This past week has been nothing less than go-go-go!!! I've been busy at work, doing evaluations and finishing last minute details, which has been great because it's kept me busy and I've not had much time to let my mind wander!! I basically went every other day to the egg man to get ultrasounds to see the growth of the eggies this week!! They were all growing like little weeds in their ovarian home. I went from taking one shot in my tummy to taking two shots in my tummy. The head aches were really the worst part of everything. I pretty much had non-stop, daily head poundings. Since I have stopped the shots, the head aches have come to a complete halt. Yahoo for that!!!!! I took my final shot at 830 pm on Thursday night, knowing that Saturday would be the day that my little eggies would be delivered! I had been working on a very special project this week, so it was very difficult for me to time myself to get home in order to take my shots on time. I was basically screeching in the driveway with one minute to spare!! Ha Ha So, I took my final shot on Thursday and stayed in constant prayer for those little precious things that I was harbouring in my body! Saturday morning came and good gravy... Ok, so I know I was NOT in labor, HOWEVER, I swear I was having sympathy contractions. My ovaries were obviously doing some "contracting" because it hurt to put one foot in front of the other, it hurt to sit, it hurt to stand... and I was enjoying EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT!!!!! We woke up early that morning because we had to drive into Houston to their surgery center for the proceure. Sister, Mom, Grams and I got there and they pretty much took me back right away. I dressed in my little scrub cap and booties and my gown and the nurse started the IV fluids. The egg doctor, the anesthesiologist and the RN came in to talk to mom and I, all were EXTREMELY sweet!!! :) No one except the doctor had a history on me, so they didn't know my situation. Mom explained to them why I was doing an egg harvest and EVERYONE stopped to tell me that they would be praying for me. It was really quite a blessing!! I was extremely excited for this day, Mom was a nervous wreck!!! Bless her little heart! I could see the worry in her eyes, but I kept hugging her and telling her it was gonna be ok because her grandchildren were half here!!! I don't think it helped any, but I tried!! As much as I knew I was going to worry about the "eggsickles", as my boss likes to call them, my mom was worried about her kiddo too. This was the first time I was going to get anesthesia!! EEK! I actually wasn't nervous about the procedure at all, just looking forward to being done. I did my hugs and kisses and they took me back to their surgical room. Looked just like a mini OR and it even came equipped with that skinny bed you hafta lay on!! If you move an inch to the left or the right, you're gonna fall off and do a face plant on the floor! I get on the bed and the anesthesiologist tells me that I'm gonna feel a warm sensation in my arm, all while the RN is telling me to scoot my butt down on the table because apparently I wasn't where I needed to be. RUSH RUSH RUSH was the name of the game in there! Well folks, I never felt a warm sensation in my arm, however...... I did feel like I should have been at Woodstock! My tongue felt really strange, I was dizzy, my limbs got really heavy and I had this weird taste in my mouth. I was laying on the bed and the ceiling looked like a constant slide show, the same picture over and over and over. I DID NOT like the way that made me feel! They introduced the embryologist to me and he said he would be counting my eggs as they came out. I politely told him that he'd better count correctly. Ha Ha Guess they thought that was funny cause they laughed. Then, the anesthesiologist started tucking me in with my blankets and telling me that my ears looked sunburned. Strange thing to notice. I was in such a daze while all of this was going on, yet I remember every minute of it. She put my nasal canula O2 on my nose and asked me if it was too tight. My reply... it's not really gonna matter sister cause I won't know it in about three minutes. They must have thought I was a fruit cake. I remember giggling quite a bit in there. I also remember fighting going to sleep REALLY BADLY! I kept thinking that if they saw my eyes closed, they would think I was asleep and they would start the procedure and I was gonna feel it. I forced them to stay open as long as I possibly could. Probably 13 seconds after that last thought, I told everyone in the room that I just loved them (I really, really think they must have thought I was a crack head!!!) and then BAAM, I was out like a light!! Got to recovery and this really nice girl was waking me up. I asked her if I was finished because honestly, it felt like I had only been asleep for like 5 minutes!! It was SOOOOO weird waking up!! Much to my surprise, I wasn't totally out of it. I remember the conversation she and I had and her giving me some water. Then she asked if I wanted my mom and sister to come back. I remember asking her if they got my eggies out and if they were safe. She said, "yes, the dr got 9 of them." (9 follicles were extracted, but only 7 were able to freeze) I was super excited!!! Mom and sister came in and we all chatted while I tried to wake up. I felt really good, until....... The dr called and wanted to talk to me. They moved my bed over to the phone and I spoke with him. All was well until they rolled my bed two feet back to where it originally was. Lord have mercy!!! I felt it coming on strong... I got hot and clammy and sure enough the puking began!!! So, Dana and anesthesia do not mix well. I took a zofran before the procedure and she gave me one after, but it wasn't helping at all. I tried SO hard to not throw up because I HATE, HATE, HATE puking, but there was nothing I could do. Finally, she gave me some phenergan and all the nausea stopped. Then, the freezing started. Seriously wild trip!!! Ha Ha (This is why I said I felt like I was at Woodstock!!!) Note to self, before my big surgery, I WILL be explaining to the anesthesiologist that I AM a puker and I'd better have plenty of nausea meds on board!!! Everything calmed down and I was able to get dressed and be wheeled outta there. I think I slept and snored and drooled and prolly talked in my sleep on the way home?? I was tired and starving!!! After we got home, I slept almost all afternoon. I woke up just feeling SUPER achy and bloated. Mom said I should feel some pain because, afterall, I DID deliver 9 eggies!!! Ha Ha I had my vicodin script filled, but decided not to take any of it. I was in pain, but it was bearable. It hurt to cough or sneeze or laugh, but overall, it wasn't bad at all. Today, I've been pretty slow moving and sorta grunt when getting up and down, but as the time has gone by, the pain has decreased tremendously!! It basically just feels like I have really bad cramps.
This was pre anesthesia!!
Alright, because these eggies are SOOOOOOO incredibly important to not only me, but my momma and sister as well, we decided to give them all nick names. You may think it's silly, but it just made sense to name them all. I thought and thought and thought and finally came up with some. They are as follows: Pumpkin, Munchkin, Snuggle Bug, Love Bug, Sassy Pants, Chubby Cheeks, Wiggle Worm, Whistle Britches (mom's favorite!!) and Sweet Pea. I know that they're only eggs and that they have to be fertilized to become a baby, but it doesn't make me love them any less. After the procedure, I actually felt a love in my heart that I have never felt before. I just smiled and smiled and was SO happy to have all those little eggies there, waiting to someday call me "mommy". Even with everything that's going on right now, this gave me SUCH joy and love!! I constantly think about them and it's only been a day since they were removed. I told the girls that I was going to think about those sweet things every single day, which probably isn't a good thing because that's going to make my baby itch even worse!! Ha Ha I will be anticipating every moment until I can get those things "watered" and get a baby that cries and poops!! :) So, Saturday, August 11, 2012 will be their Happy Birthday date. And yes, they will always have TWO birthday's!!!
Ok, so I mentioned a special project that I was working on this week. I have tried and tried and tried to find something special and unique to give mom and sister. I wanted to say "Thank you", but how do you tell your mom and sister thank you so much for taking care of me while I have the c word? I don't think there is anything in the world that would be worth or even amount to how grateful I am for the love and support. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks! I decided that I was going to make them onsies for the babies (and yes, they were girl onsies!! Ha Ha)! I'm sure it seems a little "off" to all of you, but I knew in my heart that this special gift would make these two happier than ever! So, almost every night this past week, I had been going over to a friend of my mom's house and she had been helping me make these cute things! I basically just bought plain white onesies and put little designs on each of them. I made the ones for sister wild and bright and the ones for mom soft and pink. Super special thanks to Mrs. Cheryl for helping me out with these, btw!!! :) I had them in my bad and yes, they were burning a hole in my little mind because I wanted to give them to the girls immediately. My initial plan was to have Mrs. Cheryl give them to the girls after I had gone into the OR on the day of my surgery, however, plans changed. When I got home Friday night, mom had this burning hole in her brain look as well. Hmmmmm..... She had mentioned that she was making me some sort of scrap book thingie and that she needed my ultrasound pictures. Well, I've known my momma for 33 years now, and I know a sneaky situation when I see it. She and I left the house and went and picked up dinner, then waited for sister to get home. They were secretly whispering in the kitchen, which made me even more sure that something was fixing to go down. They brought me this plate of cookies and cakes and said, "Oh look, it's a tray of sweets, kinda like you get a showers." I was a little confused at first, but in 3 seconds, I realized what was going on. They were giving me a baby shower!!! Seriously, a baby shower!!! HOW FUN!!!!!!!! I know the grin on my face had to be ridiculous because my cheeks were hurting from smiling!! They each brought me a box, wrapped with a cute little bow. I opened the first box, from sister, and it had the most beautiful little swim suit and matching bonnet, along with a super cute little fairy dress up set of wings and an adorable wand to match. So happy was I!!!!! :) There was a super precious little stuffed elephant on the front of the package as well. Then, mom handed me another box that had a way cute pair of plaid shorts and matching shoes in it... and another box that had a Mud Pie collection outfit that was pink and green and SOOOOO stinkin cute!!! (It came with a matching hat as well!!) Then, mom gave me another box. It was the eggie scrap book. OMG!!! I had the biggest tears!!! She got the book from Things Remembered and had it engraved. The side says, "Dana's Precious Babies", with the date of my procedure on them and the front says, "My Eggies- Love You Mom". When I opened it up, there were slots for each of my ultrasound pictures to go in. There is a special little place on the front page where we have placed the nick names of all the eggies. There are two open slots on the back to which I will place a picture of myself and the egg doctor that I took on Saturday and a picture of the building where the eggies will be housed until they get "watered". The tears were flowing at this point... I have a book, that I can look at every single day and be reminded that when all of this is over, I have something SO incredibly amazing and joyous waiting on me. I will use this book as a constant reminder that I have to fight even harder because those baby eggies need me. I will allow that book to be my joy when I'm down or when I'm sad or when I'm frightened because in the end, I know that God will give me such an incredible prize, the prize of becoming a mother. Those little fellas have no clue how much I already love them!!! The tears are streaming down my face right now as I write this because I know, someday, all of this devistation and heart ache and pain will be worth it. If this is the way God needed me to get my babies, then so be it. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that those little precious darlings will have MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART!!!!!! Honestly, I just cant wait until that day comes!!! Gah, I'm such a sap!!! lol So, after they gave me my little gifts, I just couldn't hold back any longer! I HAD to do it... I gave in and gave them their onesies!! Oh they loved them!!!! So happy were they to get a present at the baby shower too!!! :) I think it's funny that all of us decided that giving a baby gift to each other, without us knowing what the other was doing, is only a sign of true love. I think because we all know the desires of each others hearts, it was only right to give such special gifts to each other!! And please, before you say anything at all, know this... I don't care if I hafta hatch one or buy one or rent one, some how, some way, I'm getting a GIRL! I think it's only appropriate because oh my, I'm not sure that we would know what to do with those boy thingies??? UGH! HA HA
Well, that about does it for my week. I hate that I really only have time to blog once a week, but we have all been just so super busy!!
Please, please, please continue the prayers... my time is getting closer and it's getting harder to breathe!! I keep taking deep breaths, but man, this is difficult!!! I think I'm just ready to get this over with and start to move forward!! I am in constant prayer that God have his hand on every person that's in that OR with me and every person that will take care of me while I'm in the hospital. I'm praying for comfort and peace (and secretly, not too much pain!!!). Thank you ALL so very much for continuing to support and pray and love and encourage me!!! Seriously, you have NO CLUE how much I'm enjoying the messages and the texts and the cards!!! They certainly brighten my day and they make me smile a little more!!!! Big, big, big hugs and thank you for the continued love and support! You just have no clue how important the constant prayer and reminders are for me. It just means so very much to have love and support during these crazy times!!! Much love, Dana
