Another Day at the Office

For ease of the story: BW=Bloodwork US=Ultrasound

(The ultrasound wand is a falic object that has a blue goop, a wand-condom rolled on it with more blue goop)

Monday– BW and US (silently wear ridiculous socks to see if anyone notices)

Tuesday– No appointment, I can actually get to work on time!

Wednesday– BW and US (I think maybe 1 of the 100 doctors in the room admiring my bits and pieces in front of my stirrup throne may have looked at my ridiculous socks)

Thursday– BW and US (getting weird stares in public, I think they suspect I may be a junkie do to some wicked arm bruising)

Friday-More BW and US- (They FINALLY noticed and even complimented yet another pair of my ridiculous socks- {puffed chest}, SUCCESS!)

Saturday– You guessed it! BW and my lil’something on the side, Mr. US wand

Sunday– Yes, they are working on Sunday.. More BW and US— I may pass out from excessive blood loss

If you are keeping track, out of 6 of the 7 days I went in for BW and US throughout my “Stimming” process, I saw 90% of the same doctors and nurses there. These folks are dedicated, hardworking and just plain caring people. They also deal with clinically insane, hormone riddled, crazy patients on a daily basis. Talk about a thankless job. To be continued on a future blog in much more detail; many people I have shared our baby making woes with have often said to us “You are trying to hard”, or my fav “It’s all in your head”. I would love for them to say that to these amazing doctors and nurses who work countless hours in an packed and rapidly increasing in population fertility clinic. Maybe just maybe it is a medical problem.  One that is stretching the limit on the available workforce right now.  So, in tribute to all of you at The Jones, thank you for giving up your time with your families to help us create ours.

Chris:  What does a doctor’s appointment entail, really?  Well, for us, it entails leaving our house about 1 hour ahead of the doctor’s appointment to travel 15 miles in Hampton Roads tunnel traffic to get to the fertility clinic.  We like to think of this as our morning cup of car exhaust.  Then, when we get there, we will wait anywhere from 10-45 minutes to get back for the exam.  But, no worries, Candace and I have phones filled with useless, brain devouring apps to pass the time.  Now, let’s add about 40 minutes more for us to get to work. I get to work early, typically around 7 AM.  Since all of our doctor’s appointments have been after 8 AM, I sneak my butt in around 10 AM on days that we have an appointment. I have to make up the time or use vacation so, that is 3 hours of missed work for each appointment.  So, when Candace is on a schedule of going to the fertility clinic like what she described above, it becomes a huge balancing game.  For both of us really.  We have to balance tasks at work, meetings, and deadlines and at the same time,we are balancing all of the emotion and waiting that is involved with the stimulation process.  We are balancing what we can get done at home and are dealing with new meds that eat up more time.  This is an occasion where a 26 hour day would seriously come in handy.  No luck on figuring that out yet though.  But, it is all for a very important purpose.  It is amazing how much the wish to start a family can encourage you.

The most amazing thing with this is the medical staff at The Jones Institute.  As Candace mentioned, they work grueling hours and, even though they saw our ugly mugs so frequently, they always seemed focused and saw us with the utmost in care, quality, and respect.  They have become friends in a sense.  We talk to them about recipes and vacation plans.  Sometimes, it is not clear who wants us to be pregnant more, us or the staff. The folks at The Jones Institute truly are helping families grow while maintaining professional excellence and unmatched bedside manner.  You guys rock!