Cycle 10 – Day 33: Day 10 Post 5 Day Transfer

There was a certain sense of things coming full circle.

This morning we were inside one of the small treatment rooms at the pathology centre to give blood for the crucial hcg test. Outside the door the pathology collection woman and a person we had earlier recognized as our first IVF nurse were having an interesting conversation about our first fertility specialist, Prof Doofus. It was him they spoke of in unflattering terms, as they clearly mentioned his name – several times.

Waiting for the blood test to take place, Wobbles and I looked at each other and smiled at each other. It was a relaxed mood of hope that contrasted dramatically with where we had started. Four years ago, our encounter with ART began at this very place. Well, actually it was across the road. The local chapter of our clinic moved into a purpose-built facility mid-2010. Then a new pathology company won the contract and took up residence a few floors below the actual clinic. The clinic nurses no longer had the job of taking bloods, that was all done separately at the spot we were now seated.

For our first cycle, we made numerous trips to the old offices across the road. There in a dilapidated old weatherboard house our fertility was dissected in a most brutal fashion by Prof Doofus. In those long trips from our then home town three hours away we had many opportunities to mull over our chances. Once that first cycle finally got on the way, I developed a large ovarian cyst. For reasons we have never understood Prof Doofus would not, or could not treat this. The cycle was cancelled and after several painful months with no IVF activity we changed to another Fertility Specialist at another location of the same clinic. Our trips blew out to over 4 hours each way. We were to make a lot of those trips. Eventually, they even had to be made for every blood test.

Those days are a blur now. I largely remember them for receiving bad news while in transit, or for sitting on a crowded country train being forced by a nasty clinic nurse to repeat instructions to demonstrate I had understood. Eventually, we found Dr Lovely, a young specialist just starting to consult at our clinic group. For the first time in our ART experience we were treated with dignity. Things became easier.

After two years we relocated for Wobbles’work, to this the town that was the backdrop for our first IVF outings. That is how we happened to be back there again today. We could have our official blood test locally. We had returned to this site for the results of this our 10^th IVF Cycle. No longer were we those infertiles that Prof Doofus neglected to treat.

Today we were parents in the making.

Our 10 days post 5 day transfer hcg reading was 197.

The nurse said that anything over 50 would have been acceptable. That this was a “very good” reading ahead of the standard 16 day post ovulation test.

The test had followed the earlier 8 days post 5 day transfer test reading of 84 by less than 45 hours.

Tonight we are relieved but realistic. The next goal is to make it past day 15 post 5 day transfer, which was our stumbling point last year. Then we will be followed up with the mandatory clinic blood test in 7 days to show things are still progressing as they ought to.

We are heading for interesting times. One step at a time.

Tonight I feel my decision to blog this cycle ‘live’ has been vindicated. None of the unpleasantness of the past has reoccurred. Instead the support has been unfailing and hope giving. A few days ago, I realized that Wobbles had been checking this blog regularly, several times a day to experience your encouragement firsthand.

This success truly does feel like one amazing group effort. Thank you.

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