My Fertility Plan Blog: Your Conception Action Plan

Chris and Maddie's Amazing Journey: Recuperating

Friday 2/27/09

 

 

 

Yesterday was long and hard, but today has been a very good day -

 

 

As most of you know, Chris's surgery was mostly successful, although we have a very long road ahead of us before we know if this has worked or not. Two more weeks of recovery before we can even try radiation.

 

Since there was nowhere suitable to sleep (not even a big enough piece of floor), I ended up going home for the night.

 

Before coming up to the hospital today to see Chris, I had a dr.'s appt this morning for a baseline ultrasound in preparation for our FET cycle. The doc says "so far so good, everything looks great."

 

I am starting injections this Sunday with a follow up appt and saline sonohistogram scheduled for the 13th of next month!!!!

 

As long as we stay on target our transfer is tentatively scheduled for the 20th of March.

 

It's getting so close it's almost here.

 

"Please Lord, let us get this right this time........."

 

 

Back to Chris......

 

When I got to the hospital this afternoon,Chris looked amazing. He was wide awake and seemed to be feeling pretty good with the exception, that the incisions made during his surgery were a little painful still, but they are trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.

 

The positive side- is that it seems with the removal of the tumors there has been a lot of pressure released off of his brain and he has also experienced other positive effects such as decreased nausea and increased appetite.

 

We have been waiting most of the day to be transferred to a regular room so I hope that will happen over the next few hours, it will be nice to once again have a little privacy and quiet where he and I can relax and focus on getting him better.

 

As I sit here in the ICU waiting room, I think I hear him being wheeled my way so hopefully they are finally taking him for the MRI needed to move him to his own room.

 

More to come.....

  

 

 

 

   

 

 

Chris and Maddie's Amazing Journey: Chris' Surgery Today

We'll have more information later, but for those who are following Chris and Maddie's story, I wanted you to fill you in on today's surgery.

Instead of the one small tumor they expected to find, the surgeon went in and found the tumor was much worse then they expected.  There were additional tumors found on the skull and it had affected the lining of his brain.  They got the tumors before they got to his brain.

His skin was too fragile to staple closed, so they stitched it closed.  With his fragile skin, the sutures were not ideal.

It will be two weeks before radiation can begin.  This is an extremely aggressive cancer and your prayers are welcome.

Chris and Maddie's Amazing Adventures: Prepping for Surgery

Ever have a day that feels like it lasts two days? Oh wait, sometimes it does.....

 

Yesterday I had an exam in my English Lit class and felt confident I did pretty well. Upon getting home from work and class last night Chris wasn't feeling well. So called our Hospice nurse, Tomeka and she guided me through making Chris more comfortable. I had a lot of homework to complete prior to my accounting class tonight, so after getting Chris to sleep, I started in on my homework. I ended up crashing in his recliner with my computer on in front of me, but I guess I got enough sleep to get me through.

 

Chris had to go to the hospital this morning for his pre-op appt to complete labs and meet with the anethesiologist. His parents offered to take him, so that I could work today in order to take off for Chris's surgery and recovery days. I have such wonderful in-laws!!

 

Unfortunately the hospital was a little behind so Chris was not able to be seen until an hour after his scheduled appt, so he was a little worn out by the time he was able to go home, but at least we completed all of the prerequisites needed prior to his surgery on Thursday. So far, Chris's (and mine) spirits are good for the time being, and tomorrow his dad will be coming in town to spend the weekend with Chris while he recovers from his surgery. We are both looking forward to this visit as we don't get to see him nearly enough.

 

A few days ago, I got a smile from Chris, when I came in the door with the mail and also had a fairly big box. When we opened the box we found that inside was our drugs from Village Pharmacy to be used for our ET cycle. Yay!!! Our few more days closer to goal!

 

According to my calculations it should be anytime now before I am in sync to have my saline sonogram.

 

Chris and I can't wait-- we are so excited and can't wait for it to be March already.

 

 

Chris and Maddy's Amazing Story: Surgery Twins

Thursday 2/19/09

 The Surgery Twins

 On Tuesday we went to see Dr. Costas Hadjipanayis, Chris’s neurologist at Emory to see about the lacerated hematoma. Unfortunately after a careful 2^nd review of Chris’s last brain MRI it has been determined that the spot in question was not a lacerated hematoma by a tumor resting on top of Chris’s brain. It is located towards the upper part of his head near the crown. After looking at several different options, as a family we decided that the best course of action was surgery.

 Chris is scheduled for what is considered minor brain surgery on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 11:30am. The surgery should really be called “head surgery” instead of “brain surgery”, because Dr. H stated that we are not going to going into the brain matter, however since they have to remove his skull cap to get to the tumor near his crown it is considered brain surgery.

 THE GOAL:

The plan is to begin an incision on the left side of Chris head and carry this to the right side, so that they are able to access the tumors. First they will remove a boney tumor that Chris has protruding from his skull on his left temple and place a titanium plate over the temporal region to protect it, then the docs are going to take of his skull cap off (a boney shield that protects soft brain tissue), in order to access the second tumor that will need to be skimmed off the top of his brain. They will then replace the skull cap and insert staples across head to ensure an even closure.

 Dr. H believes that this tumor is what could possibly be causing the headaches and pressure Chris is experiencing, as well as we are hoping this is why Chris’s appetite has been a little lower than it should be.

 The doctor reassured us that as evasive as this sounds because we are not delving into brain matter, the recovery is quite quick. The surgery should take about 3-4 hours, with an overnight stay in ICU for observation and then possibly discharge on Friday late evening, if not Saturday morning. Chris will have staples for two weeks and then we will go back to the Dr to have them removed and complete the post surgical visit.

  It is amazing how far surgical technology has come. The same day, we received a call from Village Pharmacy and our fertility drugs on their way!!! Yay!!!

 It’s still amazing to realize this is really happening for us!

 We are so, so grateful for everyone that has had a part in helping us through this journey.

 Irronically, Chris and I are both looking forward to this surgery as there is a great chance for relief and maybe a possibility of him being with us longer than expected. Who knows the Lord works in mysterious ways and who can say that this isn’t the straw that it will take for him to make a turn for the better.  Please keep both of us in your prayers as we go through this procedure.

 On a lighter note, Chris and I were sitting watching t.v. last night and he came up with another really cute name for a boy. We are both so excited to have the opportunity to make our dream a reality. Since Chris will be in the hospital around the time I will need to have my saline sonohistogram, there is a good chance my mother in law or best friend will be going with me, but I know Chris will be there in spirit.

 During our first IVF cycle we joked that we were the “shot twins” as Chris had to receive injections to boost his immune systems every six weeks, while I was having injections daily to prepare for our IVF cycle.

 I guess you could say this time around we’re “the surgery twins”. Isn’t is great to have a partner by your side!

 ABOUT THREE WEEKS TO GO BEFORE THE BIG MIRACLE!!

 

Maddie

Village Pharmacy Gives Big

More information to come, but wanted you to know that Village Pharmacy has graciously donated Maddie's meds for this cycle, due to the extraordinary circumstances of Maddie and Chris' situation. 

Village Fertility Pharmacy has been a leading specialist in fertility medication for over twenty years. For more information, go to http://www.villagepharmacy.com.  I love their video injection lessons!

 Plus, they've created Villagefertilityproducts.com , a one-stop source for conception, pregnancy and motherhood products.  They hand-selected only the best in fertility, prenatal, post-partum, and breastfeeding products - along with the pampering products that you deserve.

Chris and Maddie's Amazing FET Journey: All Systems Go

Monday 2/16/09

 

So the results of my blood work came back today and everything was negative, which means we are still “on go.” We have a doctor’s appt with Chris’s neurologist tomorrow, to find out more about the hematoma on the top of his head. We are scheduled to see the doc at 4:30pm which is a tad bit frustrating, I mean what kind of doctor makes you wait that long to find out his prognosis and what treatments we should try? Oh well, I guess we are the next contestants on the game show “Hurry up and Wait.”

 

Although on a positive note, in a way it’s kind of nice to be able to switch my work schedule so that I can be available to go with Chris to his appt, not too mention it will be really nice to be able to spend all day with each other celebrating our 8^th year wedding anniversary.

 

Happy Anniversary Babe!

 

I Love You!

 

 

 

Madeline

 

Maddie and Chris' Amazing Adventures...testing, testing

We are excited to share in Maddie and Chris' story as they pursue a FET while Chris battles cancer.  We are thrilled My Fertility Plan was able to assist them and we can't wait to see what happens next...

I am feeling pretty good, getting excited. I’ve been using the cd Helen made for me daily, except last night. I had my player right next to me, I got comfortable and passed out before I had a chance to press “play”. Other than that I am doing okay. I had my std testing done yesterday which was good with no hiccups (not a big fan of needles). Chris wasn’t feeling well when he woke so I went by myself, he was so upset he couldn’t go, but he was in a lot of pain and I know getting in the car would probably have hurt him.

I also got another surprise when I got to my PCP, the price they quoted me for the labs was half what I actually had to pay. It seems that the nurse didn ‘t write down three of the tests I gave her that I needed when she got a price quote from the Dr. so it ended up costing me $ 405.60, instead of the $200 something it should have been, I had borrowed the money from my inlaws for the tests and my mother in law she gave me a little extra towards the saline sonohistogram which I ended up using all of it to pay for the tests.

I think due to time constraints, I am going to have to have the saline sonohistogram done at my next cycle by Dr. K and pray that everything looks good at that time. I guess I have to figure out how to pay for it in the next couple of weeks. It is probably going to be around $500.00. I will try to come up with something.

Maddie

Maddie and Chris' Amazing Adventure - hypnotize me!

We are excited to share in Maddie and Chris' story as they pursue a FET while Chris battles cancer.  We are thrilled My Fertility Plan was able to assist them and we can't wait to see what happens next...

Tuesday 2/10/09

So last night was quite interesting-after work and two hours of English Lit night class I was excited to get home, to try something a little new.

My friend Angie, referred me to Helen Adrienne out of New York who performs Hypnotherapy and Meditation Techniques gearing towards success in fertility, and last night I got to speak with her.

When speaking with her,  I learned about a study done in Israel in 2006, where a team from Soroka University in Israel followed women who were undergoing IVF. Some of the women were hypnotized during the embryo transfer stage, a stressful process that can be impeded by uterine contractions. The study showed that 28 percent of the hypnotized women got pregnant, as compared to 14 percent of the women who didn't receive hypnotherapy. The researchers attributed the success of hypnotherapy to relaxation, which may have reduced uterine contractions [source: Our Jerusalem].

We spoke a few minutes about what different things relax me and discussed the best treatment approach to insure a viable pregnancy from my upcoming E.T. cycle.

The session was extremely informative and helpful, and I am excited to use the techniques given.

Tomorrow, Chris and I are going together to our PCP to have the STD tests completed and then depending on how he feels we might go out to lunch.

It’s amazing how much positive information changes a circumstance. Ever since finding out that we are going to have a second chance at getting pregnant, my husband has really buckled down and is trying to eat more in hopes of increasing his energy and strength to battle his cancer.

After all in 10 months he is going to be dad, so he better get busy!!!

Madeline

Editor's Note:  Helen Adrienne has donated her services to Maddie and Chris.  More information about Helen's work can be found at http://helenadrienne.com/

Maddie and Chris' Amazing Adventure

We are excited to share in Maddie and Chris' story as they pursue a FET while Chris battles cancer.  We are thrilled My Fertility Plan was able to assist them and we can't wait to see what happens next...

Monday 2/9/09

 

What a Monday! Things have been crazy in the office today, but it seems like things are starting to move like clockwork, just got a call back from my PCP to schedule the STD labs needed for my surgery in March. Also, due to Chris’s condition and the upcoming E.T. cycle, my fertility doc has decided to wave the storage charges for our sperm that is left over from our IVF in 2007. Not sure it is viable or not, but sets my fears aside to know that it is still available just in case. Now all I need to do is find a place to have my saline sonohistogram done.

 

About 32 days till the surgery!!!

 

 

Maddie and Chris' Amazing Adventure

We are excited to share in Maddie and Chris' story as they pursue a FET while Chris battles cancer.  We are thrilled My Fertility Plan was able to assist them and we can't wait to see what happens next...

Thursday 2/5/09-

 

It is always said that when you are at your highest high, a low point always comes creeping in to keep you grounded and give you more perspective. After our eventful night last night, Chris and I had a doctor’s appt to find out why he has been having severe headaches over the past couple of days. So far I have been frustrated as his appt for a brain MRI was scheduled for 10am and finally after fussing on his behalf he was taken back at 11:45am. An hour and half later, they finally released him from a test that should have only taken 30 min, but I guess that’s what happens when the hospital installs a new computer system in the middle of the week. We walked over to his doctor’s office across the street so they could let him lay down as I went to pick something up to eat for lunch. After eating the doctor came in and told us that the scan showed a lacerated hematoma or a blood clot with a cut in it on his skull cap.

 

At first, I was worried but the Dr. assured us that the clot is very small and is no where near his brain, which means he is in no danger at this time. It is located on the skull cap, so we are going to watch it closely and go back in two weeks to check it again. In the meantime, Chris’s vital are strong and his blood work looks really good. Short of needing to gain weight the drugs they currently have him on seem to be working.

 

Keep your fingers crossed!