I drove with Mario and three other patients. One was transferring so she and I got a lot of visiting time later on in the prep/recovery room.
For retrieval you don't get to see Dr Garza. With his multitude of patients, his office hours are filled with running upstairs to the offices, and then back downstairs to his surgery. After checking in with the downstairs staff they send you upstairs to get the procedure order. Then you are sent back down to prep.
There is a little bathroom to change in and the nurses have a spot on top of their cubbies for your purse. When you change, you are allowed to leave on upper clothing but otherwise just wear a hospital gown and socks. Many patients struggle with the one hospital gown and keeping decent as they walk around. Tip: either wear a short dress/long shirt or, use two gowns, one in front and one in back.
The prep/recovery area is so dim that it's almost dark. Paintings of Jesus and Mary are on the wall looking in on the surgery. There are a couple of big chairs and a few beds for patients to rest on.
While you are waiting/recovering, the nurses are in and out, checking on everyone's level of pee urgency. For the transfers they want the paitents need to be at a 9 on a scale of 1 through 10. For the retrivals, they want the patient absolutely empty.
The other patients and I talked to each other and shared the individual stories. One had endometriosis, like me, and we compared pain stories all the way from our early teenage years until having it diagnosed and treated as an adult. Growing up, we both assumed the pain was normal - it took us so many years to find out otherwise! My OBGYN in Austin has a special focus on endometriosis which is fortunate for me. He's told me that many doctors aren't that focused/interested/aware (?) of it though and my impression is that many patients go un-diagnosed.
Back to yesterday though. After a lot if talking and waiting it was finally my turn. The nurses downstairs are much more social than the upstairs staff. One nurse in particular, Ruth, was very bubbly and fun. She enjoyed practicing speaking English and had sentences written out to help her. Every time she read out a command to me, she would look at her senior nurse partner, Karina, for approval and a giggle. Ruth also had a blast with my name - just like last cycle. She would ask me to pronounce it, repeat what I said as she struggled over the J sound, and a minute later would be back asking me to say it again. I really liked her 😊
Hector, the anesthesiologist, is a middle aged man who sits at the head of the surgical table. When I came in this time he was yammering away on his cell phone. He kept talking as he put the little clip-reader-thing on my finger and as he adjusted the position of my arms. When he did put his phone down, just before gassing me, I got to ask him his name too. I think I was the noisiest patient they had that day. Everyone else was silent in the surgery - I just have fun talking!
Also? While I certainly enjoyed interacting with Ruth and the other nurses, my very own Nurse Cathy is the real example to follow. Her care is not limited to the time you are standing in front of her - instead, it continues with phone calls after treatment and even emails after retirement. And she always prays to the Fertility Goddess for me too💕
The gas wasn't as bad as I remembered it from last time. I did not have an urge to pull the mask off and I went to sleep faster. The next thing I knew they were calling my name to move me on to a bed. I was wheeled out to lie with my fellow endometriosis patient and she quietly asked me if I wanted a pain shot. Many of the women experience a lot of pain after retrieval; I've been fortunate that I have not.
I didn't need the pain shot but, in my semi-awake state, I did start crying and wondering out loud how that Facebook person was so mean to me 🙃. I thought I was mostly over that incident but I guess deep down it still hurts. Not to allow those feelings too much power, I wiped away the tears and sat up. I shared with you on Facebook and received messages of love that made such a difference! Sitting up, I was a little dizzy for a minute, but pretty quickly I was alert and feeling good.
I sat there for what seemed like a long time. A new patient was waiting for her IUI procedure so I shared my IUI stories with her. This was her first attempt and she was worried it would hurt. It does not.
This patient had a most interesting story to share. She said that when her mother was pregnant with her, at the five month window, she tested negative for the pregnancy hormone HCG. Her doctors in the States told her there was nothing she could do and that miscarriage was inevitable. This mother couldn't accept the information though and so headed across the border for a second opinion. The doctors in Mexico loaded her up with folic acid, and other vitamins, with the recommendation that she not tell her US doctors that she was being treated. They feared that the US doctors would refuse to treat her if they knew. I believe she continued to test negative for HCG but went on to have a healthy baby. Crazy story! I wonder what the explanation is.
This about finishes yesterday's retrieval experience. After I had dressed, I found that Mario had already taken the rest of the people back, so he had to make a special trip for me. I'm taking a short round of Medrol this time - starting it now and ending it a week or so after transfer. It can be helpful when you have endometriosis and/or natural killer cells. We stopped at a pharmacy on the Mexican side to get it. The rest of the ride home was uneventful but I felt lonely sitting in the van by myself. I knew J would be gone when I got back to the motel but, even though I was prepared, when I entered the empty room, I couldn't help but cry and cry. He's my best friend 💕
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