First a quick update. My sister is recovering well. She's back to work and has some pain where they took the lymph nodes, but she's doing better. She meets with her surgeon next Wednesday, and as long as she gets the all clear, she will be moving on to her oncologist. He needs to give her a letter that clears her to do the IVF cycle, so that's what we are waiting for!
I have gotten all my paperwork into the RE, so the next step for me is to have two phone screenings, one with the doctor, and one with the therapist. Then they plan an "all day" where me, my husband, my sister and her husband spend the whole day at the clinic, having tests done, meeting with doctors etc. The only thing is, this costs about $2500 (out of pocket) and the RE doesn't want to do it until my sister gets the all clear. No need to incur costs when there could be reasons that stop this from happening. So we'll see how it goes.
Ok, so now, what do we all think about McCain's pick. I must admit, I was in the middle. I am economically a Republican, but very much socially a Democrat. So I wasn't sure which way to go in this election. But then McCain picked Palin, and I offically am in Obama's camp. For me, I can't support anyone who is a Conservative Christian. It's just completely off the table for me. I am terrified in general of politicians using their political power to push their dogma. No no no! Can't have it.
Plus, she's like SUPER anti-choice. And, as someone mentioned on another blog I read, if they overturn Roe v Wade, guess who they will come after next? Yup, all us infertile and our reproductive sciences. They already have issues with IVF ... I imagine if abortion wasn't their big problem anymore, they might turn to that.
As we discussed on another site I frequent, Pro-life is not a proper term. Who isn't pro-life? The opposite of pro-life is anti-life ... and really, who is that? If I was anti-life, I would be running around killing everyone, or I would have killed myself if I was anti-life. It doesn't make sense. What pro-lifers really are are anti-choice. They do not want a pregnant woman to make the choice of what she does with her body, And I just can't get behind that. So, I will always be pro-choice. And I can't get behind this McCain/Palin ticket.
I think it's easy to be against abortion, DON'T HAVE ONE. Congratulations. You have been given a choice, and you have chosen not to have an abortion. I, on the other hand, would prefer that my choices are left up to me, and not up to a governement made up of men. Thank you.
So what about you all? Any feelings about this election? Truth is, I'm never going to be happy with either candidate. Is anyone? Does anyone REALLY believe these promises that these politicians make?
On my twin website, people were moved to tears by Obama, and were SO excited about him. Really? Do you REALLY think anything he said will happen? I guess I'm just horribly cynical, but I just don't see how it can happen. It's not like one man or woman can get into office and really make a difference. There is that pesky thing called Congress.
Oh well, how I look at it is like this. If we are going to have new supreme court justices places in the next 4-8 years, I don't want some conservative douche bag that makes his decisions based on his religion deciding things for the entire country.
Caba
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Woo Hoo!
I'm sorry I've been a slacker. There hasn't been much to say, and I've been kind of staying away from the computer. I read everyone else's blogs, but I just don't feel like posting.
But we have some good news!! My sister had her lumpectomy today, and they tested her lymph nodes, and the cancer has not spread! I am so happy I cried with relief when my mom called me. It was just worrying us so much, and her luck as been SO shitty, that I just was so worried it wouldn't turn out to be good. So this is good.
She still has to go through radiation. And maybe chemo, depending on the size of the cancer, but just knowing it didn't spread is such a relief.
On the surrogacy front, I finally got all my paperwork in order. My OB was supposed to pull all my OB, L&D and C-section reports together for me. I faxed in the request like two weeks ago. I finally called them this week to see what was up, since I hadn't heard from them, and they didn't have my request. So annoying! So I did what I had to. I lied. I told them that I have a doctors appt on Wednesday, and I NEED these records. Thankfully it lit a fire under their butts, and they faxed all my stuff over to my RE right on the spot. So I'm going to drop off all the paperwork I had to fill out tomorrow. I'm so anxious to get this how on the road.
That being said, I'm getting slightly stressed. I'm already putting a lot of pressure on myself. I want this to work SO BAD. I want to give my sister something to keep her going while she battles through this stupid cancer. I want to be pregnant, and be able to give her this amazing gift, this beacon of light to help her get through this. I'm going to feel like crap if it doesn't work. And I KNOW how often it doesn't work! I think maybe I was just spoiled, because my first IVF worked. Two in, 8 months later, two out. I want that again, but not for me. For her. So my DH keeps telling me to please realize that I can't MAKE it happen. We can only do the best we can, follow the procedures, and hope for the best.
I know he's right. But I know that I'm still going to be feeling the pressure. And I want to add, this a pressure I alone am putting on myself. My sister has said to me that she knows this whole thing is a crap shoot, and there are no guarantees. But damn, I want to give her one.
Caba
But we have some good news!! My sister had her lumpectomy today, and they tested her lymph nodes, and the cancer has not spread! I am so happy I cried with relief when my mom called me. It was just worrying us so much, and her luck as been SO shitty, that I just was so worried it wouldn't turn out to be good. So this is good.
She still has to go through radiation. And maybe chemo, depending on the size of the cancer, but just knowing it didn't spread is such a relief.
On the surrogacy front, I finally got all my paperwork in order. My OB was supposed to pull all my OB, L&D and C-section reports together for me. I faxed in the request like two weeks ago. I finally called them this week to see what was up, since I hadn't heard from them, and they didn't have my request. So annoying! So I did what I had to. I lied. I told them that I have a doctors appt on Wednesday, and I NEED these records. Thankfully it lit a fire under their butts, and they faxed all my stuff over to my RE right on the spot. So I'm going to drop off all the paperwork I had to fill out tomorrow. I'm so anxious to get this how on the road.
That being said, I'm getting slightly stressed. I'm already putting a lot of pressure on myself. I want this to work SO BAD. I want to give my sister something to keep her going while she battles through this stupid cancer. I want to be pregnant, and be able to give her this amazing gift, this beacon of light to help her get through this. I'm going to feel like crap if it doesn't work. And I KNOW how often it doesn't work! I think maybe I was just spoiled, because my first IVF worked. Two in, 8 months later, two out. I want that again, but not for me. For her. So my DH keeps telling me to please realize that I can't MAKE it happen. We can only do the best we can, follow the procedures, and hope for the best.
I know he's right. But I know that I'm still going to be feeling the pressure. And I want to add, this a pressure I alone am putting on myself. My sister has said to me that she knows this whole thing is a crap shoot, and there are no guarantees. But damn, I want to give her one.
Caba
Monday, August 11, 2008
The results are in...
My sister got the results of her BRAC Analysis. She does NOT have any mutations ... which means she is NOT pre-disposed to getting breast cancer again. Woo hoo. A silver lining in this big crappy mess.
So, she has made her decision. She is going to have the lumpectomy, followed by radiation and some pill that she needs to take for 5 years. Depending on the size of the cancer when they remove it, she will probably have to do chemo. They will also test the lymph nodes will she is in surgery to see if it has spread there. Her surgery is scheduled for Aug 19th. One week from tomorrow. I'm anxious for it to be here, and over with.
We have been doing a TON of surrogacy research. After a lot of going back and forth, it seems that my insurance WILL cover my maternity care. The exclusion listed in my insurance coverage means that my insurance will not allow me to use the 10,000K they give me for fertility for surrogacy purposes, which is why the exclusion was listed under the "Reproduction" area. There were no exclusions under maternity, so we are good to go with that. I am waiting for my OB and Labor and Delivery records from my OBGYN to give to our clinic, so we can get the process started. I'm anxious, nervous, scared, and all I want to do is be able to help my sister with this.
What else is going on? I'm fucking tired. I've been fighting this weird bug where I've been nauseous, super tired, with pounding headaches. Yeah, sounds kinda like pregnancy right? No chance. The sickness started the day after my period ended. I just wish it would go the heck away.
I have to go into NY for work tomorrow and I am so not into it. I worked from home today, and I wish I could do that again tomorrow. My mind is just so NOT into work. I spend time on my crazy twin website (yes, that post is coming!!) and on the surrogacy website. Which means I'm doing a whole lot of nothing else. I suck. I'm so unmotivated.
Ok. I'm going to drown in my tiredness and finish watching "The Two Coreys". Yes, I LOVED Corey Haim when I was younger, and this show is like the worlds craziest train wreck. I LOVE it! haha ...
Caba
So, she has made her decision. She is going to have the lumpectomy, followed by radiation and some pill that she needs to take for 5 years. Depending on the size of the cancer when they remove it, she will probably have to do chemo. They will also test the lymph nodes will she is in surgery to see if it has spread there. Her surgery is scheduled for Aug 19th. One week from tomorrow. I'm anxious for it to be here, and over with.
We have been doing a TON of surrogacy research. After a lot of going back and forth, it seems that my insurance WILL cover my maternity care. The exclusion listed in my insurance coverage means that my insurance will not allow me to use the 10,000K they give me for fertility for surrogacy purposes, which is why the exclusion was listed under the "Reproduction" area. There were no exclusions under maternity, so we are good to go with that. I am waiting for my OB and Labor and Delivery records from my OBGYN to give to our clinic, so we can get the process started. I'm anxious, nervous, scared, and all I want to do is be able to help my sister with this.
What else is going on? I'm fucking tired. I've been fighting this weird bug where I've been nauseous, super tired, with pounding headaches. Yeah, sounds kinda like pregnancy right? No chance. The sickness started the day after my period ended. I just wish it would go the heck away.
I have to go into NY for work tomorrow and I am so not into it. I worked from home today, and I wish I could do that again tomorrow. My mind is just so NOT into work. I spend time on my crazy twin website (yes, that post is coming!!) and on the surrogacy website. Which means I'm doing a whole lot of nothing else. I suck. I'm so unmotivated.
Ok. I'm going to drown in my tiredness and finish watching "The Two Coreys". Yes, I LOVED Corey Haim when I was younger, and this show is like the worlds craziest train wreck. I LOVE it! haha ...
Caba
Monday, August 4, 2008
I'm feeling down
So I'm kinda bummed today. I found a surrogate website, and just spent some time reading it, looking around, trying to gather info. And I came across someone who mentioned that some insurance companies have exclusions for surrogacy. So I pulled up my insurance info on their website, and sure enough, surrogacy is excluded. So, I called up my insurance company to find out info, to see if everything was excluded about it. Because some people were saying that it might be excluded from being on, or from using one ...
Everything is excluded. So if I was to be a surrogate for my sister, I couldn't use my insurance for my maternity coverage. So I think we would have to purchase the insurance to cover this, and who knows how much that would be! We paid out of pocket for our IVF, but my company just added IF benefits, 10K lifetime. Not great, but it's something. DH and I talked about it, and we were willing to use it for this surrogacy, but now I'm not sure if I can do that either.
I hate this. I'm so angry. It's not like my sister has $50,000 lying around to pay for me to go through this, and then to pay for my medical benefits. I'm so ANGRY. I'm so mad that this stupid cancer is going to make it impossible to have a biological child. She might have to freeze her embies, and wait 5 years to have her own child ... and who even knows if it will happen then.
I know that she can adopt, and I think adoption is a wonderful way to build your family, but I'm still mad. I'm mad that I am here and willing to carry for her, and god damn money is the one thing standing in our way. How much is this poor girl going to have to go through??
My sister had Lasik eye surgery ... she was in the 1% or some ridiculously small percentage that develops something call Keratoconus, which basically is a weakened cornea. My DH's father actually had this, and he had to have cornea transplants in both eyes. So, her vision has gotten so screwed up, but she can't wear contacts to fix it, and she can't wear glasses to fix it. So, she can't drive at night anymore and she doesn't do things like go the movies or go to the theater because her vision is not good. She is in the process of working with a lawyer to sue her doctor because she should never have been a candidate for Lasik, and the doctor didn't do the due diligence testing to discover this. So great, she can't see.
Then she is going through IVF, with loss after loss after loss. Now the cancer. Do you see why I'm angry? I just want ONE thing to fall on the right side of the coin for her. My heart breaks every single day when she comes to my house and hugs my kids, loves on them, covers them with kisses and just lets them how much she loves them. She would be an AMAZING mom. And I'm beyond pissed that her journey is this hard.
This might be a good segway into my "I am an atheist and please don't tell me that God has a plan" post.
Until then,
Caba
Everything is excluded. So if I was to be a surrogate for my sister, I couldn't use my insurance for my maternity coverage. So I think we would have to purchase the insurance to cover this, and who knows how much that would be! We paid out of pocket for our IVF, but my company just added IF benefits, 10K lifetime. Not great, but it's something. DH and I talked about it, and we were willing to use it for this surrogacy, but now I'm not sure if I can do that either.
I hate this. I'm so angry. It's not like my sister has $50,000 lying around to pay for me to go through this, and then to pay for my medical benefits. I'm so ANGRY. I'm so mad that this stupid cancer is going to make it impossible to have a biological child. She might have to freeze her embies, and wait 5 years to have her own child ... and who even knows if it will happen then.
I know that she can adopt, and I think adoption is a wonderful way to build your family, but I'm still mad. I'm mad that I am here and willing to carry for her, and god damn money is the one thing standing in our way. How much is this poor girl going to have to go through??
My sister had Lasik eye surgery ... she was in the 1% or some ridiculously small percentage that develops something call Keratoconus, which basically is a weakened cornea. My DH's father actually had this, and he had to have cornea transplants in both eyes. So, her vision has gotten so screwed up, but she can't wear contacts to fix it, and she can't wear glasses to fix it. So, she can't drive at night anymore and she doesn't do things like go the movies or go to the theater because her vision is not good. She is in the process of working with a lawyer to sue her doctor because she should never have been a candidate for Lasik, and the doctor didn't do the due diligence testing to discover this. So great, she can't see.
Then she is going through IVF, with loss after loss after loss. Now the cancer. Do you see why I'm angry? I just want ONE thing to fall on the right side of the coin for her. My heart breaks every single day when she comes to my house and hugs my kids, loves on them, covers them with kisses and just lets them how much she loves them. She would be an AMAZING mom. And I'm beyond pissed that her journey is this hard.
This might be a good segway into my "I am an atheist and please don't tell me that God has a plan" post.
Until then,
Caba
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