Clean Bill of Health

Auntie is gone, Grandma Bagel left last night, and yesterday I received a clean bill of health from the doctor. Yay! I found out a few interesting things, though. Like the fact that they didn't actually "save" my left fallopian tube. Nor did they "save" 2/3 of it. There is really only 1/3 left and it was cauterized shut in order to stop the bleeding. Dr. W told me that if something now happens to my right fallopian tube, they can always go in again and open the left tube back up. But, it's unlikely that they would do that, since they'd much rather just guarantee a pregnancy with IVF. Oh well, I still count myself lucky. I've got two ovaries and one fallopian tube. Definitely good enough to do the job...I hope. :) Apparently, according to Dr. W, there have been cases where women with one good ovary, on the right side, and one good tube, on the left side, have still managed to get pregnant. He said either the egg knows to drift toward the tube, or the tube moves in order to collect the egg. I also found out that I was probably about 6 or 7 weeks pregnant. I told Dr. W that it's weird because I had just finished my period (sorry men) maybe a week and a half before I found out I was pregnant. He said that with the ectopic pregnancy my body probably wasn't producing enough of the pregnancy hormone, HCG, in order to shut off my menstrual cycle. He then went on to reveal that some women can have as many as three periods, at the right times, while they are pregnant. This would mean that they are actually 12 weeks pregnant when they think they are 0 weeks pregnant. Crazy!!

I have now been admonished to be extra vigilant while trying to get pregnant. I told Dr. W about what I said to my mother while in Utah. I had been feeling a bit nauseated and really, really tired, but I chalked it up to the flu bug circulating the household. One night, though, I told my mom, "You know, if I wasn't having my period right now I would think I was pregnant." Dr. W jumped on that. He said if I ever have any inklings or feelings or if I'm just plain paranoid, I'm to report to the doctor's office for a blood test, which if it should come up positive for pregnancy, would be immediately followed by an ultrasound. It sounds involved, but I'm relieved to know that I have a safety net in place if there is ever a next time.

Throughout this whole ordeal, I've formed a bond with Dr. W. It must be one of those "you-saved-my-life-and-I'll-never-be-able-to-thank-you-enough" bonds. But because of this bond, I was disappointed when I discovered that Dr. W is no longer an OB, just a gynecologist. He said, and I quote, "I already put in my time with OB." :) So, I did the next best thing. I asked him if there was someone he could recommend who had as good of bedside manner as he does. He said, "No," and then laughed. He did finally recommend a colleague of his that works just down the hallway from him. He also mentioned that there were two women OB's in his office, but that I'd have to have a note from the Pope to be able to get in to see them. Ha ha! What a great sense of humor! :)

So, I can lift my kids and be intimate with my husband again. Hooray! Today I ran a couple of errands and then prepared a picnic lunch to enjoy with the boys outside in the backyard. It's cooled off a bit and I'm loving the breeze! After Bugga went down for his nap, Buddha and I made juice popsicles using IKEA molds that I bought last week. And now, at this moment, Buddha is at my feet, underneath the computer desk, begging me to let him play Starfall. So, I think that'll be all for today. Toodle-oo.