LSCx2: My storyDH and I (34 at the time) met while we were each on vacation at Club Med in Martinique in June of 1997. He was from Tempe, Arizona and I was living in the Washington, D.C. area. He decided during our one week stay (which we had each booked separately as singles) that he wanted to make our relationship work – I had other ideas and didn’t think a “vacation fling” was really lasting. Well, one week after returning from vacation, he called me and told me he had to be on business in Cleveland for the weekend and an airline ticket was waiting at for me at the airport to join him. I decided “what the heck” and met him for the weekend. Well, he was still pretty wonderful (and I was sober for that weekend unlike on vacation!). I had just started a new job at a firm in D.C. so wasn’t able to travel much to meet him other than that weekend. He had more flexibility as a travel agent and so he came out to visit every other weekend for a month and a half. Eight weeks after returning from vacation, he transferred with his company to Virginia and moved out here – “to see if it would work.” Well, six months to the day we met we were engaged (January 1, 1998). We traveled over the holidays to meet each other’s families. It was great! We were married in San Francisco (where I grew up) on November 28, 1998 in front of all our family and friends. I was a wedding planner in my previous life (aka before law school) and we spent WAY too much money but it was the BEST wedding WEEK I’ve ever experienced. Both families got together for the entire week and there was too much fun had by everyone! We vacationed for two weeks in Tahiti (Club Med of course) and came home TO MAKE A BABY! I went off bcps about three months before our wedding. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy to get pg. My mom had difficulty and so did most female members of my family. So I had a hunch. Well, after 6 months of really trying (charting, cm checks, frequenting every board I could find) I went to my OB for help. We tried Clomid for three months but it made me SO hormonal my DH said no more!!! We then went to an RE that was covered on my insurance. There we tried an injectible IUI that was a disaster and I came to figure out that the clinic was WAY out there and if I’d gotten pg that cycle there was such a risk of multiples (I had seven mature follicles). Fortunately, that didn’t occur. I had that RE do a lap to see what was going on inside. She found Stage IV endo. This was odd because it was REALLY bad but I had very few symptoms. She cleaned me out as best she could and told me to try for three months. Well, after three months I decided to seek other help. IVF seemed to be the last option. We really only had enough money to try one IVF attempt. So I decided to try what I thought was the best – Cornell. I traveled up for bloodwork but before I could even go for my consult with Cornell two docs here who I trusted suggested I go to a local clinic that had great success rates and a guarantee program. Well, we found out that for the same price as one cycle at Cornell we could get 4 IVF attempts and a return of most of the money if unsuccessful after all four attempts at the local clinic. We ramped up for our first IVF. It was grueling, as most of you know, but I was a good responder. Actually, too good a responder. We got 34 eggs. 14 fertilized. The clinic’s embryologist decided that we had to shoot the moon – we waited for a six day transfer with assisted hatching. We put two back (none to freeze) – the transfer was terrible as I have a folded cervix and getting the catheter in was VERY painful. 14 days later the beta HCG came in really high. We had twins. Shocked and excited we made plans. At my 10 week appointment with my OB (I had been released from my RE by that time), he and I did an u/s and found that we had a vanishing twin. It was hard but we were excited to have one very healthy baby on its way. Pregnancy was pretty uneventful. I swelled a bit but other than that was pretty typical. 30 weeks 4 days later (4 days overdue) – I went into labor. Of course, out of the 8 docs at my OB practice I get the one that I don’t want! Then, the doctors figured out I’m allergic to labor! I went into labor throwing up – no contractions that I knew of except the monitors said I was having them. I just threw up every 30 minutes for 12 hours. They broke my water and found meconium so we started pitocin. We found out I’m allergic to pitocin. Every time they turned it on my contractions went to 120% every 30 seconds, I threw up, and baby’s heartrate decelerated. After what seemed an eternity (actually 12 hours total), I was only at 2 cm. They decided emergency c-section. Was a terrible experience (but I won’t go into that now). Bronwyn Lee was born at 5:56 p.m. on February 4, 2002.,/p> She is the light of our lives and we are so happy. It’s been a long road and one that without you all and your sage advice I couldn’t have traveled. We are thinking about a sib for her but don’t think we will go through all this again – are thinking possible international independent adoption from the Ukraine or foster/adopt. We will cross that bridge next year around her first birthday. Thanks for reading – I know it was a novel (and I left a bunch out!!). Lisanne |