Embryo Transfer

So in a last minute call from my clinic, the embryologist decided that he DID want to transfer the embryos today instead of Wednesday. We made the two-hour drive in about an hour and a half (we would have loved a police escort) but we arrived safely.

The procedure was done adjacent to the cryogenics lab. We even got to peek inside. It's so amazing; the floors around the cryo-tanks peel (even concrete) because it's so cold! The doctor doing the transfer told the embryologist to prepare the embryos and then the embryologist just popped out of the cryo lab and handed them to him. The transfer took just seconds and we were able to see the two "embryos," well actually just the tiny bubble they were riding on, as they entered my uterus through the tubing. Truly incredible. I can't say enough about how insane it was to watch. After that the embryologist checked the catheter to make sure that the embryos weren't still in it and that was it! Other than the ridiculously full bladder I had (necessary for the procedure) it was an enjoyable day at the clinic.

OH! And I actually have a picture of the two embryos that were transferred today. I'm hoping to be able to say to my kid(s) one day, "hey, this is you three days after conception when you were only eight cells big." Who gets to have a picture of their eight-celled children?? I do! I do! I'll have to make Jonathan scan it so that everyone can see our amazing little Strunk babies.

Embryos are graded like students: A=excellent, B=good, C=not so good (but passing), D=boo for you. So out of our ten embryos, we have three grade A (two of which were transferred today), two grade B, and five grade C.

The two B's and one A left over will be frozen today for potential use if this cycle fails of if we want more kids. The other five will be given a couple more days to grow to see if they would be strong enough to make it through a thaw. If there are any of those five strong enough after two more days, they will be frozen along with the three from today. It gets confusing even to me so if you're lost you aren't alone.

So far so good.....

Hi everyone! It's Melissa again. Thanks so much to Jamie for keeping everyone in the loop while I was out of town all weekend. And thank you for the prayers. They're working and God is working miracles at a laboratory in Atlanta!

The IVF nurse called me this morning and said they're 90% sure that the embryo transfer will be on Wednesday but we'll know more tomorrow morning. This is great news. The longer the embryos have to grow, the better the embryologist can "weed out" the weaker of the bunch. Of course I'm hoping they'll all be strong and fabulous and they'll have trouble picking out which two are the best for transfer because all 10 are so great.

More updates tomorrow....

Egg Update

Melissa just texted me and reported that of the 24 eggs retrieved, 20 were mature and 10 of those fertilized. Now we just pray that they keep growing. They're on their way!!

All for now!

JCD

Egg Retrieval Update - She's awake!

Hi Again! (It's me, Jamie)

Jonathan just text messaged me and said that Melissa is awake and doing well.
The doctor told her (and I'm quoting Jonathan here) that "she was an egg machine" and that they counted 24 eggs - two years worth!

On Saturday, they will know how many mature eggs were retrieved and how many fertilized.

All for now!

JCD

Say a little prayer!

Good morning!
My name is Jamie Dickson, Melissa's best friend. As you all know, she will be having the egg retrieval procedure at 8:30 this morning, so I am reminding you to please pray for her and Jonathan as they take another step towards parenthood.
I'll be posting updates today and tomorrow, so stay tuned. =)

And, on behalf of the Strunks, thanks for your prayers.

Jamie C. Dickson

Egg retrieval: Friday 8:30am - Prayers Please!

Ok, so this should be a short post because I've got to take Cleveland to the vet in a few minutes.

I just got a call from our IVF nurse and the Pregnyl (trigger shot to "trigger" ovulation) is to be administered tonight at 8:30pm. That puts egg retrieval at precisely 8:30am Friday. We'll be at the clinic from 7am that morning, but if everyone could please put a note on your fridge, bathroom mirror, blackberry, iphone, WHATEVER to pray for us and our doctors at 8:30am Friday, we would appreciate it very much. I don't care if you're Budhist, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, or atheist; just pray. I promise we will appreciate it all the same as I am extremely nervous, not necessarily about the procedure but the quality of my eggs and their successful fertilization.

We won't know until Saturday how many mature eggs were retrieved and how many fertilized but I will update as soon as I know.

Thanks everyone! By the way, this is the prayer I have been repeating to myself for comfort over the past few days:

"May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of you."

One more day of FSH

Nancy, our IVF nurse, was VERY pleased with the progress my ovaries are making. She and our reproductive endocrinologist ordered one more night and one more morning of FSH. This means that tomorrow night Jonathan will give me the trigger shot.

The trigger shot is hCG (that's right, the pregnancy hormone) called Pregnyl and will cause my body to ovulate. After five straight days of forcing hormones to STOP by body from ovulating, the Pregnyl is administered to convince it that yes, it IS time to ovulate and that it needs to be on time. And it must ovulate precisely when egg retrieval is being performed in order to capture the most number of mature eggs possible. My clinic will let me know tomorrow what time to give myself the Pregnyl and exactly 36 hours later I will be under the knife....er.... needle that is.

I've been freaking myself out all afternoon googling images of egg retrieval. These are not graphic, thank goodness but they are still unsettling when I think about all that is at stake. http://www.avapeter.com/p/en/483-1.gif

I will be under "twilight" anesthesia for Friday's egg retrieval. It is similar to the anesthesia used for dental work and colonoscopies; I will be semi-awake and able to respond to commands but will I won't remember a thing. Which is great, because I'm pretty sure that stuff could haunt your nightmares.

While I am under, Jonathan will be providing a... sample.... to fertilize the eggs. Each of my eggs will be fertilized by a procedure called ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection. It sounds complicated and I'm sure it's not easy but it's simple enough to break down; ICSI is basically just injecting one single sperm into one single egg with a microscopic glass needle. Technology is amazing, isn't it?

Jonathan and I will get a call sometime Saturday to let us know how many eggs were retrieved and how many were mature enough for the embryologist to fertilize with ICSI. Then we wait for more news as the microscopic embyros grow. After three to five days of growing, we will hopefully have at least two embryos to transfer back to my uterus. The rest will be frozen for later. We're desperately hoping that "later" means when the kid conceived this month is ready for a sibling and not "later" this year because this IVF wasn't successful.

It is really hard to believe that we're getting ready for egg retrieval. This has been months, even years in the works. We actually have a 50% or greater chance of becoming pregnant next week. Incredible!