Chapter 8:Egg Retrieval Round Three

Oct 2: Today is the day I start my shots for egg retrieval 3! Today was also so many other things. My sister AuBree and her boyfriend Thomas landed this morning at 10:30 AM and checked into their hotel a couple of blocks from our apartment! They were amazing and picked up our favorite breakfast at Bacco and brought it to the apartment. They got crab omelets, and we watched Ohio State whoop Rutgers and Alabama whoop Ole Miss. Joe went to the field, and we walked down on the water and took pics by the Ferris wheel and Elliots Oyster House! We went to dinner and ordered everything on the menu!! This round, I allowed myself an occasional glass of wine or two. I didn’t overthink anything. I also made half-calf coffee instead of ruling out caffeine altogether. You have to do what is best for your physical and your mental health, and for me personally, it was easier to live normal. It freed my mind. During dinner, I asked them fun questions about their relationship. They are so in love and so adorable. 

Well, in the meantime, Joe called me at 5:00. From the field. For context, the Seattle Mariners won 9 of the last 11 and were tied for the last wild card spot for the playoffs with two games left in the season. The season was coming down to literally the last game. If they made the playoffs, he would fly out after the game to a wild card game the next day and never come back to Seattle. If they didn’t make the playoffs, he would stay and do a day and night with Thomas, and then we were going to fly to Houston for a doctor's appointment for my next egg retrieval! Lots of moving parts, but we are making it work! Until he called me at 5:00. Joe tested positive for COVID. He called and said, I tested positive yesterday. They are running a nasal test and an additional test that is being sent to the University of Washington. Meanwhile, AuBree just got in, and we were with her and Thomas all day. And we had just thrown a charity dinner with 18 people from all over Seattle. So not only did Joe have to come home from the field during his massive playoff game, he was thinking of everyone that was at risk, as well as the fact that AuBree’s boyfriend Thomas is NOT vaccinated. He told me to take them out to dinner while he waited for the results of his nasal test. Turns out it was negative. Thank God. I brought AuBree and Thomas back to the apartment to see Joe and watch the last two innings of the game. Seattle won!! Now we need the Yankees OR Boston to lose, and we need to win, to even have a chance at a playoff spot. 

AuBree mixed my menopur, I gave myself my gonal-f shot, and Joe gave me the menopur shot. Meanwhile, I don’t know if Joe will get to play tomorrow, if the team will make the playoffs, or if they do make the playoffs and he flies out with the team when I will see him again. Haha. I am literally laughing because compared to what we have been through, this is not only a normal day at the office, it also literally does not affect me anymore. Most people, when I tell them what has happened to us the last two months, they ask, “are you ok?”

Of course, I am, I don’t know any different! Life is good. God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. And we have health and love. 

Oct 3: Joe and I watched the last game of the season from the couch. So ridiculous and depressing. The mariners lost and the other teams won so they didn't make the playoffs. AuBree and Thomas were up in the space needle during the day!! They started with a bottle of champagne and then had food and wine and we met them on scooters after to watch football and go to dinner!! Found an awesome sports bar for the game then went to Six Seven for dinner! Joe found out right before dinner he had a PCR test come back POSITIVE. Even though his last PCR the day before was negative. Unreal. Got back and did my shots! Day 2 in the books!

Oct 4: Joes saliva test came back negative. So he got to go to the field and pack his bags, and said goodbye to some of his coaches and teammates. Aubree and Thomas, and I bounced around town until Joe got back! Then we all went to Ascend for dinner for our last night in town! The view was amazing, and we had a great time. Yes, I had wine. Day 3 of shots in the books!

Oct 5: Flew to Houston! Crashed at a hotel (Hyatt Centric in the Woodlands) close to the doctor's office for my ultrasound the next morning!

Oct 6: Had an ultrasound with Dr. Roach. Follicles looking good, but we are increasing meds to two vials of menopur and 300 of gonal-f! As opposed to one vial of menopur and 175 of gonal-f. 

Oct 8: Joe and I went to the Astros playoff game together!!! It was the first MLB game we have ever gone to together. So cool. I couldn’t stop smiling. We both wore Brantley Jerseys. Joe was so hyped up he was yelling at fans for sitting down with two outs. It was hilarious!! Then we went to dinner with Chris and Erin at Gratify and took our dog, Brantley, back to the hotel with us. We missed her SO MUCH.

Oct 9: Joe and I went to the game then had dinner in the Woodlands by the hotel. This time Joe wore a Bregman jersey, and I wore Brantley’s. It cracks me up every time I see him in the stands with me. He helps mix my shots each night and has been such a great support system for me. I know it is hard for him to watch me go through this. I know if he didn’t have HD, we wouldn’t be going through it all. I remind him daily it is worth EVERY shot—no question in my mind. God has given me extreme clarity on this.

Oct 10: Joe left with our pup to drive home to Ohio. I cried. This journey is emotional, and when you have someone to comfort you it helps, but also you take it for granted, then when it’s gone, it hits you like a ton of bricks. I like when he mixes my shots, and wakes up slow with me, and watches movies with me, and reminds me that I am perfect and normal no matter what happens with the egg retrieval. He is so gentle and kind to me when I am in baby mode. It’s adorable.

Oct 11: I flew to LA, for an NBA preseason game!! Wow, it feels amazing to get back to work. Between COVID, Joe’s mom's passing, the NBA bubble, my miscarriage, surgery, and getting traded to Seattle, I am ready for my comfort zone again. Our flight was a hot mess!!!!! We took off for an hour and the pilot said, “we have a medical emergency and will be flying back to San Antonio to let a passenger deplane.” I prayed for her. Turns out she passed out from a combo of pills and alcohol. We were ready to take off again, and our flight crew timed out. So we had a two-hour delay. 

Meanwhile, my meds needed refrigerated so I had the Mexican restaurant put three scoops of ice into a zip lock baggy to keep them cold. haha. We finally got back on the flight and the guy sitting next to me reached up for his carry-on and pulls out a bag of avocados and chips. He then asks the flight attendant for four cups…one to make guac for him, one to make guac for me, one for his chips, and one for mine. He even asked for limes hahahaha. Then he ordered champagne and we ate guacamole together and just laughed. This was my version of turning lemons into lemonade. Or HIS version I should say. I just benefitted! 

Sounds all well and good, until we go to land in LA and the wind was so bad that we got to the runway to land, and the pilot pulled back up in the air because the wind shifted the plane so badly. We circled around for 30 minutes and thank the Lord our second attempt was a success. I made it to my first NBA game of the year. Hallelujah. 

Oct 12: Gameday!!! We had our normal morning production meeting, and Coach Kerr allowed me to watch shoot around. I was able to speak with several of the Warriors players to prepare myself for the game later that night. A Lakers Warriors preseason game is significant because Russell Westbrook joined the Lakers, so they now have a big three, and it was their first time playing together. Plus, Klay Thompson will return this season for the first time in two years. And the Lakers eliminated the Warriors the previous year in the play-in game to the post-season. 

We got to the arena at around 5:00, and I did my shots in the arena bathroom. A woman walked in, and I said, “I swear these aren’t drugs!” She responded with, “well, then what are they? Insulin?” Lol, she was not buying my story. Oh well!!

The game ended up being a good game. The crowd was average. Dodgers were playing post-season ball down the road. 

Oct 13: I flew from LA to Phoenix, checked into the hotel to put my meds in the minifridge, ubered to Courtneys to see her and Conrad, then ubered back to the hotel, met Anya, Candace’s wife to grab a Chicago Sky shirt, and then met Adam and Stephen and their daughter to head to the game!! WNBA Finals game in phoenix!! This was a dream we were COURTSIDE!!! The game was exciting, and went to OT. The whole arena was packed, and the NBA teams were there to support. Chris, Paul, and the Phoenix Suns, as well as the Portland Trailblazers! Chicago lost in OT, but we went to dinner after, and they got to shake off the loss. 

Dinner at a small amazing Mexican place. The owner's wife had cancer, and they spent every penny keeping the place open and treating her medical diagnosis. Life is full of surprises. We are all in this together. 

Oct 14: I flew in from Phoenix to Houston and had an ultrasound with Dr. Roach! They are growing big! 13 large follicles and 3 small. I have to see her again tomorrow to check growth so she can determine when to schedule surgery. It will be Saturday or Sunday

Oct 15: Joe landed in Houston, and we went to another Astros playoff game!!! He wore a Gurielle jersey this time, and I wore a Bregman jersey. 

I had an ultrasound this morning and was permitted to take my “trigger shot,” which is the shot you take at night 35 hours prior to egg retrieval surgery. The problem is I had to take it exactly at 10 PM, and it had to be refrigerated. So we took it to the Astros game and had the bartender put it in the mini-fridge in the kitchen, haha! I took a trigger shot at the field at exactly 10:00 in the ladies' restroom! I have done my shots in some pretty wild places. Gas stations, NBA arenas, MLB fields, you name it!!!! Do what you gotta do!

Oct 16: This morning I relaxed, then we had a meeting for a children’s book with a woman named April Salazar. Joe and I have a vision of multiple books that represent pillars of Joe’s life. Family, Hard Work, Success, Adversity, Legacy, for example. We want the book to character develop him and his family, specifically Lee. We want to incorporate her bravery and also educate people about Huntington’s Disease. This can be really cool for kids. The kid who dreams of being a professional baseball player, whose dreams come true, who makes a difference in the world. It makes me want to cry!!!

I dropped off a picture of Erin’s cat at her house because her poor cat got diagnosed with Lymphoma and only has a few months. Joe went to the Astros playoff game at 3:00. I stayed home to rest. We ordered UberEasts and then I was told to take one valium at bedtime, which I did, prior to surgery the next morning!

Oct 17: Egg retrieval at 9:00 AM

I woke up extremely excited for this. They had me take one Zithromax, one Zoltran, and two extra-strength Tylenol with a small sip of water. No food or water after midnight is a rule of thumb.

Two years prior, I had 13 eggs retrieved. So the fact that now I had 13 large follicles, PLUS 3 small follicles, made me extremely optimistic. But that is where you can get eaten alive when it comes to IVF. Expectations. You almost have to live each day without any. As barren as that sounds. 

We went in for the procedure, I was put under, and when I woke up, the doctor told me we had retrieved 6 eggs. I was completely confused and devastated. More confused than anything because I know this ride is unpredictable. My next thought was WHY. She explained that the purpose of the trigger shot is to release the follicles from the follicle wall in order to be retrieved and that the other 10 never released. I asked if there was anything I did wrong to cause this, and she said absolutely nothing. I was still completely baffled. I emailed another fertility doctor for a second opinion, even though I trusted my doctor with all my heart. She responded and said: 

“This can happen occasionally, and it is, of course, disappointing. It’s also impossible to predict. As an egg matures, the cumulus cells around the egg “expand,” helping the cumulus-egg complex to free from the follicle wall. Sometimes this doesn’t happen perfectly. Importantly, this didn’t happen because of anything you did or didn’t do. And your doctor, I’m sure, tried extra hard to get those eggs from the follicles. 6/6 mature is excellent - hoping for many healthy embryos for you!”

It’s true. It was bad luck. Just like my miscarriage. Nothing I could do. 

We watched the Browns lose, and the Chicago Sky and Candace Parker win the WNBA Championship, which was SO COOL. She brought a championship to her hometown. Nothing better than that. I am so proud of her!!

Joe and I went out to eat after spending all day on the couch and taking two long naps. It was really nice to be out with him for a date. That was a long day of ups and downs. It is hard explaining to people what happened. I am so grateful that people care enough to ask and educate themselves, though. I am learning every day too!  

Oct 18: I woke up to a text saying 5 of the 6 eggs were fertilized. Considering last time, only 8 of my 13 fertilized, I considered this a great start. Now we wait 6 days for them to continue growing before we know how many made it to full maturity. Once we have that number, they get sent to genetic testing. Joe and I decided we would wait to see how many we had before sending it to testing. We will either freeze them and “bank” them, then attempt one more retrieval, or we will send them to testing. It is expensive each time you send them to genetic testing, so if you are doing another round, it makes sense financially to freeze, wait, and send them all together. 

Joe and I rode to the airport together. He is flying to Ohio, and I am flying to LA for NBA opening night! I have Warriors at Lakers on TNT. Finally, I get to go back to work!!! I landed and got settled into the hotel and met Adam at the Sushi bar with co-workers. Best sushi in LA by far!!

Oct 19: 8:30 AM pickup to go get a PCR test so I can conduct in-game interviews with a mask off. Production meeting at 10:00 AM. Sit down with Steph Curry after the Warriors shoot around at 11. Game at 7:30. How lucky am I! The arena was packed! Everyone from Adel to Usher to Justin Beiber, Jack Nicklaus, team owners, and billionaires were there! The Warriors made a big 4th quarter push thanks to a triple-double from Stephen Curry, who notched his 8th career triple-double. LeBron was amazing, ESPECIALLY considering it’s his 19th season. Anthony Davis played well too. It was a rough night for everyone else on the Lakers. I met Sam Poulous out for a beer because it was his birthday, and I got to see my good friend Joe Underhill.

Oct 20: I woke up around 9:00 to head to Clippers practice. I have Clippers Warriors tomorrow in San Francisco, so I wanted to talk to some of the players before my flight. I also got to see Pooja and Ronak. They are dear friends who are so brave and also in the IVF journey. They made the very wise yet difficult decision to have a surrogate carry their embryo. They are older in age and miscarried once. They want to make sure the hard work and dollars they have committed to making embryos are used in the most successful scenario so they can enjoy parenthood together. I respect and love them so much. When I got to the airport, I texted Dr. Roach to see if there was a Day 3 update on our embryos. They give you an update on Day 1 and Day 3. She texted me that all five were “kicking ass!!” This was such a major relief to me. WOW. I did not let myself get excited because they can stop growing at any time, and we also haven’t even sent them to genetic testing yet. But it is a great start. Doc told me I have an 8 cell, 9 cell, 10 cell, and a 12 cell and a compacting embryo, which usually show themselves on Day 4. So I will know more tomorrow. For reference, though, my last egg retrieval, the 10 cell, 8 cell, and 6 cell all stopped growing. Anything can happen.

Oct 21: This egg retrieval was SO interesting. I had 16 eggs, but only 6 were retrieved. The rest stayed on the follicle wall. My first reacting? WTF!? I didn't know that could happen. Apparently, it can!

BUT, the plot thickens. Those 6 eggs made 4 embryos. HA!!!

So last time, I had 13 eggs retrieved, and they made 5 embryos.

This time 6 eggs, and they made 4 embryos.

When they say it's a crapshoot, they aren't lying! 

Those are biopsied and frozen. We decided to do one more retrieval before we start transferring embryos. Once we have those embryos, we will send this sound with them for genetic testing, then start transferring! 

Recovering was a little more difficult this time since 10 large follicles were still in me. But it wasn't bad—worth every shot. Plus, my husband is strong as hell. Love you, dude.