Mixed Bag

Our Labor Day weekend trip to Houston was a bit of a mixed bag. David's grandmother is still in the hospital but there are signs of hope. Although she remains unconscious, she does seem to hear, feel and sense the presence of her friends and family. We are hopeful that she will recover but at her age (88) and having suffered such a massive stroke, it is difficult to believe that she will ever fully rebound. She has lived a full life, was married for over 70 years (widowed in 2004), has plenty of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even a few great-great grandchildren. With all that said, it is incredibly difficult to watch the matriarch of a family seem to slip away.

On the positive side, we were able to visit with a few of David's other relatives. We shopped, ate, hung out, attended church service and had a pretty good time in general. For the most part, everyone seems to be doing well. We spent Saturday and most of Sunday with David's parents. Late Sunday afternoon, we went to a hotel for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

The trip to the hotel came just. in. time. You see, as soon as we landed at the airport in Houston, I ran into the restroom only to notice that The Tide*, was beginning to roll into town. I had been a bit concerned because the Tide was about a week behind schedule, but Dr. NHB assured me that this was not out of the ordinary, post laparascopy. Well, there is nothing like being away from home to spark the onset of the Tide. I felt pretty good on Saturday and was optimistic that things had improved from the lap, but by Sunday, I was nauseous, unable to keep anything down, in incredible pain and drowning in the Tide. Great. Great. Fortunately, by Monday, things had improved and I was able to leave the hotel and attend a family gathering. We returned home on Tuesday.

By the time we arrived at home, my mom had prepared lots of food for us to eat, had done all of our laundry and had cleaned up the house. She also visited with some family friends and attended church service with them on Sunday. In addition, she engaged in her other routines -- she takes a daily power walk and exercises with Fit Tv. The only thing she doesn't feel comfortable doing is driving alone, since she is unfamiliar with our area. She flew home on Thursday morning. Despite her discouraging me from taking any medical action to deal with infertility (I'll save that rant for another post), I'll miss her.

On Wednesday, I went on a job interview and am excited that new and different challenges may lay ahead. Although I am comfortable in my present job, I am also bored and I sense that a shift may be on the horizon for our little team. We recently had two very visible resignations (including my boss) and it is beginning to feel like our team may be downsized. There is no official word yet but the signs aren't good. Our annual reviews and increases are months behind schedule and headquarters doesn't seem to be taking any immediate action. So although a new job may mean a long commute and re-establishing myself, perhaps it may lead to greater stability and more opportunities.

Finally, I have been reading about endometriosis. I am growing concerned about the state of my health and the potential for success of IVF. I have allergies, eczema and now this. They all seem to point to an auto-immune deficiency. I am also experiencing some discomfort (lower back and lower abdominal pain) and have not felt great for days. I am concerned that my endo will only get worse with IVF. I am concerned that our chance of success with IVF will be lower than those of a healthier woman. I am concerned that over time the only real cure for endo will be a hysterectomy (which may not be a cure at all). I am concerned that I may never get pregnant and really may never be "well" again. So there you have it. We meet with Dr. L on Friday (9/16) to discuss the plan moving forward.


*my period

edited 9/13 to remove the reference to a certain college slogan.