Why in vitro?

Those in my life who know me well, know my history and why Jared and I are doing IVF to get our little family.

For those of you who never knew... here's the story.

December 11, 1989.

It was time to go home from my friends house.  We went out to the car but I couldn't get the door open.  I tried to stop my friends door from closing but all I got were my fingers slammed in the door.  As this happened, his mom started up the car so she couldn't hear my cries.  Since she thought I was in the car, she started backing down the driveway.  I was dragged down the driveway with the car until my left leg got caught under the front tire and as it crunched over my leg, my fingers were freed from the door.

As the car reached the street, my friends mom saw me laying in the driveway and in a panic she slammed on the gas instead of the brakes and went flying into the fence behind her.  Luckily neither of them were hurt.

She ran inside to call my mother as my friends dad picked me up and brought me back in and laid me on across a chair.  I remember his sister trying to put a band-aid on my throbbing leg and I kicked her away with my good leg while screaming at her to not touch me.

My mom arrived and rushed me to the hospital.  

I don't think she's driven so fast in her entire life.

When I arrived at the hospital, a doctor examined me.  All of my clothes had to come off and I've been told that when he tried to take off my underwear I slapped him right across the face.

After tests the doctors diagnosis was:

Left Leg - Broken

Stomach - Ruptured.

The doctor told my parents that I wouldn't make it.

When I was in recovery my mom told me that she could see all of my lunch in my tummy.  Some peanut butter and jelly sandwich here {and she would point to a part of my stomach} some milk here {point somewhere else} and lots and lots of chocolate chip cookies.

I was in the hospital for 11 days when the doctors allowed my parents to take me home.

That year for Christmas I got a little tykes shopping cart.  It helped me learn to walk again.

Here are some pictures from that time in my life.  I have to admit, I was a pretty cute little girl. :)
{I can't wait to see what our babies look like!}

My uncle gave me this Big Bird.  Totally still have it :)

The nurses liked to stick me in a wheelchair and walk me around the hospital.  One of the nurses would always share her orange with me.  They were awesome.

Daddy sleeping with me in my oxygen tent. <3

Fast forward to November 28, 2001.

I was fat.  My stomach had grown so much the past few months that I started wearing this fleece pullover every day.  Whether I was warm or not.  My stomach was getting bigger every day it seemed and it felt hard when I poked it.  I had no idea what was happening to me and I didn't like it.  Cramps were murder.  I remember shopping with my mom in Target one day and I literally dropped to the ground my cramps came on so bad.  But on this morning, November 28th.  I felt especially awful.  I told my parents I couldn't go to school and that I felt terrible.  My dad came in and asked what was wrong with me.  I told him my stomach hurt so so so so bad.  So, being a doctor, he started poking me around and then asked me if I was sexually active.  WHAT?!  NO.  No I wasn't.  He wanted to know if I was telling the truth, because apparently I looked and felt like I was 5-6 months pregnant.  I swore I wasn't.

My dad took me to the hospital where they did some tests and found that I had a very large cist that needed to be removed immediately.  Like, if it wasn't removed asap it could burst and I would die.  The cyst was the size of a NFL football.

The next day, my parents brought me in for emergency surgery.

I remember feeling like the worst person ever because it was my parents anniversary that day and I was ruining it for them.

A nurse had me change into one of those hospital gowns and I was left to sit in a wheelchair in this room with my parents until the operating room was ready.  Since I was freaking out they were kind enough to give me some medicine.  I don't know what it was called, but after I took the medicine I only remember the next minute.  Then I woke up in recovery.

When they opened me up in surgery, the doctor discovered that this cyst was HUGE.  The dr. thinks that this cyst was a result of my ruptured stomach.  It was attached to my bladder, my uterus, and my colon.  In the surgery the dr. detached everything, drained the cyst {which had about 2 liters of old blood in it, ew} and removed it.  Because everything was so squished together, my right ovary was accidentally removed.

My parents were told following the procedure that I might not be able to have children in the future.

Fast forward 5 years, I get married.

After 4 years of marriage we try to figure out why we aren't getting pregnant.

January 2010 - Met with an OBGYN to begin the 6 month process of tests and procedures to try and figure out exactly why we weren't getting pregnant.

July 2010 - OBGYN concludes that I will be a good candidate for IVF, and that will be the only way for me to have children.

August 16th 2010, we meet Dr. Wilcox and decide he will be our miracle worker.

And that is how we got where we are today.
3 weeks pregnant and counting! :)

{actually... I'm technically 5 weeks pregnant.  Apparently you're pregnancy is based off of your last menstrual cycle.  I wonder why.}