning started off by waking up early so we could get to the facility a little before my appointment time at 8:00 AM. The medical office is about 45-50 minutes away so thank goodness there was no traffic. We were able to find parking quickly which was surprising because the last time we were there it was a zoo.

Upon entering the building we discovered that the elevators were not working correctly so we ran the stairs to the third floor. Huffing and puffing I entered the office, (Dana had to make a pit stop at the restroom, when morning duty calls he has to go), and proceeded with the check in process. Today was the day we had to pay the Big Bucks! I wrote a check for $500.00 to cover freezing in case it is needed. Then I wrote a separate check for $800.00 to cover assisted hatching if needed. The checks will be returned to us if we don't need these services.

The next amount was the biggy which had to be paid on Visa or Master Card. Dana was responsible for this payment but he was still in the restroom. He finally returned and I told the receptionist that the man with the big bucks had arrived. She scanned his card and it was DENIED. What!!?? There must be some mistake, can you please try it again. Sure enough, DENIED not once but twice. Oh shit, was my next thought! I didn't have enough room on my card because I had paid for the meds. My other card is American Express and they don't accept that. Thank goodness for my quick thinking husband, he took the card and went out in the hall to make a phone call. In the mean time, I sat in the office thinking of a plan to get out of there if need be. Finally, Dana returned. It felt like a lifetime but I'm positive it wasn't that long. The problem was a security issue because it was such a large amount. The card was swiped for the third time and $7,900 was immediately charged to Dana's account. This amount will cover egg retrieval, IVF/ICSI, embryo culture and embryo transfer. Wow, what a bargain! (LOL) So because of our credit card fiasco my name got put on the bottom of the pile. Oh well, it gave Dana and I plenty of quality time together. He played on his iphone while I kept asking what are you doing now.

My name was finally called. We were taken to the back for a quick visit with the vampire, although it wasn't so quick because I'm labeled as a hard stick. Hmmm, my husband seems to think the same thing but I have a feeling he's not talking about drawing blood. Anyway, we got that over with and were sent to another room where I was asked to undress from the waist down because I was going to have an ultrasound and a trial transfer. I was also informed that I would be seeing Dr. P because he had nothing to do at the time and the other Dr. was backed up. O.k., no problem. Well I guess Dr. P was ready to go because I had just barely got my pants off when he knocked at the door. In a flash I jumped on the table and threw the sheet over me. The nurse followed behind him and leaned over to help me cover myself better. I whispered in her ear that he was too fast.

The ultrasound went well. I have 7 follicles on the right side and 5 on the left side waiting to be stimulated. Hopefully they will develop into mature eggs with the medication. The trial transfer wasn't so bad either. The doctor just wanted to make sure that the catheter would work well and that there wouldn't be a problem getting into my uterus.

After I got dressed the nurse brought in a huge box filled with my medication. She went over the instructions for the injections Dana will be giving me starting on Jan. 3. I know Dana enjoys jabbing me with a needle like I'm a voodoo doll or dart board.

Our next stop was with the embryologist. She was a very nice woman and I appreciate that she took the time to read my chart. After introductions she offered us her condolences and hoped that this time would be better for us. The first question she asked us was "how do you feel about twins?" I thought Dana was going to pass out. He fell back in the chair and his face turned a little pale. Dana wanted to ask her, how she felt about him throwing up on her floor, but he didn't. Her information was very fascinating. She explained the different procedures and showed us pictures of embryos at different stages.

We finished up with the embryologist at about 11:30 and were headed out the door but not before we made one last stop. We had to stop at the receptionist counter to pay for the office visit, lab work, and ultrasound. That was $480.00. I've never spent so much money so quickly. At least when you buy a car you can drive it home. The only thing we drove home was a huge box of expensive meds. Hopefully it will all be worth it and someday we will be driving a baby (or babies as the embryologist implied) home from the hospital.