Monday morning arrives, I receive a phone call before 8:30am. There are two embryos one that is a blastocyst and one that is almost one.
They want me to arrive for 12:30pm with a full bladder ready for the procedure. The procedure should take no longer than 10 minutes.
Nick and I drive to the hospital together and he walks with me through the campus. He gives me a hug before I ascend the steps into the hospital. I say a little prayer, before I leave Nick 🙏🏻:
"Your will be done, God.
Your will be done."
I enter and I am directed upstairs past the stained glass window of St Luke, the Saint of physicians. I walk down the same long winding corridors I did on the egg retrieval day, months earlier.
I enter the ward and I am greeted by one of the nurses, who says I will be the first person, again, to go in the surgery for my procedure. This has happened to me twice now and I do not think it is a coincidence.
"But many that are first shall
be last; and the last shall be first!" Jesus.
(Matt 19:30, Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30)
I am being put first each time I attend the hospital. That is God. Last week the Bible quote in my prayer journal read like this:
The nurse gave me a sheet with advice on for post-transfer care. I read that and then turned on my Spotify "God's promises" playlist and I hit shuffle. The first song: Phil Wickham - Battle Belongs and then Rex Allchurch - God of the impossible.
"You're the root of every miracle,
You are hope that is
unshakeable"
I am called in before the second song ends. I am asked to strip from the waist down and tie the medical gown around my waist. I am in the same surgery that I was in when they retrieved my eggs. Like last time I needed to speak to the embryologist through the hatch. She tells me that they are transferring two embryos today: one is a blastocyst and one that hasn't got to that stage yet, but should progress well in the womb.
The procedure:
I lie on the operating table, put my legs in the stirrups and they get strapped in, they are covered with stirrup socks so that my legs can stay warm. One of the nurses adds jelly to my belly to check how my womb is looking and whether my bladder is full enough, it is so we are good to go. The gynaecologist uses a speculum to open up my cervix, (much like in a smear test) she then cleans my uterus (standard procedure) it is a weird sensation, I can feel a tickling sensation - that also makes me feel like I need a wee. She then has to insert a catheter into my uterus. All of us watching on the scan screen as the nurse keeps pressing the ultrasound camera into my stomach. We are looking for a little white line to say that it is place. Once this is ready - we are ready for embryologist through the hatch to send through the catheter filled with our embryos.
The nurse and gynaecologist carefully remove the catheter from it's casing and line it up with the catheter already in my uterus. The nurse with the ultrasound camera on my stomach, points to the part of the screen in my womb and tells me to watch this area. I watch with anticipation as the little flashes of light, that are our embryos, enter my womb, hopefully to make a home there for 9 months. Watching those embryos enter my womb, those little flashes of light, was so moving and so powerful.
Again I am drawn back to the Bible, Jesus light of the world, came to the world to do many things, but the strength I am calling on today - is that of miracles. Let a miracle happen today, Lord.
Everything is removed from my uterus, the embryologist checks the catheter to ensure both embryos have entered my womb, they have, so that's all done I am free to go home and wait, rest and try not to think about it.
I get dressed whilst the nurse prints a scan photo so I can show it to Nick. On the way out I empty my bladder as it is getting painful now after all the poking around. I say a little prayer before walking the long winding corridor to the exit.
My prayer
"Lord, protect and keep these embryos and let them implant, let this be the day our family is born. Amen."
Now to wait. 14 days, 2 weeks, 336 hours, 20,160 minutes, 1,209,600 seconds. That's not that long, right?
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