Grounded
14 December 2006I have faith. Not in a higher power or in a religion, but in the idea that things happen for a reason. That doesn’t mean that I am a passive participant in my life. I work hard and I make educated choices and I believe that I have some measure of control over the life that I lead. I know from experience that the other side of a challenge can be rewarding in unexpected ways if you can see it through to the end. That said, the last 9 months have been particularly challenging.
March - August:
Visited a reproductive endocrinologist to find out cause of infertility
Visited two different urologists (one a specialist in male infertility)
Three different semen analyses confirm a low sperm count
Scheduled surgical correction with 70% odds of success
June:
My dad drove off a cliff
September:
A breast lump discovery yielded atypical cells during an aspiration
Mammogram, biopsy and surgical consults performed
Drew had his surgery - results will take 90 days
October:
My step dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer
November:
We bought a (to be built) house in Colorado
December:
My step dad had surgery to remove his prostate
A debilitating case of the flu passed from me to Drew
My company is “restructuring” which will ultimately leave me jobless
Results from the post-surgery semen analysis are worse then before
The good news is that my dad is fine, my step dad came through surgery with flying colors and my breast lump went away.
The bad news is that we need to figure out how to sell our house for the amount of money we need in a rapidly declining market. Drew will need to find a job in Colorado, and my job transfer is no longer set in stone. We need to perform on the new house by July. The results of the semen analysis all but guarantee that we will never have children the old fashion way. IVF is our only option, and at 15k it is not something we can afford to do until we’re settled in Colorado. We’re probably at least a year away and the odds of success are only about 33%.
And here we are. Waiting to get to the other side and hoping for the best. I believe that everything will work out in the end but for the time being things are tough and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
on December 15th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Yeah, challenging times, to be sure. What do you mean the results of IVF are only 33%? You mean each attempt? I got the impression that it was something we could count on - we’d just have to pay.
on December 15th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Yes, well that is the spin… There is a 33% shot at each attempt. It may be possible to make three separate attempts from one egg extraction, which is where our RE was implying 100 (or 99) % coverage. There is no guarantee.
on December 16th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Amy: Sorry to hear about the latest setbacks. I wish I had something more helpful to say than “Good luck!”…