IVF Timeline (1): The Egg Acquisition

Over the last few days, I had a very nice email update from my Nurse Coordinator, saying that the Egg Donor {referred to as "Mia"} had her submitted Genetics Profile crosschecked with Otters. There is no issues what so ever, so we are Golden! She outlined a few more of the next steps, and I was very relieved. 

I had a smidge of .... not quite impatience... but, like... I had an "In The Dark" vibe going for a hot minute. I don't need hard facts, I just work better with less surprises. It's really hard when -for right now- the point of contact is literally me. Trying to get these different facilities to communicate together. 

Side Hustles A Plenty

Ya girl is always on the lookout for a cool side hustle. The less "overhead" the better. I have my little Etsy Shop which is the epitome of Passive Income. And here lately, since I'd consider myself somewhat Tech Savvy, I've also registered over at Rev.com to be a "Closed Caption-er" for training videos and YouTube, etc. (hello, side gig while I'm on [hopeful] Maternity Leave!) From my research, there is apparently a pretty long waitlist to get selected, but I'm not quitting my 9 to 5, so I'm totally cool with the wait. If it comes sooner than later, even better! The test sample and quiz they gave you was pretty fun, too! 

The Refresh Monster.. and Dates!

If there is one part about this whole  IVF Journey that I hate the most, it's definitely the "In Between Emails" part. I have been SO good about keeping my "Peace" when it comes to everything else.... but my compulsion to CONSTANTLY hit refresh on my email (on my phone) is just..... flabbergasting. I'm a monster. I'm a monster that literally has to take a charging bank with me to work because my phone is at 30% by 11am. 

Can I get a Countdown?

Just hung up the phone from the Psychologist. We have our Pre-IVF session scheduled for Wednesday, July 13th. I had my Mammogram last week. Unfortunately, it was my first one ever and they warned me well in advance that First-Timers are routinely called back for more images since there is nothing to compare it to. As expected, I was called back. My follow-up for more imaging is the day before our Psychology appointment. So both items will be checked off next week! 

Your Eggs, My Basket

WOW. So a lot of ground has been covered. I'll just jump right in.

In March, my Invitae results came back, I was 100% clear of all Genetic Disorders. There was a few other labs that the fertility doctor ran also, and that's where the big bomb was dropped. The "short & sweet" version is that my Cancer history & the related Radiation obliterated my eggs. Essentially, I will kick out a "shell" of an egg, but there's either no yolk, or what is there, is fried. 

Well Hello There!

Back in April, the Significant Otter and I picked up HelloFresh. 

I'll just say it's been a god damn life saver. We're several weeks in, and it's going amazing. I just simply couldn't keep up anymore. I couldn't piece together an idea for dinner, much less what to pack for my lunch. Groceries prices were sky-rocketing, and it was just an all around terrible time.

Something Brewing

I know I've had a lot of updates lately. This is probably the biggest one, so fasten your seatbelt. Well, my Significant Otter and I have launched/began the Fertility Quest. I was researching some things concerning my medical history and I came across some not so nice age-related news. Ultimately, that was the prompter for this whole thing. Before I did much else, I started researching facilities and physician reviews. I found one that had consistently rave reviews - even though their particular facility had some somewhat mixed reviews, I still decided to go with this specific physician. I am very grateful I found this doctor, I am thrilled with how we were received as patients, and his optimism is definitely needed.