My eyes popped open at 4am this morning. There was no snoozing until my alarm at 6. It was transfer day!
My appointment was at 9am but I arrived by taxi at 8:20 or so. I knew I had to submit some paperwork and go over my meds with the nurse to see if I needed anything before leaving.
I was the only one there (patient-wise) and after handing over my originals and receiving photocopies of all my forms the nurse led me to the aftercare area where I was to meet the embryologist. I was surprised by the size of the clinic. Although the outside, and structurally inside, it appears to be a late 19th century estate, full of graceful lines and swirls of baroque detail, the inside is gleaming white and modern.
The bright and sunny aftercare room was upstairs and contained three beds which had fluffy duvet covers on them and big square European sized pillows plopped at their heads. The radiator was set to "toast" and as I waited for the embryologist to come in I considered crawling under one of the duvets and taking a nap.
The embryologist brought with her a spreadsheet of my embryos' life since retrieval. Today, day 5, I had two hatching blastocysts and two blastocysts. Although I had been wrestling with the "how many embryos do I transfer" issue, when she asked me how many I'd like to transfer I quickly answered, "two". She said the other two were strong and would freeze nicely. Two as potential backups? I couldn't even digest that as I was assuming there would be nothing to freeze.
After she finished talking about the embryos and the procedure, the embryologist took from her pocket an object wrapped in paper. She said she is a painter also and painted something for me. She unwrapped a shiny white quartz-like rock about the size of a Chapstick cube. On it she had painted a four leaf clover with each leaf resembling a heart. She said she wanted this token to bring me good fortune and happiness. I was taken aback by this unexpected act of kindness. As I held it in the palm of my hand I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes and had to fight the urge to stand and hug her. Instead I thanked her sincerely and rushed to the restroom. Not exactly graceful but I hadn't prepared for that.
Next the nurse came to take me to the "operating theatre" where, when I entered the outside room, I was asked to step on a sticky piece of flooring and leave my shoes placed on it. I then put on my socks (not lucky ones, just plain ones to cover the horrific state of my pedicure due to travel), removed my pants and underwear and put on a paper skirt given to me by the nurse. It was more like an apron and it reminded me of the ones Lucy Ricardo wore on "I Love Lucy" (where this odd thought came from at a time like that I do not know!). I then crammed my size ten feet into the white Crocs given to me by the nurse and shuffled into the theatre.
The doctor explained the procedure (his English was very good so I think the first time I met him he was just using the nurse-translator for medical terms). The embryologist came in with the catheter, then left to check it and I was done! The nurse stood by my side the whole time with her hand on my shoulder and when he was done the doctor said I had a "perfect transfer" with perfect lining, perfect embryos, no cervix problems and no bleeding. As he was telling me this I felt like he was talking to someone else. "Who me? L'il ole me?" *dragging one toe in a circle in the dust*. Also at this time it finally came to me that he looked like a young Dominic West. This had been bugging me since I first met him. I could not figure out who he reminded me of. Again with the arcane thoughts apropos of nothing.
I was then left to rest on the table for 15 mintes after which the embryologist brought me. ACD of my embryos' development. The nurse then let me change and led me back to the aftercare room where I got my trigger shot in the rear, collected my things and went down to reception to pay 350 Czeck Crowns for my trigger shot (about $16). A taxi was then called and I headed back to the hotel where I took a short nap.
I wandered to the town square to discover a food festival hosted by restaurants in the area. For about $1.25 I could buy a ticket to exchange for small plates of food at any of the 25 booths. I bought 8 tickets and moved from booth to booth sampling homemade potato gnocchi smothered in mushroom sauce, small mountains of garlic mashed potatoes under thick slices if roasted ham and several other delicious offerings. It was pretty crowded, especially at the last boo, so I stood in line and handed over my last two tickets for a plate filled with two skewers of roasted meat with apples. I went over to a table to devour the food, marveling at its tenderness and rich flavor. I got up and moved towards the trash container and froze in my tracks. There, just after the booth, was a small pen filled with straw which contained two fuzzy and gangly baby ostriches. They were lurching around the pen, snapping at each other with their beaks and batting their long eyelashes at the kids who were peering between the fence. I just ate one of their relatives! I'm obviously not a vegetarian but I didn't expect to see those two adorable creatures after eating one of them!
I then walked back to my hotel where I am now snuggled under a feather duvet watching old episodes of "Frasier". For some reason this all-Frasier channel is the only English channel. Kelsey Grammer must be getting even more wealthy from Czech tv!
I feel great and am going to take it easy for the next day and a half. It's hard to sit still when I've been constantly on the go. London is my next stop before home. I am now wrestling with testing. I brought along some cheapie strip tests. I just don't know if I want to test while in my most favorite place on earth. If it's bad news I don't want the two associated. Like S.carlett, I'll think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.
Start testing out the trigger so you can watch it fade back in!!! I know you want this SO BAD...and I want it so badly for you as well. Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteWow..this really does sound like the perfect transfer! Waiting with you for your BFP.
ReplyDeleteSounds like everything went as well as it possibly could have! I've got fingers and toes crossed for you and sending all the good vibes I've got!
ReplyDeleteWow! I am living this vicariously with you (I've never been out of the U.S.). I'm glad the transfer went so well and am praying for the BFP you've fought so hard for.
ReplyDeleteOh, wonderful!!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a trigger to worry about, but I had a glaringly obvious positive by 6 days after transfer...
Wishing you only the best!
Two hatching blasts -- that is awesome! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI don't think things could have gone any better than this. So excited and hopeful for you! Good luck and enjoy London. :)
ReplyDeleteThe clinic sounds like a vacation spot itself. Enjoy the rest of your trip and don't test until you get home. God luck.
ReplyDeleteHooray! This is truly fantastic news. Having two to freeze is an extra bonus. Have a great time in London!
ReplyDeleteGood luck hon!
Such a great transfer day! Ostrich aside, lol! Keeping fingers & toes crossed for you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful transfer! I am so excited and happy for you. I am sending all the good thoughts I can and hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. Stick embies stick!
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