Chris: Shots suck! No two ways around that. But, there are things that you can do to make them more bearable. For example, Candace’s sub-Q shots probably don’t need a bandaid, but we try to make it more fun by having a ton of different kinds of silly bandaids. Candace does not know which bandaid from our collection I have selected for her miniature puncture wounds. Her anticipation serves as a great distraction from the fact that I am getting ready to stab her with a syringe. Also, since we have all of these bandaids, I got to sport an Incredible Hulk bandaid to other day when I cut my leg working in the yard. I am sure that planes flew a little slower over the yard to catch a glimpse of my sporting the Hulk.
Candace and I also worked out a deal that she gets a certain monetary award for every shot she has to endure. Sub-Q shots are one level and intra-muscular shots are twice as much. What a lucky girl! This is her maternity clothes fund so it will be put to good cause. Finally, Candace and I have a “shots for beads” necklace (Not a Mardi Gras beads for shots necklace-which would be marginally more entertaining than getting to stab Candace with syringes daily). The necklace is made of different beads that each represent a shot of a particular medication in our series. I recently picked out the beads to go along with our medicine protocol. [As an aside, while I was in the craft store shopping for these beads, an elderly woman indicated to me that I looked like I knew a lot about beads and proceeded to ask me questions about them. I am not sure if my gym clothes misrepresented my crafting abilities or if she simply had bad vision.] Ultimately, we will hang the bead necklace in our newborn’s room as a reminder to us of all that we went through for this little crying, pooping, awesome bundle of 3 AM energy. We can’t wait!
Candace: Those who know Chris and I personally, will vouch that we are goofy and always try to find a laugh out of life. He has been such a huge support not only throughout our onward quest for baby journey, but in keeping me positive and turning a stressful, painful time into something much more light hearted. I hated shots (still do) so Chris got creative before my first fresh IVF round and proposed the “Bead Program.” For every shot I earn a dollar, for every horrible shot <PIO injections> I get $2. Those who have gone through this process know that will add up over time. SO, what will I do with my ever increasing total?? I will go on a shopping trip for maternity clothes! Chris’s idea not mine, without this kind of support I would not have been able to get through this. Perfect example, I am taking an outrageously expensive blood thinner shot called Lovenox right now. Not only is it wallet-clenchingly close to the cost of our monthly mortgage payment, but it is like liquid hot molten lava going in. I also will need to take these every day, including the first trimester if this next IVF does work. That’s a lot of burning shots and a lot of money. So, I will need to inject these myself on occasion over that amount of time. Chris, being the great support that he is, sat down next to me on the couch holding two empty syringes (as I was being a HUGE chicken about injecting myself) and stuck himself in the abdomen with one of the syringes. His response, “I wanted to see if I can do it, now you try.” How do you not drum up the gumption after that? I am happy to report I can do my shots now. After stabbing Chris, I was able to give myself a shot the next morning. It just hurts less when he does it, I like the element of surprise.
That folks is love, support, and two people fully invested and willing to sacrifice for one common goal … to have a family. Now, for some humor to end on 🙂
