I know this was promised more than a week ago. Somehow my entire spring break slipped by without my writing a post. With our recent change of season, I have a renewed fervor to keep up with my blog. I miss writing! Unfortunately, sleep tends to win when I'm struggling to decide whether to write or catch up on sleep.
So, as much as I know you're curious to hear all about nursing school, I will skip that for now to tell you a little about what we have planned baby-wise for this spring.
I recently called the doctor to let him know I was ready to get things in order to proceed with our next fresh IVF cycle. Turns out there were a few things I needed to do before we could forge full-speed ahead. First, I had to go in for a hysterosonogram. I went in last Friday, a little nervous, but ready to get the show on the road. I had instructions to take some ibuprofen or Tylenol prior to my appointment. A hysterosonogram is a test that looks at the uterus and checks for polyps or any physical abnormalities inside the uterus and with the uterine lining. I'll spare you the details, suffice it to say all results were normal.
Next up is a routine gynecological exam, scheduled for Monday. Sometime within the next month or two, Tony and I will also each have to go to the lab for an HIV test. They are very strict about us having one every year. I appreciate that they are diligent, but I also think it's a little silly when two people are in a monogamous relationship and have no other risky behaviors that would put us at higher risk for that disease.
I am currently taking birth control, because when the active pills are done the change in hormones will trigger a period. The plan is for me to get all these tests done this month. After my next cycle start, I will be in what they call a prep cycle. I will continue taking birth control while my medications get ordered and we get all set to start the fresh cycle. I am anticipating that our cycle will start sometime in May. It will consist of approximately two weeks of medication injections, followed by an embryo transfer. Depending on the results of our cycle, we are debating whether we will be transferring one or two embryos. Our initial (optimistic) thought was that we would transfer two, one fresh and one of our frozen embryos.
Along with all the excitement also comes stress. The clinic has changed their policy and wants us to pay our entire out-of-pocket maximum prior to beginning IVF. This means we need to come up with $3250 before May. Yikes. We have some of it, thanks to family help, but are still working to gather the rest. I have faith that we can do this, it was just very unexpected. I have seen other providers since 2015 began, so I know we will be receiving a partial refund because some of that out-of-pocket max will already be used. Apparently the clinic is doing this to ensure that patients pay their portion prior to the procedure. I understand, but it's annoying all the same.
On a side note, I quit my job at the grocery store a few weeks ago. The decision was based on principle. I felt I was unfairly blamed for something, management disagreed. Basically, a woman went through my line and grabbed her groceries and left before the transaction was finished. She'd swiped her credit card, but somehow the transaction canceled itself and she was already out the door. They took the amount out of my drawer and it would be recorded in my file that my drawer was short that amount ($46.12). I spoke to management about the fact that I disagreed with the way things were handled. Ultimately it made no difference. So, I am in the process of looking for another job...this time in the health care field. There is one I'm looking at that would be taking care of an 88 year-old man in his home. I'm excited about the prospect.
Alright, my next class is starting, so I'm signing off for now! I will write again soon -- promise!
