So, I am waiting until I can call the clinic this morning to find out if we have any actual embryos. I have two more hours before I can call, and the wait is killing me, so I thought I would take this time to share a quick anecdote with you.
My egg retrieval was scheduled for 11:00AM yesterday, but we were instructed to arrive at 10:00. Paranoid about traffic, we left our house at 8:45 and therefore arrived at 9:30.
As a side note, the center I go to is .5 miles from my house. Yes, I know I am very, very lucky. For example, on mornings when I have to go for bloodwork - they do this between the hours of 7:00AM - 8:30AM - I can leave my house at 8:20 and be sitting in the waiting room at 8:23!!! HOWEVER, this office is considered a satellite office only - they do lab work, consults, and IUI. The main center where they actually do IVF procedures is in Reading, MA, which is forty minutes from here (without traffic). Oh, and it is also north of Boston, and we live south of the city. Seeing as we were going to sort of be driving during rush-hour traffic, this is why we allotted so much extra time to get there. Additionally, when we move (in TWO MONTHS HOLY SHIT!) the satellite office will be a thirty-five minute drive for me, and the main office will be almost two hours away. Spoiled, I have been. I don't dare entertain thoughts that I may not need an IF clinic once I move, THAT would really be pushing my luck!
Anyways, I digress.
We arrived at the center a half an hour before we needed to be there. Which was fine, I had my knitting with me (I am still frantically trying to knit a baby blanket for my sister's upcoming baby shower). The problem was that I was starving (nothing to eat or drink after midnight!), and unfortunately for me there was a guy sitting in the waiting room with us with a goody from Starbucks. UGH! Torture!
So, they call Anthony in, and he glances at me with a "good luck" sort of a glance. I tell him to "do a good job!" and proceed with my knitting. They had called another gentleman in about ten minutes before they called Anthony, so now it is just me and Starbucks guy left in the waiting room. He couldn't be weilding goodies and coffee from Honey Dew Donuts or Dunkie's, no, it HAD to be Starbucks, just to TORTURE me. My stomach started making audible grumblings. UGH!
I glance at the chair next to me, where Anthony had been sitting, and see his folded up sports pages from The Boston Globe.
Hmm...I think....
If they call me in, should I take his paper with me, or should I leave it where it is? I suppose I could leave it there, but if I do, I run the risk of someone else coming into the waiting room before Anthony gets back and taking his paper. I could bring it with me, and I am sure they will bring Anthony back to see me once they have started my IV. Maybe I could....
I look up, stunned. A cheery looking Anthony comes bounding back into the waiting room. What's it been, five minutes????
"Boy, that was FAST!" I exclaim loudly, in total disbelief, sort of forgetting that Starbucks guy and the receptionist are in the room with us.
There is a minute of silence, and then we all burst out laughing. I didn't mean to say what I said so loudly or with such a stunned tone of voice, but I couldn't help it. Poor Anthony. He was cracking up and kept saying "Hey, I got down to business, what can I say." He then realized that the man the called in before him still wasn't back.
"Hey, I beat this guy!" he says as he gestures towards the other gentleman's chair.
"Honey," I said taking his hand, "I am not sure that you want to be bragging about that."
That's my story. I have to admit, to have that belly-laugh moments before being brought back for my procedure was certainly a tension breaker and was just what I needed. The RE who did my retrieval kept commenting about how much I was smiling. "Look at you, all smiles," he kept repeating. Imagine that, me smiling. It feels like it has been a while. I guess it was because I was still laughing on the inside at my sweet husband. If this IVF works, I DON'T think this is a story we'll immediately share with the resulting child!
Not that this IVF is going to work. (You didn't really think I would leave an optimistic statement like that just hanging out there, did you?)
