Is this for real?

Good day all!

Today was the BIG DAY! The egg retrieval and the beginning of our embryos =)
Let me start by saying this fact that is right from the Regional Fertility Program website (Calgary Clinic)
"The average number of eggs retrieved in a good prognosis patient is 12."

Apparently....I'm not a good prognosis patient. I'm also not a patient of the Calgary Clinic...I'm a patient of the Victoria Fertility Clinic and  I'm some sort of anomaly in the IVF world because I had 47eggs retrieved. Dr. Hudsons eyes popped out of his head. They have never seen so many eggs retrieved. According to the Lab lady...she said that she sees a lot of mature, viable eggs. And to think that at my last ultrasound I left a bit defeated because the doctor was dissatisfied with the fact that my follicles just weren't growing and my estrogen level had plateaued. When he said he would have to trigger and get ready for retrieval (almost like it was prematurely) I was a bit deflated. Knowing that it had absolutely zero bearing on how many eggs I got or how many good quality ones were found...tells me God was totally in control. Those eggs didn't grow anymore because they didn't need too and my hormone levels plateaued to say "Ok doc, time to bring in the harvest." So 47 eggs retrieved....and I must say...it's a bit painful. The way they retrieve those eggs is with a needle...they use the needle to pierce each follicle and remove the fluid from them which contains the eggs. I had a lot of follicles and a lot of eggs...and during the procedure..I felt fine. It was afterwards where I felt quite uncomfortable, but I'm a trooper. I came back to the hotel room, went to sleep and though I'm still in some discomfort I am quite happy to be on the road to recovery...and over the moon that my embryos are being created this very minute.Tomorrow I have an appointment to discuss how things are going and have gone....then Sunday morning we fly home.
Miss everyone so much.
Pray the pain subsides, not only for comfortable travel...but so that I can work in comfort as well.
Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and support.
I love you all.
You have made this journey so wonderful. God has blessed me with so many supportive friends and family and he has taken care of us on this difficult journey.
It's not over yet. Still have the embryo transfer in the not so distant future...and of course the pregnancy will hopefully ensue...but I know with your prayers and support and the faith I have in our Lord...things are going to go beautifully.
My fortune cookies at the chinese restaurants we've eaten at have said "a newcomer in your life is becoming more important" and "your secret venture will work out brilliantly"
I don't usually read too much into fortune cookies...but I also don't believe in coincidences. They are signs from God. He's indicating that all will work out for the best. I just need to remember that this is for his glory according to his plan...not according to mine...hence, the bumps in road =) They all serve a purpose.

Again, love you all!

Thanks for your prayers

God Bless!

Jen

Pull the trigger...

Big night tonight!

Retrieval is set for Friday at 7:30am and I have to take precisely 2.0cc of the "trigger" shot tonight at precisely 8:30pm to release the eggs at precisely the right time on Friday so they can be 'gathered'...if you will.

It's almost the big day! My embryos are going to be created on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So excited =)

God Bless all of you who are following our journey and keeping us in your prayers!

Love you all!

Jen

Nothings worth having comes easy...

Well it's been a long journey to get here and I've conquered a lot of fears and I have endured a lot and felt very good and been able to enjoy my time in Victoria so far...
Unfortunately...if you look back on my journey (namely the Clomid Saga) you will notice there is a common thread. That thread is my stubborn ovaries. They are quite lazy and don't like to do as they are supposed to...and thus, we are slightly behind schedule. So...my dreams of coming home early on Friday and relaxing and settling in for a couple of days before returning to work is not going to become reality. Retrieval of the eggs will either take place Friday or Saturday so our flights are booked (doctor's orders) for Sunday morning. This means I'll have Sunday afternoon/evening to relax and settle in and then I will be thrust back into the reality of life..lol. Thank goodness I'm a tough cookie and have the faith and confidence to handle it like a champ.
So please pray pray pray! I need those prayers. Pray that things stay on track so we can leave Sunday and that I will have little pain and be able to travel in comfort. I am so homesick so it's hard to think I have to stay a bit longer, but I know that in the end it will all be worth it and that I just need to be patient and endure.
God has it all in his hands and he has brought be this far.
Nothing worth having ever comes easy...

Love you all and God Bless!

Jen

One week down...

Well we have been here for a week and so far I've had an ultrasound and bloodwork every second day (about that) to monitor the growth of my follicles. Follicles are the little ovarian houses that the eggs live in (lol). Well over this past week I have seen some of my follicles grow from 4 and 5 mm to 11 and 12....so the "miracle grow" Gonal F is working. I do need prayers though because not all of them are growing as quickly as we'd like to see. I have taken 225 units of Gonal F and then switched up to 300 units of Gonal F and today I also started Cetrotide and Luveris which are two other injectable medications that help with the growing process.
We have had a nice week traveling around and enjoying the Victoria area. We've been shopping, we have checked out 3 different churches and we have gone on scenic drives...enjoyed delicious food...and relaxed. It has been great. Not to mention, I have conquered the fear of giving myself needles (which I was sure was going to be the worst part, and maybe it  is...but it's not too bad at all).
I feel great so far. A few twinges of pain and a headache here or there but on the whole I feel good.
Have a great Easter everyone!
Thank you so much to everyone for the emails/messages and encouraging words, prayers and support of all kinds. I love you all so much.


God Bless and Take Care,


Jen

The first day!

Well, we got to Victoria safe and sound. Our flights went smoothly and I had no issues getting through security with my needles/medications and stuff. I also managed to take care of the car rental and navigate around using "Richard"...my handy-dandy GPS.
Today I finally met Dr. Hudson and Leigh and they are as amazing as I knew they'd be! So sweet, kind and accommodating. From my ultrasound everything looks GREAT (YAY! God is good!!) and I start my increased dose of Gonal-F tonight. What is Gonal-F you might ask? Well, as Leigh would call it..."the most important 'drug' of all...it's like your "miracle grow"..lol! Minor speed bump of the day....my pharmacy back home did not give me the Gonal-F so I am waiting for it to get into the Pharmasave here tomorrow afternoon. How then, will I start my meds tonight if my pharmacy back home failed to dispense it?? I can start it tonight because the clinic is so awesome that they have 'loaned' me 2 boxes of the medications that I can replace once I can use my insurance coverage to get them from the pharmacy tomorrow! How awesome is that?! Not expected. Talk about making you feel cared for. They could've just forced me to buy from them and I'd be out the who-knows-how-much $$$$ and have to suck it up! Wow! God has definitely led us to this wonderful place where the doctors and clinic staff are warm, caring and inviting. Praise his name! I just know he has brought us here and he is taking care of everything.
Now, it's not even 10:00 a.m. and we are free until Monday morning....what to do???
I'm not sure. We'll ha:ve to find something to keep us busy.
Anyways,
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Love you all,

Jen

2 more weeks!

Well in 2 weeks (8 work days if you can believe it!) mom and I are off to Victoria! Luc has a bit more of a wait...but it's coming up fast!!!!
Newest update: I have $2000 in "medical travel expenses" I can claim through my benefits that I was unaware of until just a couple of weeks ago! Praise God! He is really taking care of everything for us.

I can't believe it's coming so fast. If I'm being honest, I'm not nervous at all about the IVF treatments at all (which sounds bizarre to most people I'm sure...but that's what a faith in God will do for you!). What I am nervous about is leaving my classroom kidlets for 6 days. Sounds ridiculous I'm sure...but it's hard. I have my routine and my way of doing things and as much as I completely trust the substitute that is coming in...it's still hard to say "here are my kids...here are my resources....have a great time!" Pray that the transition will go well for the kids and the substitute and that things will go smoothly in all areas.

Anyways, that's my quick little blurb! Not very "rambly" today!

Love you all! Thanks for you continued prayers and support!

Jen

Step by step we're moving forward, little by little we're taking ground...

Well it's been a while since I've posted an update, so I thought I'd let you all know what's going on in our journey to Victoria.
Things have been happening almost weekly. I've had lab work done and I've begun the prep stages of my treatment. I've been on my Metformin treatment the doctor prescribed me for my insulin resistance and I have lost nearly 15 pounds and I'm continuing to eat healthy and try to continue to get my weight down as a part of this journey. 
Also, so far, we have our flights booked and paid for, our accommodations booked and paid for, IVF deposit paid for (that's a nice chunk of it already paid), rental car booked, prescriptions faxed to and at the pharmacy (so that we can pay that before we get there and be reimbursed via benefits).
Now, I didn't write a post about this, but my number one 'worry' was being able to afford everything all at once. I have been faithfully praying that God would make a way for things to work and I tell you He is always faithful. I had this thought in the beginning (for some reason) that we would have to pay everything all at once and we wouldn't have a way to do it...but...we have been able to pay little by little and get different costs out of the way. The flights..done! The accommodations...done! Deposit on the IVF, done! My medications (which is potentially the most expensive part) are going to be paid for before we get to Victoria so we have time to be reimbursed and thus we will have more available funds to pay the remainder of our IVF costs. I just see this as such a blessing. The stress that I was having is literally melted away!!! All the glory be to God because I just know He has been leading and guiding this entire journey and continues to do so.
In other news, on the treatment front, I won't begin my full on treatment protocol until I am actually in Victoria, meaning that unlike the majority of patients who go through IVF who have to begin the treatment process (nasal spray/injections) before they get to the clinic...I will be in Victoria for the entire process. This is also somewhat comforting because I know my doctor will be close by. I know ladies go through it all the time on their own but somehow just knowing that I'll be seeing my doctor for appointments and stuff while I'm going through the process is very comforting. As I said before, the stress that I was feeling...that anxiety over things to come is quickly dissolving and it is all thanks to God. I feel His presence and His hand in everything and I take great comfort in knowing that He is watching over me at all times. This journey would be impossible without Him.
So there you have it, a bit of an update on what has been happening with us and our journey. Step one is only 46 days away. That's 46 days until mom and I hop on a plane to Victoria. A bit longer than that for Luc. It's coming so quickly!

Continue to lift us up in prayer. I can feel the presence of the Lord in all of this and it is in thanks to my wonderful prayer supporters.

Love you all,

Thanks for following our journey,

Jen