So here we are now, nearing the end of Jesse's radiation therapy! We have only a part of a week left, 3 days, and then we have a month off before scans. He has been doing absolutely wonderfully. We're ready to move on from this chapter of our lives! I don't expect this will be the end of the book, not for a while yet, but a little less crazy, that would be nice.
Since life has a funny way of throwing at you your capacity of what you're able to handle all at the same time, no sooner did my first IVF cycle begin than we realized that the rashes on my legs were not from insects coming in through the newly-opened windows for the air conditioning units, but bedbugs. I've heard legends about how awful a bedbug infestation can be to get rid of. Not just the cost, but the preparation is a royal pain in the tush. Those legends I can now confirm, are true.
It's not just the embarrassment! Another kind of "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" kind of question. Well, we do think we know how we got them. The very emergency room we spent the night in the very last weekend in March was treated for bedbugs, the very weekend we were there. No sooner did we return home and I started finding tell-tale red streaks in the bedding. Coincidence? Hardly. Prove it? Good luck. But for all the embarrassment, the exterminators reassured me that this could happen to anyone, at any time, and is in no means a reflection of our housekeeping. They are nasty, clever, and sneaky little bastards who like to hitch a ride on anyone they can get and spread their misery. They love wheelchairs, they love transport ambulances. Both of which Jesse found himself in when going from Strong to Unity, that very weekend.
So the research began. Immediately I found myself in panic when I saw some people had paid $4,000 to have their house treated. That's more than I make in a month, before tax. How were we going to come up with that while also paying for cancer treatments and in vitro? Luckily, it wasn't to be so bad in our little neck of the woods, in our little house.
We called an emergency exterminator over that day and were quoted a few hundred to do just our bedroom, where he was convinced the problem was confined to. Okay good, I just want to get a few other quotes. Most exterminators say, you can't do just one room because they ARE so clever, they will follow you to other rooms and hide out for months making you think they're gone, then they will come back out to start the whole messy cycle all over again. So we called around a few more places and finally settled on one.
Well, we don't have central in our house. We have window units in our bedroom and in the downstairs. We could sleep in the guest bedroom, sure! Of course there was the risk of the bugs following us (luckily they didn't appear to), but there was also no air conditioning. It was fine for a few nights, but then summer hit in Rochester as it usually does: with no transition from winter. So for the last two weeks or so, Jesse and I have been sleeping on the couches in our living room where the cooler air is.
At first it was fun, kind of like sleepovers when I was a kid. But it got old FAST. I miss my memory foam! Then we had to start the prep for the treatment. Prep includes washing every article of clothing we own, every sheet, every towel. Everything that can go into a washing machine, has to go. Those things that can't, lucky I had a friend tell me about putting things into black bags, sealing them, and put them out in the sun to "Bake". See, I have a lot of fragile homemade dresses, my wedding dress, yarn, and a lot of fabric that I do not want to put through the wash and can't afford to have it all dry cleaned. So, into black bags they all went.
Mind you while all this is going on, I'm still pumping myself full of hormones. It's no wonder I had an emotional meltdown last weekend! Of course luck should have it that I was projected to go for retrieval the same day the exterminator was coming.
At first it was a bit of a hassle that my body did not cooperate to be ready that day. I had to switch my days off at work and I'm trying not to let them know I'm going through an IVF. They've been so accommodating with everything for Jesse and I don't want to take advantage of them and rock the boat. But after retrieval, NO driving for 24 hours and I knew I would be pretty sore. But it turned out for the best, we had the exterminator come and take care of the house, Jesse spent the night with his parents and I spent the night with mine. We could have gone back into the house but thought in both our conditions it would be best to give it a couple of days for the poison to dissipate a little further. My dad was my ride to Syracuse for my retrieval, and it was just easier to stay there and cut some time off the commute.
Retrieval was the one item that went without a hitch. They were able to get 13 eggs, and they were done with me before I even knew they'd knocked me out! I remember handing over my phone after texting Jesse that we were getting started, then it was a blank until "You did great, Katie! We got 13, now rest up and we'll get you on your way in a little bit!"
I'm not going to lie... I've heard of some of my girl friends having 20, 30+ and I want to maximize our chances of success so I was sad that we only got a baker's dozen to work with. Even though I know, they aim for 10-15! So really 13 is ideal. My pain was minimal, just some bloating. And I slept, a lot!
So now we wait... we are still with my in-laws until this afternoon, and I'm waiting for the call to come in to let me know how our embabies are doing. While last week was nothing but dizzy stress and preparation, this week should be a breeze! We wrap up Jesse's treatments, we can start to settle the house (and get back to my beloved memory foam), and hopefully send two beautiful babies home to grow. Then a little while after that we'll find out if either one stuck! I'm looking forward to a little bit of calm and joy after 3 months of crazy madness.
Please pray we are on the other side of this crazy stressful mountain!
Since life has a funny way of throwing at you your capacity of what you're able to handle all at the same time, no sooner did my first IVF cycle begin than we realized that the rashes on my legs were not from insects coming in through the newly-opened windows for the air conditioning units, but bedbugs. I've heard legends about how awful a bedbug infestation can be to get rid of. Not just the cost, but the preparation is a royal pain in the tush. Those legends I can now confirm, are true.
It's not just the embarrassment! Another kind of "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" kind of question. Well, we do think we know how we got them. The very emergency room we spent the night in the very last weekend in March was treated for bedbugs, the very weekend we were there. No sooner did we return home and I started finding tell-tale red streaks in the bedding. Coincidence? Hardly. Prove it? Good luck. But for all the embarrassment, the exterminators reassured me that this could happen to anyone, at any time, and is in no means a reflection of our housekeeping. They are nasty, clever, and sneaky little bastards who like to hitch a ride on anyone they can get and spread their misery. They love wheelchairs, they love transport ambulances. Both of which Jesse found himself in when going from Strong to Unity, that very weekend.
So the research began. Immediately I found myself in panic when I saw some people had paid $4,000 to have their house treated. That's more than I make in a month, before tax. How were we going to come up with that while also paying for cancer treatments and in vitro? Luckily, it wasn't to be so bad in our little neck of the woods, in our little house.
We called an emergency exterminator over that day and were quoted a few hundred to do just our bedroom, where he was convinced the problem was confined to. Okay good, I just want to get a few other quotes. Most exterminators say, you can't do just one room because they ARE so clever, they will follow you to other rooms and hide out for months making you think they're gone, then they will come back out to start the whole messy cycle all over again. So we called around a few more places and finally settled on one.
Well, we don't have central in our house. We have window units in our bedroom and in the downstairs. We could sleep in the guest bedroom, sure! Of course there was the risk of the bugs following us (luckily they didn't appear to), but there was also no air conditioning. It was fine for a few nights, but then summer hit in Rochester as it usually does: with no transition from winter. So for the last two weeks or so, Jesse and I have been sleeping on the couches in our living room where the cooler air is.
At first it was fun, kind of like sleepovers when I was a kid. But it got old FAST. I miss my memory foam! Then we had to start the prep for the treatment. Prep includes washing every article of clothing we own, every sheet, every towel. Everything that can go into a washing machine, has to go. Those things that can't, lucky I had a friend tell me about putting things into black bags, sealing them, and put them out in the sun to "Bake". See, I have a lot of fragile homemade dresses, my wedding dress, yarn, and a lot of fabric that I do not want to put through the wash and can't afford to have it all dry cleaned. So, into black bags they all went.
Mind you while all this is going on, I'm still pumping myself full of hormones. It's no wonder I had an emotional meltdown last weekend! Of course luck should have it that I was projected to go for retrieval the same day the exterminator was coming.
At first it was a bit of a hassle that my body did not cooperate to be ready that day. I had to switch my days off at work and I'm trying not to let them know I'm going through an IVF. They've been so accommodating with everything for Jesse and I don't want to take advantage of them and rock the boat. But after retrieval, NO driving for 24 hours and I knew I would be pretty sore. But it turned out for the best, we had the exterminator come and take care of the house, Jesse spent the night with his parents and I spent the night with mine. We could have gone back into the house but thought in both our conditions it would be best to give it a couple of days for the poison to dissipate a little further. My dad was my ride to Syracuse for my retrieval, and it was just easier to stay there and cut some time off the commute.
Retrieval was the one item that went without a hitch. They were able to get 13 eggs, and they were done with me before I even knew they'd knocked me out! I remember handing over my phone after texting Jesse that we were getting started, then it was a blank until "You did great, Katie! We got 13, now rest up and we'll get you on your way in a little bit!"
I'm not going to lie... I've heard of some of my girl friends having 20, 30+ and I want to maximize our chances of success so I was sad that we only got a baker's dozen to work with. Even though I know, they aim for 10-15! So really 13 is ideal. My pain was minimal, just some bloating. And I slept, a lot!
So now we wait... we are still with my in-laws until this afternoon, and I'm waiting for the call to come in to let me know how our embabies are doing. While last week was nothing but dizzy stress and preparation, this week should be a breeze! We wrap up Jesse's treatments, we can start to settle the house (and get back to my beloved memory foam), and hopefully send two beautiful babies home to grow. Then a little while after that we'll find out if either one stuck! I'm looking forward to a little bit of calm and joy after 3 months of crazy madness.
Please pray we are on the other side of this crazy stressful mountain!
YOU'VE GOT THIS!!!! You two are doing great in the face of not such great circumstances. Now I say great with the knowledge that you probably feel anything but... I'm so glad that you're able to share with us what's going on, and that honesty is going to help you through the process. I'm proud of you both for weathering all of your storms, and hopefully you're headed for some smooth sailing. All of my prayers and thoughts are with you both!! <<>> <<<<>>>>> <<<<<>>>>>> <<<<<>>>>>
ReplyDeletePraying that your embassies grow quickly and hardy! Wishing you all the best, you have both been through so much. You are handling it all with so much class. You are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing and keeping us updated. Love and Prayers!
ReplyDelete*embabies, not embassies, errrrrrr, I hate auto correct!
Delete*embabies, not embassies, errrrrrr, I hate auto correct!
Delete