Death Of Emily....

My friend, Emily Miller, passed away Tuesday night at 8:45. Her youngest son called me right when she passed. It was heartbreaking.

Emily fought hard in her battle with the lung cancer. It was just so progressed by the time it was diagnosed in April that there wasn't much that could be done. So she made the most out of the time she had left.

This last month was very rough on her. She lost a lot of weight and last week she was on morphine constantly for the pain.

I know she is in a better place now and in no more pain; but looking at her little boy's face while he is dealing with something no 13 year old should be dealing with is very hard.

Please pray for this family and her youngest son as he makes the transition to moving to another city and new school with his father and step mother.

Prayers For A Friend....

Emily Bourque ( Miller); a good friend of mine has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. It is in both lungs, both lymph nodes, and they are waiting on test to come back now to see if it is in the bones. She has stage 4 lung cancer. She is 49 and has 2 sons ( ages 18 and 12).Please say a prayer for her and her family. They need them all.

IVF....

The cost of IVF is really high; but looks like where we are headed in a few short months. This is a list of the tests and cost of each we have to do. We still need $9650 to be able to do the IVF. We hope to be able to by the end of the summer. So - to raise the money for it; I have my Mary Kay website up and running. All profits will go toward our IVF fund. If you shop from the website and put "IVF Fund" in the comment field of your order - you will get a 10% discount off your purchase. Visit the website at www.marykay.com/tehowell

Consultation and work-up are required prior to in vitro fertilization.
Screening and Work Up:
Antinuclear Antibody (reference lab) $ 63.00 (paid)
Anticardiolipins (reference lab) $ 265.00 (paid)
Lupus Anticoagulant (reference lab) $ 64.00 (paid)
Thyroid Antibody Group (reference lab) $ 116.00 (paid)
Hysterosonography (SIS) $ 468.00 (paid - already done and all clear!)
HSG (1) plus hospital fees $195.00

Baseline Studies:
FSH Test (1) $ 84.00
Pregnancy Test (1) $ 84.00
Estradiol Tests (2) $ 220.00
Sonar (2) $ 420.00
Office Visit with Nurse (2) $ 86.00
Baselines Subtotal $ 894.00 ( Balance for this is $100)

IVF Cycle Monitoring:
Estradiol Tests (3) $ 330.00
BV Blue $ 34.00
CBC (1) (reference lab) $ 27.00
Progesterone Tests (3) $ 252.00
Sonars (3) $ 630.00
Pregnancy Evaluation after IVF $ 278.00
Monitoring Subtotal $1,551.00 (Balance for this is $150)

IVF Procedures:
Ultrasound Guidance $ 475.00
Egg Retrieval $2,000.00
Egg Identification from Fluid $ 740.00
Sperm Prep for Insemination $ 160.00
Culture & Fertilization of Eggs $2,330.00
Culture & Fertilization, extended 4-7 days $ 825.00
Prep Embryos for Transfer $ 320.00
Embryo Transfer $ 320.00
Ultrasound for Transfer $ 210.00
Procedures Subtotal $7,380.00

Optional Services for IVF :
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) $1,280.00
ICSI, if greater that 10 oocytes $ 545.00
Assisted Embryo Hatching (AEH) $ 960.00
TESA $2,365.00
Embryo Insemination $ 220.00
Cryopreserve Excess Embryos $ 770.00
- Annual storage fee after one year $ 300.00
Frozen Embryo Transfer:
Monitoring $ 447.00
Thaw/AEH/Transfer $2,700.00

Pregnancy Test...

It was today and it was negative. Oh well - that was our last chance at IUI. Next step - IVF. We are going to hold off a few months on it though. Time for a little break.

Small update...

I had my progesterone blood test today. It was above 41!!! The nurse said that was excellent!!!! They changed my preg. test to the 20th (next Friday). Just a few more days now and hopefully we will have some great news!

2nd IUI....

We did our 2nd IUI on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009. I only had 1 follie (potential baby) this time. That ok; 1 is all it takes though. I had my SIS test done last week. I have a fibroid; but they are going to leave it alone for now. It is well above the endometrium, so it shouldn't affect anything. The dr. informed me Sunday that I have a tilted uterus. I guess something always has to be added to all this, huh. Well - I am taking progesterone again; praying we get a healthy baby out of this. Praying so hard this IUI is successful. I have my beta test on Feb. 23 to see if it worked. I added a picture of the potential baby. It is so neat how it shows in an ultrasound. Just looks like a golfball - lol.

All my praying friends; say an extra prayer for us that this will be the end of the journey and we will get a healthy baby.

On my soapbox....

Warning you ahead of time; this is one of my "soapbox" rants.

It is just so unfair. Why in the world can a single mother of 6 kids ( a woman who has never been married) have IVF and end up with 8 babies????

When this story first came out I didn't think much about it. I thought - ok - she has been dealing with infertility treatments several years and this was the result of a fluke IUI where she produced more eggs than they expected. OH NO - THAT IS NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. This crazy woman had 6 kids ( all by IVF); never been married; still is not married; lives with her parents and filed for bankruptcy about a year and a half ago. Then she goes for another IVF - the dr. transfers all 8 embryos and all 8 take - resulting in octuplets. WHY is it this happened? How can someone be so stupid and WHY THE HECK did the dr. transfer 8 embryos. This whole thing is just STUPID.

So - what will happen now. Our tax dollars will pay for this kids because she does not have a job.

This just makes me want to SCREAM.

I will get off my soapbox now.

Guestbook...

I have added a guestbook to my page. I have been watching the traffic feeds and it is really interesting how many people visit my blog. I would love for you to sign the guestbook, tell how you found the blog, etc.