"A Mom!"
I heard this question and answer a lot in elementary school. It's not a bad answer, it just wasn't mine.
I wanted to be an Archaeologist. I planned on traveling the world, studying ancient cultures, meeting a dashing young officer and having grand adventures together. If we had kids.... great. If not... oh well.
That was 20 years ago. I've traveled, I've studied more ancient cultures than I'd like to admit, and I did indeed marry a young Marine with whom I've had lots of adventures. The trouble started when, for the first time in my life, I wanted to be a mom.
The plan was to go off birth control, go back to Utah for 6 months while Dale was training in Texas, move to Maryland, and get pregnant. Super easy.
One year passed, I was a little concerned. Something should have happened by now... So I did some research. People usually don't talk about what to do in case of infertility. I found a Reproductive Endocrinologist (didn't even know what that was...) and she immediately recommended Artificial Insemination. I wasn't ready for that... surely it was just a matter of getting my hormones balanced, or jump-starting my ovaries a bit. Short version? A few surgeries, lots of tests, and an 8 month period of "call me if you get pregnant" after a laparoscopy to test for endometriosis. It was time to move on.
Shady Grove Fertility boasts the best fertility success on the east coast. Plus they have catchy radio commercials. I called to make an appointment, and on the first visit with this new Endocrinologist he didn't hesitate to recommend In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) as our first choice. Again, I wasn't ready. But the idea of intrauterine insemination (IUI) intrigued me. Never mind the fact that IVF was $20,000, while the IUI would only cost about $1,200. Oh, did I fail to mention that Insurance doesn't cover most Infertility costs? Weird.
So we went ahead with the IUI. For those of you who don't want (or have never wanted) to know, here's a basic run-down from Shady Grove Fertility-
Intrauterine insemination is the process whereby your physician will
place a concentrated specimen of sperm in your uterus. For this
procedure, he or she will insert a speculum into your vagina in order to
better visualize your cervix. He or she will then pass a soft, thin
catheter through the cervix opening and into the uterus. The clinician
will introduce the washed sperm into the uterus through this catheter.
The procedure is done in our office and takes 1 to 2 minutes. It is
not painful and does not require anesthesia. You can return to normal
daily activities immediately after an IUI.
The best part of the IUI? The magical medical called Clomid. I loved waking up at 2am with hot flashes. I've always wanted to know what menopause felt like. And the mood swings? Dale was the lucky one with that. He got the crazy wife he always wanted. Unfortunately, that's where the good times ended. The IUI was unsuccessful, and no one could tell us why. We were pretty bummed. To cheer myself up, I planned a trip to New York for my Birthday.
The best part of the IUI? The magical medical called Clomid. I loved waking up at 2am with hot flashes. I've always wanted to know what menopause felt like. And the mood swings? Dale was the lucky one with that. He got the crazy wife he always wanted. Unfortunately, that's where the good times ended. The IUI was unsuccessful, and no one could tell us why. We were pretty bummed. To cheer myself up, I planned a trip to New York for my Birthday.
About the time we started the IUI, I heard about a program offered at a few military hospitals in the country. Procedures like IUI's and IVF are offered to military and their family for significantly cheaper than civilian clinics. By significant, I mean a quarter of the price. Turns out one of these hospitals was in DC, about 45 minutes away from us (without DC traffic...). When we got back from New York, I made the first of thousands of calls to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It was time to bring out the big guns.
No comments:
Post a Comment