Thursday, March 31, 2011

Weary and Waiting

Yesterday was rough. I honestly looked forward to it a great deal. Yesterday, being my latest doctor's appointment, represented potential answers, and I hoped, some resolution to the seemingly endless doctor's visits, tests, probing, poking, etc. I was, naturally, just a little nervous about what the results might be, but was ultimately quite excited. After all, answers are awesome to have!

Anyway, I arrived at the doctor's office to discover that the large waiting area was so full there was nowhere for us to sit. And that's kinda where the "rough" part started. After glancing around the room, it became glaringly apparent that the majority of women in there were probably 4-5 months pregnant. And that's where I started to struggle emotionally...not because I can't handle seeing a pregnant woman, but because there were so many of them all right in front of me. All of a sudden, I felt very, very alone.

After about 30-40 mins, I was called back for my appointment. I was really thankful to not have to look around at any more swollen bellies, and the excitement about knowing something started to return. But, all that diminished rapidly when the nurse turned to me and said, "We're scheduling your D&C today, right?" I was horrified; I hadn't heard anything about a D&C at my previous appointments, and to my knowledge have never been pregnant nor have my tests shown anything that I would need a D&C for. I managed to hold it together, and told the nurse I didn't know anything about a D&C. She double-checked the info after leaving me in a room, and came back and reiterated the real reason for my visit - to get results and plan further testing. I was greatly relieved to not have a D&C on the horizon!!

After awhile, the doctor came in and talked my results through with me. He said my biopsy results were great and show that I am just where I should be in reproductive stages. (He was a little concerned because I had a very early period in Feb and thought there may have been abnormal bleeding. But, my results show that I am within normal ranges, my period is just a little irregular.) There were also no signs of endometriosis, scar tissue or any other abnormalities based on my test results.

So what next? More tests - this time a HSG test and three months worth of ovulation kits. I am definitely not thrilled about having to wait three more months before we can even think about getting the letter we need for our agency, but I know it will be worth it to know if there are any issues we should know about. I'm just soo ready for this adoption to move forward!!

Oh, I guess I should explain the HSG test. Basically, it's an x-ray test where they will inject dye into the uterus, where it will then flow into the fallopian tubes to check for any blockages in the fallopian tubes. Then, they use an x-ray machine to watch the progress of the dye. Hopefully it will be a relatively smooth and pain-free process. The HSG test will probably be occurring in the third week of April.

Please be in continued prayer for us. This process has not been easy, particularly the waiting.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

More doc appts...

Today I (Rebekah) had my latest doc appointment. Out of all my appointments so far, I think this is the one that I have least looked forward to, due to how invasive one of the procedures would be.
I walked in to my appointment feeling just a bit apprehensive, but was quickly put at ease by a wonderful nurse. She completed the ultrasound (the first half of my appointment) and it was all over quickly. She didn't really say much about what the ultrasound showed, and from my position I couldn't see the screen at all. So, I pretty much had no idea whether my results were good or bad or somewhere in between.

In the second half of my appointment, when I saw the doctor, I was thrilled to discover that he had my results and shared them with me. He went through all of the different pictures and said that all of my reproductive organs they checked on the ultrasound look totally normal in size and there do not appear to be any cysts or anything of that nature. So, my ultrasound showed that from what they can see so far, I am healthy. :)

Then came the not-so-fun part: an endometrial biopsy. This was the part I dreaded because I'd read that this procedure can be both painful and/or uncomfortable. I was warned to take some kind of pain meds before arriving (which I did), but I don't think anything could have really prepared me for the intensity of the pain. All I wanted to do was get out of there as soon as possible!! Thankfully, the pain diminished relatively quickly after the procedure was complete and I am not in very much pain now at all.

During the biopsy, the doctor checked out my womb, which he said showed no signs of septum (additional tissue indicating abnormalities) or scarring. He said all looked great! Now we will need to wait for the actual biopsy results, which I should receive next Wed (30th). After this follow-up, I will be booked in for further testing - possibly a laparoscopy and/or hysterosalpingogram (HSG), as well as an ovulation kit. We are hoping that these will be the last tests required prior to getting the letter from my doctor. (What I'm reading online suggests that we have been through or will have gone through most of the common infertility tests by the time we do the laparoscopy.)

So, as far as we know, everything looks good to this point from my doctor's perspective, which is a big blessing! Another blessing from the past week is that our Tennessee clearance was finally completed. The person from TN was having difficulty getting the clearance faxed to our social worker (Julie) though, so I'm not sure if it's with Julie yet or not. When Julie does receive the clearance, our home study should be wrapped up pretty quickly. If all keeps moving with both the clearance/home study and my doctor's appointments, then we could probably be looking at beginning matching within the next month or so. I am soo excited!!

That's about all the big news with our adoption for now. We are excited to see what God will do in the coming days in continuing to provide for our financial needs for our adoption and also in opening all the doors for things to go smoothly. Thanks so much for your support and prayers!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Helloo...

Hey world. :)

Just thought I'd stop by to scribble a little note to you, telling you all about the latest happenings of the last couple of weeks. I can hardly believe it's been weeks since I was last here...boy the days fly!

So, what's up?

Well, not much, but a whole lot, all at the same time. Sounds confusing, eh? Let me explain...

You're probably all getting a bit tired of me repeating which pieces of paper we're waiting for, but I'm gonna say it one more time, just in case you've forgotten. We've been waiting on child abuse clearances from TN and AL, and have been working towards getting a doctor's letter saying I can physically carry a baby.

The clearances should have been simple and straightforward, but...three months later they still weren't in the hands of our home study provider, Julie. So, I took matters into my own hands and contacted people in both states, telling them we had been waiting a long time and something needed to move. Well, I guess I made an impression or something, because I got replies within one day of writing, and both people said they would get the clearances done ASAP. Awesome! Well, unfortunately, TN is being very slow, and we still don't have that clearance. But, we DO have the AL clearance! :D God is good.

As far as the doctor's letter goes, that's where things start to get just a tiny bit complicated. We have been going through infertility testing to ascertain why we haven't been able to conceive in almost three years. This has involved lots of blood work and the like to this point. However, my gynecologist has not been able to find anything wrong, and Caleb's results also show that things are pretty normal. So, my GYN, Deb, referred me out to another doctor who is able to do more extensive testing than is available on post.

I just visited my new GYN, Dr Warren (who is awesome btw) on Friday last week. I asked him about getting the letter for our adoption, but he would like to wait until we finish our testing so that he can concretely and without hesitation give me the all clear for being able to carry. I was just a little bit disappointed to have to continue waiting, but I fully understand the need to check every possibility before getting the letter.

So, the testing continues. I have a doc appointment scheduled for the 22nd of March (two more invasive tests being done this day), then at some point after that I'll most likely have a laparoscopy done. After that...who knows what other testing will be involved. We'll just have to wait and see.

God has really blessed our adoption fund. We now have 60% of the total needed to pay for our adoption!!

Thank you to all who have been praying for and encouraging us as we walk this long journey to bring our little one home. We love you!