Oprah's facebook post read this this morning, "It's not easy being grateful all the time. But it's when you feel least thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you." - Oprah.
Levelland & Lubbock lost THE most faithful person I have known this week. Though we were semi-prepared the thought of the truth, the days ahead for her young family and the reality of how life can change on a dime has had Dustin and I shaken a bit this week. Christie Devitt, only 33, passed away this week after a battle with breast cancer and then the cancer returning in her bones. I am so truly sad for this family, but she was such a special person and I was so connected with this story as many Levellanders were/are since many followed her care page for the past 4 years. You know you are special when your story is aired for your faith and your ob/gyn makes the last post on your care page ending the battle with cancer. You can watch a piece of the story that aired on the Lubbock news: http://www.kcbd.com/story/15272718/christie-has-won-her-battle-with-cancer.
This has put life in perspective for us and helped us redefine all of the wonderful things in our life we have to be thankful for and may have not been fully grateful for. Bless the Truelock and Devitt families.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Round 2
Tuesday officially started Round 2 of In Vitro. I guess technically it started a month ago, but I count from when the injections start. For the next two weeks I have 1 injection in the morning in my stomach. Not too bad....the smallest needle to date I've had, but sometimes I think the smaller the more painful? After these two weeks I have a round of hormone patches...which are just goofy so I've been getting my pool time in this week. : ) Doing a round of in vitro with frozen embryos is a much more structured process (and you all know me...I LOVE STRUCTURE). I pretty much know everything that will happen and the date it will happen. Blood levels can change things by a day or two but this isn't near as volatile of a process as the first trial in May/June. So with that I'm pretty much guaranteed to have the transfer August 29th or 30th. I will be missing two days of school the second week of classes and Dustin will likely conclude his quarter from home. We're both so determined and focused on this that neither is really a big deal to us -- we have learned a lot in this process and priorities has been a crucial lesson for us. We're positive, optimistic but of course nervous because the unthinkable does linger in our thoughts. But with the start of school I anticipate this round to go more quickly as I will be preoccupied with all that a new school year brings. Not to mention this round has less meds too. :)
Saturday I am having Leslie and Baby Emery's baby shower at my house. I can't say before these last two weeks that I had got much done around the house, but I've certainly made a dent in my list lately. Sadly, our yard is just blagh this year. I water every day but just can't keep anything alive. I'm sooooo over this heat. I know you all are too....every morning on the Today show Al has lots of sunshines on the southern states and few rain pictures. : (
In September, Baby Beck (well not really a baby he's officially 13 months) will have an eye surgery. I don't know enough of the details to post it on my blog, but they have tried other measures to avoid surgery but received the news this week that so far none of them have worked. Pray for them and Beck---I can't imagine how they feel, but they certainly are strong and can make it through this!
Next Monday is my official first day back to school. I have two additional weeks on my contract now that effect my start and end date. Dustin is SUPER ready to get me back in school. A) I spend too much money and B) I never sleep at night because I nap in the day, stay up late at night and sleep in in the morning. Poor guy....I've exhausted him. This summer has just been weird....we couldn't put our finger around what's so different this year....of course in vitro but also Dustin has had to work. We've not been able to escape to the lake for more than 3 days or have a long retreat back to Levelland/Lubbock to see family and friends and he's found very little time for golf. Kinda stinks being all grown up now.
I finally decorated our downstairs guest room. Yes, eventually it will be a nursery, but for now it won't be such an eye sore. Oh and I bought a new car (reason number 2,386 why Dustin is ready for school to start). I am so proud of this purchase just because I did it all by myself. I negotiated, told them what my bottom dollar was for my trade and got a super low interest rate...ALL BY MYSELF. Obviously I communicated with Dustin before signing on the dotted line but just going and doing it by myself was such an accomplishment for me.
Well summer is officially concluding....will I miss the time off? Sure, but I'm so much more organized and truly get more done during the school year. I wish I could work year-round 8-2...how nice would that be??!!
Our guest bedroom....come visit!
Check out that newly organized garage. ; )
Not too bad, huh?
Saturday I am having Leslie and Baby Emery's baby shower at my house. I can't say before these last two weeks that I had got much done around the house, but I've certainly made a dent in my list lately. Sadly, our yard is just blagh this year. I water every day but just can't keep anything alive. I'm sooooo over this heat. I know you all are too....every morning on the Today show Al has lots of sunshines on the southern states and few rain pictures. : (
In September, Baby Beck (well not really a baby he's officially 13 months) will have an eye surgery. I don't know enough of the details to post it on my blog, but they have tried other measures to avoid surgery but received the news this week that so far none of them have worked. Pray for them and Beck---I can't imagine how they feel, but they certainly are strong and can make it through this!
Next Monday is my official first day back to school. I have two additional weeks on my contract now that effect my start and end date. Dustin is SUPER ready to get me back in school. A) I spend too much money and B) I never sleep at night because I nap in the day, stay up late at night and sleep in in the morning. Poor guy....I've exhausted him. This summer has just been weird....we couldn't put our finger around what's so different this year....of course in vitro but also Dustin has had to work. We've not been able to escape to the lake for more than 3 days or have a long retreat back to Levelland/Lubbock to see family and friends and he's found very little time for golf. Kinda stinks being all grown up now.
I finally decorated our downstairs guest room. Yes, eventually it will be a nursery, but for now it won't be such an eye sore. Oh and I bought a new car (reason number 2,386 why Dustin is ready for school to start). I am so proud of this purchase just because I did it all by myself. I negotiated, told them what my bottom dollar was for my trade and got a super low interest rate...ALL BY MYSELF. Obviously I communicated with Dustin before signing on the dotted line but just going and doing it by myself was such an accomplishment for me.
Well summer is officially concluding....will I miss the time off? Sure, but I'm so much more organized and truly get more done during the school year. I wish I could work year-round 8-2...how nice would that be??!!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Facation 2011
"Honeymoon or facation?," was the question we were asked our entire vacation. We spent 5 days in the Riviera Maya at Royal Hideaway, a couples resort. I would say 25% of the guests were honeymooners so being younger we were asked that question over and over. "Facation," is how the natives say vacation....and we thought it was so cute! We had a wonderful time and this trip was planned for relaxation purposes only. We got a couples massage and spent most of our afternoons at the pool and beach. Neither of us had been to Riviera Maya and I have to vouch that these are the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in Mexico. The locals and resort staff were so accommodating and so happy to have Americans visit their country. Though it is an iffy time to go with all we hear on the news; I feel the deeper you go in to the country especially in to resort cities the safer and more accommodating the people are. Overall a great trip and much needed relaxation time for us before the new school year starts.
This week I have workshops; I always save them for the later part of the summer to pump me up before the school year kicks off. I also got the news today that in vitro round 2 injections start next Tuesday! This snuck up on us....and we're very excited to start this again. It was nice to have July off to catch my breath and do some of the summer stuff I enjoy -- i.e. mojitos....so this weekend marks the last whoorah....alcohol-wise for me. Soooo I'll have to come up with something -- I'm sure we'll try to head out to the lake for a couple of days.
Yesterday was round 1 of acupuncture. I have read a lot of articles correlating acupuncture with increased success rates for in vitro and hey for 80$....that's practically free at this point! I can't describe acupuncture in words....it's different for sure and certainly more relaxing the second day than immediately following the treatment....I don't know if this is something I will continue in my regular life but hey my Dr. said it couldn't hurt me and if does nothing more than raise my spirits, attitude and confidence with this round then it is worth the time and money. I'll do one more long treatment and 2 shorter treatments the night before the embryo transfer and one immediately following the transfer when I leave the Dr.'s office and before I begin the bed rest stage. (The transfer is expected to take place the last full week of August). So summed up it's a new approach, new types of drugs, a new regimen and I'm a problem-solver type of person with a scientific mentality....I need new variables in my equation when doing something for the second time. : )
This week I have workshops; I always save them for the later part of the summer to pump me up before the school year kicks off. I also got the news today that in vitro round 2 injections start next Tuesday! This snuck up on us....and we're very excited to start this again. It was nice to have July off to catch my breath and do some of the summer stuff I enjoy -- i.e. mojitos....so this weekend marks the last whoorah....alcohol-wise for me. Soooo I'll have to come up with something -- I'm sure we'll try to head out to the lake for a couple of days.
Yesterday was round 1 of acupuncture. I have read a lot of articles correlating acupuncture with increased success rates for in vitro and hey for 80$....that's practically free at this point! I can't describe acupuncture in words....it's different for sure and certainly more relaxing the second day than immediately following the treatment....I don't know if this is something I will continue in my regular life but hey my Dr. said it couldn't hurt me and if does nothing more than raise my spirits, attitude and confidence with this round then it is worth the time and money. I'll do one more long treatment and 2 shorter treatments the night before the embryo transfer and one immediately following the transfer when I leave the Dr.'s office and before I begin the bed rest stage. (The transfer is expected to take place the last full week of August). So summed up it's a new approach, new types of drugs, a new regimen and I'm a problem-solver type of person with a scientific mentality....I need new variables in my equation when doing something for the second time. : )
Thursday, July 7, 2011
4th of July!
We spent the holiday weekend in Ruidoso with Dustin's dad, Lisa, Dallas, Katie, Ashley, Amber, my mom and dad and a slew of other Levelland-ers. I got to meet Kyna and Nate's sweet baby boy, Gage, while we were in Ruidoso --- aka Jimmy Martin Junior. He is absolutely adorable and is such a good baby.
We went to the horse races, did some shopping in town and spent our evenings / early mornings in the casino. This was the first time ever I had been to Ruidoso and practically everyone won!
The weather was cool and at night COLD....a great change of pace and scenery for us! On the 4th we watched the Brooks' horse run, Chochaluco (spell check!) -- pictures above.
Dustin had to return to San Antonio to work on Tuesday morning and I stayed for an extra day to see my friends. We had a great dinner catching up with each other and got to see Finley all grown up (from the last time I saw him). He's beginning to say a few words, very active, walking and curious.
This morning I had my Saline Test to check for polyps and I am perfectly healthy and polyp free!
We've been yearning for a break from it all... a getaway of sorts so last night we booked The Royal Hideaway for 5 days in mid July. http://www.royalhideaway.com/index2.asp It's adult only and well we hope this is the last trip we make that we can book an adult only resort.
: )
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th with your friends and family!
We went to the horse races, did some shopping in town and spent our evenings / early mornings in the casino. This was the first time ever I had been to Ruidoso and practically everyone won!
The weather was cool and at night COLD....a great change of pace and scenery for us! On the 4th we watched the Brooks' horse run, Chochaluco (spell check!) -- pictures above.
Dustin had to return to San Antonio to work on Tuesday morning and I stayed for an extra day to see my friends. We had a great dinner catching up with each other and got to see Finley all grown up (from the last time I saw him). He's beginning to say a few words, very active, walking and curious.
This morning I had my Saline Test to check for polyps and I am perfectly healthy and polyp free!
We've been yearning for a break from it all... a getaway of sorts so last night we booked The Royal Hideaway for 5 days in mid July. http://www.royalhideaway.com/index2.asp It's adult only and well we hope this is the last trip we make that we can book an adult only resort.
: )
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th with your friends and family!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A new day & plan
We went to consult with Dr. Neal again this morning. We needed some answers, suggestions and a plan. He was just as disappointed as we were with the result because everything through the embryo transfer was "perfect," in their words. We looked at the embryos that we froze and found that the 7 that made it to the blastocyst stage were all "fair" or "good" in grade (another words they were "B's" and "A's"). We're going to thaw two embryos and do the transfer the week of August 29th. This time it will not be near as exhausting as I have already done the egg retrieval portion. I will have three sonograms & blood tests prior to the transfer and they begin on August 2nd. Next week I am scheduled for a Saline Hysterogram (FCSA) for them to ensure nothing is going on such as polyps. He didn't feel there was a need for this but suggested it as a peace of mind and another "rule out" tactic. I am nervous about doing this all at the beginning of school but I am just going to have to prioritize things. He said the percentages were a little lower doing the transfer with the frozen embryos but nothing majorly significant and he also reemphasized that everyone reacts to everything differently. He has had patients not ever get pregnant after the egg retrieval but has gotten pregnant with the frozen embryos -- so really it's an unknown game and we need some luck this time! I will be using hormone patches and Lupron injections prior to this transfer so less shots! We will still be transferring 2 embryos. We were one of the fortunate few that insurance picked up the costs of our drugs and we have a lot left over from the stimulation portion and we're going to donate them to our clinic to use at their discretion with patients in need. Our nurse, Kris, told us today that they have a lot of newly diagnosed cancer patients that come to their office for quick stimulation and egg retrieval so they are able to preserve fertility through chemotherapy and Dustin looked at me and said...."wow at least we're not in that boat." And that is so true -- we're healthy and that doesn't have a price tag. If push comes to shove in this process we can always adopt, and for now we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to continue with this costly process. We're so very thankful we live in San Antonio and now see the reason behind Dustin getting his job here...I don't think we could find such a caring clinic and Dr.'s that are well respected in this field if we lived anywhere else. If we still lived in Levelland/Lubbock I don't even know if we would have these options and opportunities...so everything does happen for a reason.
For now -- we get to enjoy July. We're busy every weekend this month so time should fly by. We're going to Levelland Thursday and then on to Ruidoso Friday through the 4th and then Dustin is going to fly back to San Antonio to work and I am going to stay in Levelland to catch up with friends...but will return to San Antonio for my Saline Hysterogram that is scheduled for July 7th. I am no longer bound to San Antonio and feel I need to exercise this right! The following weekend we're going with the Adcocks to the coast and this gives us two fun weekends to look forward to and help us "move on." Thank you all for your calls and texts...we're doing ok. On the bright side of things...the anxiousness has been lifted from our shoulders and we got a good solid night's rest last night that I think we both really needed!
For now -- we get to enjoy July. We're busy every weekend this month so time should fly by. We're going to Levelland Thursday and then on to Ruidoso Friday through the 4th and then Dustin is going to fly back to San Antonio to work and I am going to stay in Levelland to catch up with friends...but will return to San Antonio for my Saline Hysterogram that is scheduled for July 7th. I am no longer bound to San Antonio and feel I need to exercise this right! The following weekend we're going with the Adcocks to the coast and this gives us two fun weekends to look forward to and help us "move on." Thank you all for your calls and texts...we're doing ok. On the bright side of things...the anxiousness has been lifted from our shoulders and we got a good solid night's rest last night that I think we both really needed!
Monday, June 27, 2011
It didn't work...
Well as many of you know by now the June cycle of In Vitro did not work.... we are in shock and are of course extremely upset. We have a Dr.'s appointment tomorrow morning to figure out what our next step is and hopefully answer some questions. It has not been a good day at the Brooks' House, but we thank you all for your wonderful support and prayers. We will pick ourselves back up but need some time to heal. We don't understand this -- everything as you can read from previous posts went perfect and we do have 7 embryos frozen and are going to figure out our options with them. We will keep you posted! Love, - D & H
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Anxious
4 days to go! We have been overall pretty calm and relaxed these two weeks but it certainly is always on our mind. I'm ready to know and hope these next days fly by! I have had headaches and acne...blaaa. Hope these are good signs??!! Guess we'll wait and see.... Monday is the big day. I will go in for a blood test only and they will call with the results. Depending on the result will depend on what our next step is. For now....we're cautiously optimistic!
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