So here’s the story.
Back in April, I told Ron that I thought by June I would
be ready to explore options with a new fertility clinic since going back to
Shady Grove made me feel some type of way. I was talking to a friend and she
had mentioned that a close friend of hers had raved about Fertility Center of
Md. So I took a look into their
success rates, docs and facility which is conveniently located in
Kenilworth. I pulled the trigger
and made the call to set-up a consultation with Dr. Bass.
On June 12th, Ron and I went for a consultation
armed with our six months of records from Shady Grove. During the consultation
we all came into agreement that we would move forward with one cycle of FSH
injections and if no luck move forward with IVF. Since we had so much going on
during the summer and I wanted to get some more weight off, we decided we would
wait until my cycle started at the end of August/beginning of September.
Fast forward to mid/late- August. I make I call to the fertility center
about a week before my period is expected. They ask that patients do this so
meds can be ordered since some retail pharmacists don’t always carry fertility
drugs. I believe I called on
August 21st to take care of my order. I would have expected my period to show sometime between
August 26th -28th. Those days came and went with no visit
from Aunt Flo. At this point I am starting to get anxious because I want to get
started with my injections since October would be out with us traveling to
Miami. Our next chance to start a cycle would have been in November. Finally on
August 31st I reluctantly took a pregnancy test, even though in my
mind my body was just being a jerk and not cooperating, which was so unlike me.
I can usually predict when my period will start to the minute. The test came
back invalid because the control window did not show a sign. I threw the thing
in the trash and yelled down the hall “I think it’s negative. I will call the
fertility center tomorrow to see if they can give me something to start my
period.”
September 1st, I wake up, pee and call the
fertility center. I let the nurse know I am concerned that my period has not
shown and I need to get figured out before Sept 4th so I can start
injections. The nurse tells me to come in and they will draw blood and we will
go from there. I drive over to Towson to give a blood sample and go back home.
Around 10:30am the house phone rings and it’s my nurse. The next words I hear
went something like this. “Is this Tia? Well I have the results of your blood
work and you are pregnant. Your HCG level is 2500” …….. I am in complete shock
and say “I’m sorry, what?” The nurse tells me again and asks if it’s ok that I
am pregnant. Which, of course it was. I immediately started crying because I
never once thought that we would have any luck in our Hail Mary month. I was so
focused on just getting to September that actually getting pregnant the old
fashion way didn’t seem possible for us. On this day I calculated that I was 4
weeks and 6 days pregnant.
September 3rd, I went back in for blood work
to make sure my HCG and progesterone levels were going up accordingly. Everything
was looking good so Ron had a good birthday. September 9th we went
for our 6 week ultrasound (vag stick). That day my life changed, we saw the
heartbeat of our little person in the making. My due date was set for May 5th,
of course Ron was thrilled that our kid could be born on drinking holiday. I
also did more blood work to check numbers again which all came back great.
After my ultrasound Dr. Bass released me to my OB (did I really just hear that,
I have an OB.) Before we left I asked about the meds we had paid for 2 weeks
ago. The nurse found my meds and told me they would submit a request for a
refund. I asked if they had a donation program, which they did. Ron and I asked
if we could just donate the meds to someone who might be having a financial
hardship. I wanted to pay forward on our good luck. There just so happen to be
a woman in the office in an exam room upset about not being to afford the cost
of meds and we so just happened to be prescribed the same thing. The nurse
asked if I was sure I wanted to donate and of course I was. Ron and I thought if the $70 bucks we
spent will make someone’s day a little less stressful than we wanted to help. I
never met the woman who received my meds but I often wonder about her. I hope
she is doing well and had some good luck.
I hope this story will give people going through the same journey some hope. Don't ever give up on your dream of being parents.
