Oh no!
That came around suddenly, kind of….
Today marks the first day of IVF cycle IV.
Ever since the unsuccessful end of IVF Cycle III it was presumed there’d be another. Doing cycles two and three “back-to-back” as the footy commentators like to say in place of the term ‘consecutive’ (as in “Geelong won back-to-back premierships”*) was quite a challenge, especially when compared to cycle one. That first doomed cycle took forever to begin. When it did begin, it never got that far. Cancellation saw it end rudely before ‘egg pick up’ or EPU.
Cycle one also left me with a large ovarian cyst, and a growing realisation that our chosen fertility specialist was past caring. With no period meant no way to commence further IVF. A cyst meant no period, but Professor (later dubbed “Professor Doofus” by one bright spark) said we could do nothing but wait.
…..and wait we did….for many many long months.
Strange, how when at over the age of 40 you are constantly – to the point of distraction – given the hurry up by fertility clinics and specialists. Have something go wrong and you risk being completely abandoned; “there’s nothing we can do…..we have to wait until the cyst is gone!” Time was passing, opportunities were lost. We took the brave leap of faith to a new clinic, a new fertility specialist and ‘hey, Presto!’ once again, we were on our way!
So we had more waiting time to see that second specialist, but it was just a matter of relying on some of those newly acquired time management skills we all seem to acquire with IVF. Not unlike judging which supermarket queue to join the end of. The shortest is not always the fastest. The person in front might be paying with 5 years’ worth of cumulated coins from their recently deceased piggy bank. Perhaps they have never seen the front end of an EFTPOS machine before and need to pay with credit, or maybe, just maybe someone will dispute the barcode scanner’s reading of the sale price for one packet of Nobby’s Nuts. Then again, sometimes the long lane is that way for a good reason; too many people have lined up at the express lane with far more than 8 items.
We walked in and exchanged brief pleasantries with Dr Dream, our Fertility Specialist II. “You have a large ovarian cyst that has not been investigated…..’ clearly demonstrating he had read the pre-appointment questionnaire. He stunned us with the follow up of; “ultrasound are on standby. My assistant will take you there….” The results were in his laptop before we made it back to his office. Establishing there was nothing sinister going on, it meant a simple matter of starting the usual IVF medications, a subsequent ultrasound to make certain the cyst was gone, and *poof!* we were on our way. No longer were we in IVF limbo land. We suddenly found ourselves half way through a second cycle. Memories of the old clinic and cyst loving Professor Doofus smoothly fading into black.
So, here we are on the doorstep of Cycle IV. Only this doorstep is no longer swept freshly clean with a brand new welcome mat and a doorway framed by manicured hanging baskets of colourful annuals. Instead, the ‘no junk mail’ sign has been ignored. Bargain store catalogues are spilling over. The rain has soaked them through, and they have begun to deteriorate and grow mould. The ‘lucky’ jade plant by the door has been a regular target of the local tom cat, and the place still smells from the rotten eggs thrown around the neighbourhood after a recent late night party. The spider webs have thickly bound to their new host and the sea air has sent the fly screen door rusty.
It is tough entering back into IVF, even after a slight break of a few weeks. Sure, cycle one created delays, but two and three happened with rapid succession. Not even an uncharacteristic ten day period putting an end to proceedings between second and third.
With the end of cycle three came the sudden retirement of Dr Dream. Fertility Specialist Three and Fertility Clinic Three were both discovered by the same accident. We’d been sent there to see him by clinic two. It feels comfortable, but our IVF history tells me it won’t be easy. It seems IVF seldom is.
I think it was former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser who said; “IVF was never meant to be easy.”
* Disclaimer: Geelong may or may not have won back to back premierships at some stage in their history. This example was purely for illustrative purposes only! Lifeslurper will not be held responsible if Geelong do not win the 2008 Grand Final.
