Egg Retrieval Day!

Ali and I went to the fertility doctor this morning for the egg retrieval. We left at 0610, and arrived at the doctor's office at 0629. We met a couple nurses, a very nice anesthesiologist, and Rex, the embryologist. Each was very patient and answered all of our questions. Rex said that they don't normally take pictures of the embryos as that prolongs the length of time outside of the incubator. However we will get a picture of the final 2 they select to put in on the day of transfer. They took Ali away at about 0700, right on schedule, and I had enough time to watch about three sets of highlights on ESPN before Dr. Groll came and got me.

Dr. Groll reported that the procedure went very well and Ali was doing fine. He also said they are going to try for a five day egg growth/replacement cycle, as those embryos that remain strong for long enough to meet the five days outside of the womb tend to have a higher rate of pregnancies. However, he said if some proportion (not sure of the number) of the embryos did not appear strong enough to make that time window, that he would then opt for a three day replacement as there is clinical evidence that shortening the outside-the-uterus-incubation cycle yields a higher probability of successful pregnancies in these cases.

When I went to see Ali, she was understandably doped-up and tired. I forgot to bring a camera, so I had to edit this picture of what Ali's transformation looked like:


We spent about 20 minutes allowing Ali to recover, during which time she dined on a bountiful harvest of a half-can of Sierra Mist and four (4!) crackers. Next time I fuel up, I expect to see a noticable improvement in fuel economy due to Ali being 18 eggs lighter on the way home.

At roughly 1100 this morning Rex will clear away the excess cellular tissues and other organic materials from the eggs and assess their overall qualities. From approximately 1300 to 1400 he will inject each egg with a sperm according to the previously documented ICSI process. They will email Ali tomorrow morning with the results of everything that has transpired from the time she left the office through tomorrow morning's embryo inspection. She will continue to receive updates and instructions for medications and schedule on a daily basis.

She is still sleeping now, after a taxing early morning. She starts a new and exciting medicinal program this evening, which along with her new iPhone, I am sure you will all hear/read about shortly.