FET 8: Transfer day

I signed all the consent forms electronically ahead of time. Due to COVID protocols, my husband was not allowed to hang out with me in the waiting booth this time. They made him stay in the main waiting area until I was taken to the OR and then he was escorted in. I'm glad he was able to come at all since in this new world that's not at all a given.

They asked me to come in an hour before my scheduled procedure. While I waited and sipped water to get my bladder nice and full, I heard the other patients being wheeled to recovery from their procedures. One lady just beyond my curtain was coming out of an egg retrieval. She got 19 eggs and sounded like she was in a lot of pain. At one point while getting dressed she dropped her phone on the floor. Instinctively I reached out to get it then remembered the invisible privacy barrier between those curtain dividers. We're supposed to pretend we can't hear all the TMI happening just inches away. I called out asking her if she wants me to pick up the phone, and she responded, "Yes please" almost in tears. A nurse got to it before me and helped the patient. I'm sorry for how much pain she's in now. More sorry for her knowing the pain will be uncomfortable the next 3-5 days before she starts feeling better. I wanted to share with her all the tips and tricks I've learned over the years from going through multiple IVF cycles, at the very least remind her to snack on salty foods and stay hydrated no matter how much it hurts to pee. But not only was she not in the place to hear it - she was still very out of it and asking questions on repeat - she was also on her own journey. Maybe today is her hard day and tomorrow she'll bounce right back. Why should I scare her with how long it took me to recover. It's so individualized. 

Back to my story, my official weigh in this morning was 3.2 lbs higher than the last transfer. Different this time was also that in the waiting booth I just got a chair, not a bed. And I walked to the OR instead of getting wheeled in. Almost as though they didn't want to go through cleaning another bed in the COVID era. Two female doctors ran the procedure, with one female embryologist. The whole thing took about 10 minutes, which included the adjustment of the legs and instruments. 

We feel blessed to be in a position to be able to try again. Feels really lucky that it landed on a week day, not on shabbat or holiday, and that daycare is open and available (not a given considering the recent weather event and all the COVID protocols). 

The embryo they transferred was categorized as B/B, frozen as A/A. We're hoping for the best and I'm trying to tame my superstitions. For example, the doctor offered me a photo of the embryo. I have one from every transfer except the last one that was successful. I wanted the photo but was worried that taking it might "jinx" things. Logically I know there isn't any connection. But those are hard rooted and ingrained deep from years of failure. 

We left and picked up brunch, ran a few errands for the upcoming holiday, then both went back to work. Business as usual. Over brunch we chatted about the morning and discussed the lady in the booth near mine in pain from her retrieval. The conversation shifted to what-if scenarios and he asked if I would consider doing another retrieval if things came to that. I can't say for sure at this point, but I really hope I won't need to. We tabled the discussion to focus on the here and now. One day at a time. Our job now is to wait.