The Harvest
Brief notes about the IVF experience.
Egg retrieval yesterday went smoothly. The initial count was 32 eggs collected; after assessment, 15 of those were mature and frozen successfully. For my age, that’s A Lot.
(Per Luke: “That sounds like almost enough to make tapioca pudding!”)
Perhaps relatedly, I spent nearly all day yesterday asleep on the couch, or occasionally crawling to the bathroom to pee. The post-procedure bloat and cramping was functionally debilitating – not terribly painful outside some spasming, or unless I tried to move. Standing straight upright was not an option. Today, thankfully, it’s notably better. I’m still feeling fragile and moving slowly, but seemingly on the mend. The doctors told me that some women are back to work the next day. Definitely not happening for me. I may be able to work from home tomorrow, but I think it will be a few more days before I’m back to more regular activity.
The main risk now is ovarian hyperstimulation and associated ovarian torsion, fluid buildup, and other fun side effects. The nurse said if I end up at the ER for whatever reason, I need to tell them NOT to put pressure on my abdomen. So I’m just going to take it easy.
Unrelatedly. You know how phone keyboards are supposed to learn the word associations and vocabulary you use regularly? I have long wondered why they seem to get some things and miss other obvious ones. One example is my regular username – for a brief, glorious instant shortly after the cancer diagnosis, my phone seemed to have learned that I type my username out a lot and added it to its dictionary. But now it’s forgotten. Why, phone? Anyway, another one is my full name – seems like it just cannot figure out a word association that goes with Rosemary. For a while, it was suggesting Rosemary Christmas, which was kind of charming. Surprisingly it never seems to suggest food or plant associations. Well, this morning was a new one: Rosemary Babies.
Thanks, phone, that’s timely.
Actually sounds like a recipe suggestion.
All right, that’s probably it from me until chemo starts, week after next. Thanks as always for the well wishes.