A little bit excited

This morning's appointment went very well and I felt a lot more comfortable. First I met with the nurse for a blood test. She also took back all the syringes and needles and things that we had been given and now our green cooler bag contains only what we need for my final trigger injection. Then I met with Dr J, who was much friendlier this time but yet another new face! I am beginning to wonder if the clinic has a completely new staff rotation every week. Anyway, she looked at my follicles again and measured them. They have almost doubled in size in three days and another small one has appeared on the right side. A total of seven is pretty good, but we keep being told that it is quality rather than quantity that is important. I agree!


Now it is later in the day and I have just received a phone call from a nurse at the clinic. She has explained that I will have no more Gonal-f or Orgalutran, but tonight at 10.45pm I need to have the Ovidrel (or trigger) injection. That will be exactly 36 hours before my appointment for egg collection on Wednesday morning. Also on Wednesday D will have his sperm collection procedure at 12 noon and then he has been instructed to take me home and look after me while I recover. I will have had a relaxant and a strong painkiller, so I could be a bit dopey! Then we will wait to hear how things have gone in the petri dish. Because the quality of D's sperm may be compromised they will have to use a technique called ICSI, which involves using a tiny pipette to put the sperm inside the egg. The embryo will be allowed to grow for a few days and we will go back to the clinic on either Saturday or Monday for implantation. D very cleverly remembered that I am performing in a concert this Saturday night, so it could be a busy day!

It is starting to feel like we are really embarking upon something big. Up until now, I have just been having injections and scans. But now that the time for my egg and D's sperm to do their thing is approaching, the sheer wonder of the process is beginning to hit me. A real person is about to be created with techniques that my grandmother, who was my age when she gave birth to my father in 1938, could never have imagined. Furthermore, because we live in the best little welfare state in the world, this treatment is publicly funded! I feel I have a lot to be grateful for, even at this early stage.