Back from LA in a day Medical Screening (surrogacy #4 journal entry) #surrogacy

I flew in and out to L.A. Monday (10/22/2012) and blogged all about my lovely experience at the airport. (http://mormonsurrogate.blogspot.com/2012/10/at-airport.html)

This is what happened once I was on the plane and the rest of the day journal entry style (I actually wrote it in a notebook on the plane):

10/22/12

I am headed back to Salt Lake City from my day trip to Los Angeles. 

I sat by a lovely lady on my way to LA. She was friendly, in fact I had a middle seat and she offered up her window seat. She asked what I was doing in LA, anything fun? I told her "Yeah, I'm a surrogate and I'm on my way to lunch and a medical appointment with my Intended Parents" She thought that was so neat. You never know how a stranger is going to react when you tell them you are a surrogate. It was so nice that she was so sweet, positive and supportive.

She kept asking questions, which I thought was great. She wasn't intrusive about it at all. She just asked every now and then in a curious, respectful way.  She asked if I was okay talking to people about it and I said, "Well, yes, I actually have a blog and wrote a book about it." She was impressed and asked me the name of my blog and then asked some questions about my book. I realized I had a copy with me (I was taking a copy to the fertility doctor) so I pulled it out to show her.

I beamed with pride as she flipped through and read each and every page. She even laughed appropriately at a few parts. She thought I did a good job. I was very happy that she liked it.

I love sitting by friendly people on the airplane. She was a joy to sit by and she had a lovely southern accent.

The Intended Father/IF (I need to come up with a nickname for him) picked me up at the curb when we landed. We chatted comfortably. We both drive the same kind of SUV and I thought that was cool. We were on our way to meet Amazing Grace (Intended Mom) for lunch. Amazing Grace had asked me earlier if I had any cravings for lunch. I couldn't think of any at the time, plus she had mentioned lunch by the beach so I figured whatever they had in mind would be lovely.

Sometime before I landed, I decided sushi sounded good, knowing that they both like sushi. IF mentioned that IM was wondering what I was in the mood for. He said they were thinking of a place with an ocean view. I told him, actually sushi sounds good, but whatever you have planned is fine, it's not every day I get an ocean view.

The place they had in mind ended up not working out, so we were on our way to sushi. We got there a few minutes before IM.

IM came in and I could see in her face how genuinely excited she was to see me and to be taking this next step. (I believe she was glowing) The restaurant was lovely. It was all good, even the ice water with a slice of lemon. I ordered a Bento Box with a California Roll and Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura. It was so nice to enjoy spending time with them and chatting and eating yummy food. IF had to go back to work, so he said his goodbyes.

It was 2:00. Time for me to empty my bladder and then fill it back up with 16 ounces of water so I had a full bladder for the sonogram.

IM was sweet enough to bring me a bottle of water. She showed me around her town and even pointed out their adorable home. Then we headed to our appointment.

I had to fill out some paperwork in the waiting room and IM and I sat and chatted. I needed to write down when my last period was and I couldn't quite remember which day. I had been so organized, I wrote it down on my calendar when I started, but hey my calendar was at home on my wall. I knew I could figure out the day from one of the e-mails I sent IM, but there was a lot to sort through. (we're awesome like that)
IM and I each had our phones out sifting through e-mails and IM came to the rescue finding the exact date. Hooray! After about 15 minutes or so the Dr. called us back.We went to his office where I got to meet him for the first time. (He was an older, friendly gentleman)

He asked if I had been a surrogate before and I told him about my previous experiences. I then handed him a copy of my book. He was impressed when he realized that I had written it. IM assured him that it was a good book. At some point and time he must have read it, because he told Amazing Grace how wonderful it was.

There was a little mix up with our appointment and what exactly we were doing that day. In fact I was told to leave a urine sample which confused us because I was told to empty my bladder and then fill it back up for the ultrasound. IM and I were both a bit stressed by this, since I needed to catch a plane back home soon and I was there to get as much done as possible. The Dr. was cool and said, "Let's just do it all today."

I was taken back into an exam room and told I would be fully undressing. I got to wear a very flattering paper vest that opened in front and a paper sheet. The nurse (?) came in and asked if it was okay for Amazing Grace to come in. Of course! I mean, come on, we're in this together and soon enough I'll be birthing her babies and be all sorts of exposed. If I remember correctly all my previous IM's were in the exam room with me for the medical screening/ uterus sonogram. I was only embarrassed that I did not look my best. All my flaws were exposed.

The Dr. did an ultrasound/sonogram of my uterus and ovaries. I asked him if it helped to know that I have a tilted uterus. (most doctors say, "I can see that." This Dr. said it actually looked pretty straight. Hmmm, that's interesting. He said everything looked good. He then performed a trial transfer and inserted some saline through a catheter into my uterus. He made a comment that I should be a surrogate!  Ha ha. I replied, "Sounds good!".

I finally got to empty my bladder and leave a urine sample. No problem there. I was later told it was for a drug test. (Oh crap! Just kidding!) All understandable, they need to weed out the crack whores  heads. They also took my blood to test for STD's. My blood pressure was checked and was a little on the high side. But the nurse figured it was from her stressing me out. (I guess over the mix up) No big deal.

IM and I had some paperwork to look over and sign. So exciting. We talked to the Dr. about protocols and the embryo transfer. Since it will be a frozen transfer, I may get to skip shots and take suppositories instead. I don't really have a preference. Sure, it would be nice not to have to do the shots, but it's kind of part of the whole experience. (although it can be a real pain sometimes and you run out of spots to stick yourself)

I will start prenatal vitamins soon and then birth control once I start my period (after all the other steps are done, legal- contracts and validation and psychological evaluation)

The Dr. told Amazing Grace more than once that she had found a great surrogate. She agreed and was happy to hear that from a medical standpoint. He also told her that he would help spread the word about my book. I felt so loved! That meant the world to me. (sometimes I am hesitant to put myself out there for fear of rejection. Here I had written a book about something that was within his expertise, something he knew and understood  far more than I did, and yet he thought I did a good job! I am glad I felt comfortable sharing it with him)

Because of the mix up, the appointment took a little longer than expected. It was now about 4:40 PM and my flight back home was 5:55 from LAX. I wasn't sure how traffic would be or how crowded the airport would be. I know it's a BIG airport! Amazing Grace got me there by 5:02. I had a chance of making it. I was already checked in, had no bags and had my boarding pass. I just had to make it through security.

I walked into the airport and checked the screen for my gate. Then had to figure out where that gate was. I asked for help and was told it was in Terminal 6. I was in Terminal 5.
:(

I walked as fast as my short little legs could go. Security was a little slow and then because I have the best of luck, my gate was the furthest gate back. Boarding time was 5:30, I made it by 5:35. Luckily they were super slow boarding. (and yet once we got on, the flight attendant told everyone to hurry up so we could leave on time)

When I got home I gave my husband a hug and said, "Thank you for being so supportive of me so I can do all this cool stuff!"

I'm so lucky and blessed to have this opportunity in my life right now with these awesome people! I am beyond grateful for the relationship we have and for how smoothly everything has gone.