Fertility Road Issue 44 May/June 2018
Fertility Road Magazine
Fertility Road Magazine
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FERTILITY JOURNEYS <strong>2018</strong><br />
FERTILITY JOURNEYS:<br />
DONOR EGG IVF WITH GENOMIC SCREENING...<br />
WITH OREGON REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE<br />
After nearly ten years trying to build their family, Heather and Brandon are truly on<br />
their way to becoming parents. Following Heather’s embryo transfer in late February,<br />
her hCG tests and ultrasound have given them the news they’ve been waiting to hear,<br />
and then some! Heather is pregnant – with fraternal twins!<br />
Heather writes…<br />
Tuesday, February 20th, my mother and I boarded<br />
our flights to Portland, Oregon for my frozen<br />
embryo transfer which was scheduled for the<br />
following day. Brandon stayed home as opposed<br />
to accompanying me for this trip. We could not<br />
afford for us to both be off work for the four days.<br />
We tried to be practical and have Brandon save<br />
some additional vacation days so that we could use<br />
them for any emergency that might present itself.<br />
My mother is retired so she was able to join me for<br />
the four days. Our long travel days gave us plenty<br />
of time for bonding, resting, reminiscing about<br />
the good old days, and preparing my mind for<br />
what was to come. We also got to relax a bit and<br />
catch-up on a few in-flight movies.<br />
It was special for my mother to be able to join me,<br />
as she and my father helped us financially pay for<br />
the trip and hotel stay. We’re extremely grateful<br />
to them for their support and their financial<br />
assistance through this process which has been<br />
emotionally and financially exhausting.<br />
On Wednesday, February 21st, my mother and I,<br />
full of anticipation, walked across the street from<br />
the Hotel deLuxe to ORM. My embryo transfer<br />
was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. I was given a valium<br />
prior to the procedure to relax my uterus. I also<br />
played a mediation recording in my headphones<br />
to keep me calm, focused and relaxed throughout<br />
the process. Many of the members of the ORM<br />
team who I have worked with stopped by to say<br />
hello and provide hugs prior to the procedure.<br />
Dr. Barbieri escorted me into the procedure<br />
room where I was able to see the two embryos<br />
on the large screen prior to the transfer. We<br />
chose to transfer one boy and one girl from our<br />
14 embryos. Dr. Barbieri talked me through the<br />
entire procedure which was quick and she held my<br />
hand as she returned me to my in-patient room<br />
where my mother was patiently waiting for me.<br />
ORM’s protocol is for bedrest following an<br />
embryo transfer. So I remained in my in-patient<br />
room laying down for 45 minutes before I was<br />
released. Via wheelchair, I was escorted back<br />
across the street to the front steps of the Hotel<br />
deLuxe. I only walked up the entry steps, to the<br />
elevator and down the hall to our room.<br />
I remained on bed rest for the remainder of<br />
Wednesday and all of Thursday. I only got up<br />
to relieve myself and was provided with strict<br />
instructions not to shower or wash-up until<br />
Friday. Essentially, ORM did not want me to be<br />
on my feet for more than 15 minutes. For the<br />
next two days, room service was our best friend!<br />
On Friday, my mother and I headed back to the<br />
airport for our flight home. For the weekend, I<br />
took it easy. Brandon took care of me and made<br />
sure I had breakfast, lunch and dinner before<br />
starting the next work week on Monday.<br />
For the next week, I continued to take my daily<br />
prenatal medications, daily progesterone shots<br />
and twice a week delestrogen shots. On Friday,<br />
March 2nd, I had my first hCG blood test drawn at<br />
7:00 a.m. so that I wouldn’t be late for work.<br />
Christina, my coordinator at ORM, had told me<br />
that if I had an hCG level of 50 or higher on my<br />
first test then that would mean I was pregnant. She<br />
also told me that I would have two more tests to<br />
take, one on Monday, March 5th and another on<br />
Wednesday, March 7th. She said that if my hCG<br />
levels doubled each time I took the test then it<br />
would indicate that the pregnancy was developing<br />
normally at that early stage.<br />
I have to admit that the waiting is torture. You<br />
are miserable, lost and feel inept. Later in the<br />
day on Friday Christina left me a voicemail. She<br />
had the results from my hCG blood test. I was<br />
honestly terrified to call her back. I guess I wasn’t<br />
ready to hear more bad news, but I reminded<br />
myself that we had 12 embryos in storage so<br />
50 | fertilityroad.com<br />
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