Sunday, June 5, 2011

I'm okay until...

I'm okay until...

...Emma brings me a baby blanket and tells me that it holds all of her memories of baby Avalon.  That she's going to hold on to the blanket for when the baby visits from Heaven.

...I hear Emma out on the front porch explaining to her friends that our baby died, and it won't come back from Heaven until we can try again for another.  

...I look at my knitting stuff and see the hats I had already made for the baby.  Little, soft hats in brown, blues and greens, and a mix of reds, pinks, yellows and greens that reminds me of watermelon and summer.  

...I pick up the papers from the hospital that show the ultrasound results for an empty womb.  

...I curl up in bed at night and try to say my prayers without thinking about what could have been.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

One Week

It has been one week since my world turned upside down.  One week since our tiny little angel flew up to be with God.  I could never have imagined that the pain of fertility issues and miscarriage could shake me to the core.  Having busted plumbing is not fun.   I manage okay during the day, but at night I ache because of the emptiness inside me.  It was only a few weeks, but those few weeks gave me hope.

To make matters worse, my body is not making things easier.  I am hungry, but I do not feel like eating.  When I do eat, the ulcers in my mouth burn and making swallowing difficult.  I have to take a sip of water to get each bite down.  It has been a struggle to get in nourishing food at a time when I need it the most.

To make matters worse, we have been playing telephone with Mercy in a struggle to get my IVIG treatment scheduled.  As horrible as it is to say it, I am not pregnant.  It does not matter what medications I take right now.  It can't affect a baby that is not in my womb.  I am a weepy mess, and Adam has been trying to get a hold of the nurse practitioner that I normally see, or her medical assistant.  The secretary is not leaving accurate messages, and the doctor, NP, and MA have been booked and busy.  

We called to tell them I was having a flare up because of a miscarriage, and needed to get in.  The front office said to call my OB.  We called back to say that we already saw the OB and got cleared to go back to my normal treatment until I get a regular cycle again.  The front office said they needed a note from the OB.  We called back to tell them that they could pull my ER records which would show that I had a miscarriage, my womb was empty, and that my hcg levels were returning to zero as expected.  The OB was going to send a note, but in the meantime, they could see the records from the ER.  They sent a message to my doctor, but didn't tell them which hospital.  (It was one of their hospitals - I go there so that they CAN access my records.) 

I eventually got a dose pack of steroids for treatment in the meantime, but we still haven't gotten through to anyone knowledgeable to get IVIG scheduled.  I do not need insurance approval, which makes this craptastic merry-go-round even more frustrating.  All I need is for the doctor or PA to call the infusion center, and we're scheduled within a few days.  My friend's ex works in the back office at a different location, and I'm tempted to start working that connection if I have to.  What else can you do?

I hadn't talked to my dad in a few weeks, either.  With all of the craziness of the past few weeks, I hadn't told him that I was pregnant...or that we lost the baby.  He emailed to see how I was doing, and I had to think for awhile about what to say.  What a horrible bomb to drop by email.  Adam asked if I wanted to call or see him in person instead...and it just hurts too much.  I can't spit out the words without tearing up.  God bless my dad, but he is a guy and he can get that "deer in headlights" look when I start crying. 

I am supposed to meet up with my grandfather tomorrow after church to get the family's genealogical records.  For years grandpa has been looking for someone to take over for him, and for years I have thought about it.  With the great boom in availability of historical records online in the past ten years, I knew that I had to look into our past.  I can't think of a better way to put the research skills I learned at my last job to good use.  Being able to teach our daughter our family's history instead of passing on vague stories is so important to us.  I just hope that I can get through tomorrow without breaking down.

I know that this has been long.  I've always been long-winded when I write.  I wanted to end this post by sharing a gift that Adam ordered for me.  Now I can hold that memory of close to my heart.  The back will be stamped with Avalon's name.  He asked for a May birthstone to mark Avalon's month in my womb, and a January birthstone to mark the due date. 

Forever Loved, My Angel Baby Pendant


Just Those Few Weeks

"Just Those Few Weeks: A Poem About Miscarriage" 
By Susan Erling Martinez 

For those few weeks-
I had you to myself.
And that seems too short a time
to be changed so profoundly.

In those few weeks -
I came to know you...
and to love you.
You came to trust me with your life.
Oh, what a life I had planned for you!

Just those few weeks-
When I lost you,
I lost a lifetime of hopes,
plans, dreams and aspirations...
A slice of my future simply vanished overnight.

Just those few weeks-
It wasn't enough time to convince others
how special and important you were.
How odd, a truly unique person has recently died
and no one is mourning the passing.

Just a mere few weeks-
And no "normal" person would cry all night
over a tiny unfinished baby,
or get depressed and withdraw day after endless day.
No one would, so why am I?

You were just those few weeks my little one
you darted in and out of my life too quickly.
But it seems that's all the time you needed
to make my life so much richer
and to give me a small glimpse of eternity


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

obgyn oh my

Today has been easier...at least so far.  We got up early to see my new ob.  Her office is next to Sutter Roseville Hospital, and it looks like some kind of gynecological spa.  It was hard to see all of the big bellies in the waiting room, but at least I didn't start crying. 

The doctor was nice, and put me at ease.  My uterine lining was pretty thin, so I didn't need a D&C.  She got me set up with lab slips to make sure my hormone levels are falling back to 0 like they should.  Instead of waiting for a perinatology consult when I get pregnant again, she's going to send over a referral.  I need to check with the perinatologist so that I get the right formulation of IVIG when I do get pregnant again.  I also got a slip for my yearly mammogram and breast mri.  She told me to call back in three months if we haven't gotten pregnant, and at that point we'll talk about fertility treatment options.  Hopefully it won't come to that.  So, in the meantime, I am waiting for word on the hormone levels and the approval for more IVIG.  We haven't gotten the bill for the first time.  I'm hoping the bill isn't too painful. 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...