We were required to be at the hospital at 7:45 a.m., so we left our hotel a little past 7 to walk there. Wendy was much more comfortable with us walking together, even though she had been quite fine on her own the day before...
Retrieval of the eggs in an IVF cycle is a very precise process. The trigger shot, a substantial injection of hCG, which helps the egg through its final stages of maturing, and also prompts its release from the ovary. Thus, retrieval is very specifically timed to be within a 36-hour window from the time of injection of the trigger shot - if it's attempted too soon, then the egg may not be as fully mature as it could be otherwise; if it's a bit too late, then ovulation may have already occurred, and the egg cannot be located.
The atmosphere in the waiting area is much different on retrieval day than it is for daily monitoring, and it's also in a different location. Daily monitoring is on the sixth floor of the Center for Reproductive Medicine, on the west side of York Ave. Across the street, covering a two-block stretch from E 68 St to E 70 St, is the New York Presbyterian Hospital, where we had to be today. There are nice block letters indicating the area where In-Vitro Fertilization is done - I'll never forget the first time we walked under that sign, and the surge of hope that I felt...
Retrieval itself only takes about 15 minutes, and it's done under light sedation. As soon as it was finished, I was able to go to the small area where Wendy was on her hospital bed, and she generally remembered what the doctor had told her after retrieval - today, she thought he had said that they got three eggs, which was good news, but would be confirmed when a phone call was received later with an official report.
On the way back from the hospital, we stopped at Le Pain Quotidien for lunch - we had previously only gone there for breakfast. We both ordered "sandwiches," but they were quite nontraditional, though good. It's always an adventure to learn more about their interpretation of foods!
We relaxed back at The Bentley, took a nap (naturally) and then ordered some delicious, celebratory Chinese food for dinner from Chef Ho's. The evening's fare included General Tso's Chicken, Pork Lo Mein, Beef with Broccoli, and Egg Rolls. It was delicious, and we ate the entire order - no leftovers! Knowing that we wouldn't have to get up early the next day, we stayed up pretty late; we've always been a bit giddy at this stage of a cycle, knowing that it had been successful to that point, as far as we knew.
No comments:
Post a Comment