The golden eggs have hatched

It has been a long time since I have updated the blog - but with good reason for my absence!

After a few jittery months in the first half of the pregnancy, T finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 17 August 2010. She came a few days early but T and G were well-prepared. T cried at the birth (Cesarean) not because of the pain but because for more than ten years it had been a difficult struggle to get pregnant, ten long years of pain and frustration and tears, and finally she gave birth.

M had a miscarriage about 2 months into her first pregnancy with my eggs, but tried again shortly after and stayed pregnant... all the way to the birth of a baby girl in September 2010. I am not told the exact date as M would still prefer everything to be anonymous. She held on to her end of the promise to inform me when the child is born - and that was it. She and I will never have any contact again. It made me a little sad at first, but a promise is a promise, and I have comfort in knowing that she is one happy mom.


As for T, the journey has just started. I went back to the UK for a holiday last autumn and held the baby girl in my arms. Did it feel weird? Not at all. I just held her like I have held every baby before, delighting in the unique "baby smell", marvelling at the tiny features and the miracle of her birth. It is all down to science, I know, but like I said before, it is almost nothing short of a miracle. I didn't think she looked like me nor her dad although she sure looked mixed (her dad is Caucasian). However T said she is an exact replica of me when I was a baby (I gave her some of my baby photos) - then again, I think all babies look alike!

Today the baby girl - let's call her S - is more than 7 months old and she is such a joy to have. She is a very happy baby, smiling and making people laugh all the time. Now, that is what I signed up for. That is why I donated my eggs. I have made a difference in this world and I have made two families very happy. What a joy that is!

This marks the end of the egg donation journey. It has been more than two years since I embarked on this wonderful period of my life and there are stretches of days when I completely forgot about this. But T is in constant touch with me and our email exchanges are filled with photos of S, which never fails to make me smile from the heart. Perhaps one day, the two (hatched) golden eggs will chance upon this blog and marvel at how tumultuous the start was and how their stories of their life began...

:D

after-aftermath

So it has almost been 4 months since I last donated my eggs to T. Everything is back to normal now: my menstrual cycle, my fitness, my well-being. And best of all, T is pregnant!

Yes she is pregnant, and very much so. I didn't want to update my blog earlier for fear of tempting fate, but she has gone through her first trimester and tomorrow will be week 15. Week 15 - FIFTEEN - I still find it amazing that she has gone so far. We have kept in close contact the past few months and I am truly happy and excited for her whenever I receive an email update saying that all is well. Of course the first few weeks were terrifying - she didn't feel any "morning sickness" and she had a bit of spotting - but they were just false alarms. As the days progressed, then the weeks, we felt more and more sure that this is truly happening. I know, deep down, it's all down to science, but sometimes I can't help but kick my atheist and logic faculty aside and tell myself it's a miracle.

Just look at the golden baby at 9 weeks old:




It IS a miracle. Indeed.

(But I have to say that ultrasound scans at 9 weeks still look way too fuzzy for me to tell what is what...)

bouts of good and bad, but generally more good

I went back to work on Monday and it was a little overwhelming at first, since I had to combat jet lag which hit me really hard in the morning, and then the rolling bouts of nausea, followed by the random headaches and lastly the quiet throbbing pain. I managed to get through the day and went to Dr C's clinic at 6:30pm - she said I looked great and there was no need for a scan.

I gave her an update of how many eggs T has - the ARGC actually retrieved 19 eggs from me but only 15 were mature. Out of that, 11 fertilized. Dr C was happy for T and me. I gave her a quarter of a rind of Fortnum & Mason's award-winning Stilton cheese to thank her for her help, and left with a promise for dinner in January.

Tuesday and Wednesday went by fairly quickly and as the jet lag got more manageable, so did the nausea. It's early Friday morning now and I hardly have any nausea left, although on Wednesday night I was pretty miserable and had to take paracetamol to quell the pain. I hope by this weekend I'll be back to 100% so I can start hiking and running again. Gosh, I sure miss my running sessions, pounding on the asphalt with nothing but myself and my thoughts and my heart beating so fast.

==

T's embryo transfer happened on Wednesday. They had 4 beautiful blastocysts but of course the ARGC could only put 2 inside her. The other eggs are still developing and of course will be frozen for later use. The transfer went well and now all she has to do is to rest. I have been sending good thoughts to her and telling the embryos to STICK to her womb, although I am a skeptic of Reiki. Still, there's no harm with all that positive energy, so why not?

There is one scene in the anime movie "My Neighbour Totoro" where the kids and Totoro do a dance at the garden for the seedlings to grow faster - I wish there is an equivalent dance for me to perform for the embryo to grow!

a record

Just so that I will remember what it was like twenty years down the road, these are the symptoms I have after the egg retrieval.

Nausea - comes in waves. Sometimes it hits me so hard I am left reeling
Pain and discomfort that ranges from lower abdomen to diaphragm
Difficulty breathing - happens only at certain sleeping positions, generally when I lay on the side
Back ache
Stomach acidity - probably the most feared symptom because I am terrified it will develop to severe Esophagitis which is the worst imaginable pain anyone can go through. I can feel the acid rising in my tummy so small frequent meals seem to be the order of the day
Bloating - I must have gained at least 10 pounds by now. Stomach is very big and bloated.
Barfing - probably from the increased levels of acid in stomach

No difficulty in peeing (pee is very clear and frequent, every 2 hours of less), drinking at least one glass of water (330ml) every hour, no other signs of bloating in other parts of body except the abdomen.

I'm not showing all the signs of OHSS and I know general discomfort is expected for someone like me with so many follicles. I can only hope it'll all go away soon.

aftermath version 2.0

I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday at 2pm. Thank goodness I had an upgrade to business class as it would have been a nightmare to be stuck at the back of the plane. I could hardly sleep because of the discomfort and nausea, despite the flat beds and excellent meals and service. During the 12-hour flight I glugged down at least 3 litres of water - and still it didn't seem to help. The rolling pain and nausea usually quickly ease away when I take a dose of paracetamol but once it wears off, I'm grimacing in pain again.

Was it this bad the last time? I think I was in a worse state before. But my memory for pain doesn't linger long so it seems this is just as bad. Since coming home I unpacked and pottered about, and tried to stay awake as long as I could to combat jetlag. I managed to go to bed at 11pm but got up a few times to drink more water and to pee. At about 5:30am I tossed and turned so much - general discomfort in the abdomen area and slight difficult in breathing - I decided to get up and read.

The ARGC requires me to drink 1 litre of milk and 2 litres of water a day. I'm slightly lactose intolerant so I drank only a glass of milk this morning and at least 1 litre of water already. I'm hoping the pain will ease off quickly before I go back to work tomorrow. I'll need all the strength I can muster!

==

Before I left London, T showered me with gifts. Two large bags of gifts, to be precise. I felt like Santa Claus with ten kids at home or a shopping-maniac who love to burn the plastic. Obviously I am quite the opposite as I dislike shopping - such a pointless affair - but her generosity and gratitude made me all fuzzy inside. She wrote me a heartfelt letter which I read while on the plane coming home and I was trying so hard not to cry. It was beautifully written and touched my heart. Like I said before, I would do this all over again for her even in the context of the awful aftermath of egg retrieval. Yes I would.

15 really golden eggs

I've laid 'em. 15 eggs. They are T's now, to keep and nurture and grow.

==

I woke up at 5:45am, feeling really thirsty but no food nor liquid allowed after midnight. It was a chilly morning, frost all built up on the car's windscreen. G scrapped it all off in a jiffy and we got going. Not surprisingly, I was not the first one at the clinic. A different nurse today, Nurse Z, took us through all the papers and documents, then a warm hug goodbye to G and B - I won't see them before I fly off - and of course a good luck hug from T and off I went to the basement.

I changed into the patient gown and was also given CSI-type of socks/shoes to wear. Pretty nifty. If I didn't have the Marks & Sparks bathrobe on me I would have felt I was going to see Gil Grissom just round the corner.

I was led to the operating theatre - very different from the one in HK. It was larger and looks more like an OT. The anesthetist spoke to me about HK and I remarked to him how funny this turned out because when I was about to go under the previous time, the anesthetist was talking to me about England! Coming full circle indeed.

The mask was put over my mouth and nose, then the gas came on. Embarrassingly enough I coughed! But the next thing I knew I woke up and it was 8:45am.

T is thrilled that I got 15 eggs. Honestly I was a bit disappointed just because the previous time it was a spectacular 55 eggs. Anyway I hope all 15 are mature golden eggs.

==

I managed to get upgraded to business class for my flight home, which will take off in about half an hour. I pulled the "had a surgery this morning" card and the good lad at the check-in counter let me through. Good man.

I said bye to T and there was so much tears. She thanked me from the bottom of her heart, and I truly wish she can have a huge family. There is so much to say to her and so little time. I told her I would do this again in a heartbeat, and if this come to naught, I'd even carry the baby for her. It's a lot to ask from me but I would. She is one special woman and I am so glad she, of all people in the world, now has the chance to have babies.

the nest is built, all I have to do is to lay the golden eggs once again

Egg retrieval is set for tomorrow at 7:15am. I will have to be at the clinic by 6:45am, no food no liquid after midnight tonight. T will of course accompany me, G will have to come along to produce his "fresh sample". He joked that he is under intense pressure. Sometimes I do wonder how the men feel in situations like these - that their little "joy" 1) is so easy relative to what the women have to do to produce the eggs 2) will produce (potentially) many children of his own. Hm.

Anyway it was a relaxing day for me and it felt SO good not to have to take the tube to Regent's Park and hang out at Marylebone. As much as I adore the area I truly needed a break from the clinic. I spent the afternoon at the Natural History Museum (what a pilgrimage it is for atheists like me!) and walked to Knightsbridge where I had a lovely massage at Berkley Hotel Spa. Ah, such bliss.

When I got home I started packing right away as my flight back to Hong Kong is at 6pm tomorrow, which means I wouldn't get much rest after the surgery. I felt rather sad that I will be saying goodbye to T and family. I will miss her. She is such a remarkable woman, so warm and generous, that I have grown quite fond of her. I am very glad to have found a friend in her.

This experience has been nothing short of a miracle - how we met and how it all happened. I don't however believe in fate and all that "it's meant to be" faith, but it doesn't stop me from marvelling at this amazing series of events that led to the culmination of donating my eggs to T. I only hope that she will get pregnant eventually - like I said so many times before, I know my eggs will be in very good hands with a mother like her.

Wish me luck! I wonder how many golden eggs there will be this time?

the journey of ups and downs

So I thought I would get the trigger on Tuesday and get the egg retrieval done on Friday. By noooooo that was not the case. I went back to the clinic on Tuesday afternoon and all I got was "wait, the blood test results aren't back yet". So I waited till 6pm and nurse V asked me how I was feeling. I said good, except for a bit of nausea earlier in the day and of course, bloatedness. I also had a teeny weeny bit of cramps but it could just be because of something I ate? She trotted off to find Dr T and then came back and said nope, no trigger. I was so frustrated I wanted to cry. Really. I begged her but she said Dr T would not let me trigger because Pregnyl (the trigger drug) may make me feel worse. I told her I only had VERY mild nausea, it could just be nothing! But Dr T refused. SIGH.

I got another jab of Cetrotide (nurse V mixed it up there and then) and went home, feeling awful and frustrated. I told myself I won't postpone the flight to Saturday as that means arriving back in HK only on Sunday evening and that's just way too late for me. I need to be home ASAP - I have been away too long.

==

This morning I went back in for another blood test and another one at 1pm. I got quite worked up when I went back to the clinic just before the second blood test because another nurse whom I've never seen before took my case and said she can't say if I'm triggering tonight or not. I felt so mad I could feel the blood rising and I knew all that energy had to go somewhere somehow, but I'm not allowed to go for a run. How frustrating! While waiting for my turn for the blood test I paced around cursing at the incompetent system of the ARGC - of course not out loud, for the exempletives I used were most colourful. F***!

After walking from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly and having done almost all my Christmas shopping, I trudged back to the ARGC. Finally I saw nurse V and really, at that point I wouldn't have taken no for an answer. If Dr T wouldn't give me the trigger, I'd personally marched upstairs to his office and put a knife to his neck. Or break into a pharmacy and get the Pregynl. Or just fly back to Hong Kong. Heck about the eggs.

Nurse V then gave me the good news - I will trigger this evening at 7:15pm. T finished work just then and came to meet me and we went back home together, braving the awful downpour. Before I left, I gave Nurse V a goodbye hug. As frustrated I was with the ARGC, she has been great. I will miss her.

Pregnyl isn't an easy drug to mix. It's actually more difficult than Cetrotide because this time it's just two ampoules in the box. By the time we got home it was almost time and I poked myself at 7:19pm. Total of 7500 IU of Pregnyl. Once I got them in, T gave me a warm hug. She is just the nicest and sweetest person, really. All the support I received has been amazing and I truly truly want her to get pregnant and have lots of kids.

Tomorrow will be my day off so I will finally get the chance to sleep in and take it easy. Off to the Natural History Museum in the afternoon! Yay :) All I have to do now is to drink a LOT of water (one glass every hour). The end is near. Very near.

poke #10 - almost at the end of the road!

I went in this morning for the usual blood test, had coffee at the Patisserie again, and was called back for a second blood test. I was told to come back for a scan at 2:30pm and it was none other than Dr T, the famed doctor of the ARGC! It was such a privilege and even the women in the same queue as me found it such an honour. Obviously this man is held in very high esteem and to get him to do our scans today was like striking the mini jackpot (the large jackpot is of course getting pregnant and giving birth).

Dr T actually has a sense of humour. He asked me if I'm keeping up with my fluids, I said yes, and he asked if it's 30 or 40 litres. Ha! Then he looked at my ovaries - how full they are! My follicles are huge. I asked how many eggs he thinks I have and he replied in a offhand manner, "Oh, about 300 or so" and broke out in a grin. Heh. I like him.

He then gave me the good news that I will most probably do the trigger tomorrow which means egg retrieval will be on Thursday! Yay! I will have to go home straight away and poke myself with Cetrotide. Oh joy.

==

Here is a step by step guide to poking Cetrotide, you know, just in case if you ever find yourself at the verge of ovulating 300 eggs.
[No, you know the rules: please do NOT try this at home. These are powerful drugs you are messing around with with potential serious side effects.]


Step #1: Open one alcohol swab



Step #2: Open the lid of the vial with the white powder and use the alcohol swab to wipe the top of the vial



Step #3: Remove the cap from the syringe containing the clear liquid



Step #4: Screw the yellow needle onto the syringe



Step #5: Poke the vial and inject all the liquid in



Step #6: Leave the needle in the vial and gently dissolve the white powder until all that remains is a clear liquid. Try not to shake the vial too hard as the less air bubbles we have, the better.



Step #7: Turn vial upside down and draw all liquid back into the syringe. It is essential that all liquid is drawn.



Step #8: Remove any air in the syringe



Step #9: Remove the yellow needle and put the grey needle on the syringe



Step #10: Use the remaining alcohol swab to wipe the injetion area, which should be below/around the belly button



Step #11: Poke!


==

More stats:
Friday, 27 Nov 2009 PM: Oestradiol 5159
Saturday, 28 Nov 2009 AM: LH 9.2 IU/L Oestradiol 10,353, Progesterone 2.6
Saturday, 28 Nov 2009 PM: LH 5.9 IU/L Oestradiol 12,440
Sunday, 29 Nov 2009 AM: LH 0.3 IU/L Oestradiol 4853, Progesterone 1.4
Sunday, 29 Nov 2009 PM: LH <0.1 IU/L FSH 3.7, Oestradiol 4161
Monday, 30 Nov 2009 AM: LH 1.6 IU/L Oestradiol 11,410

how many more days? i can only guess

Today is day 9 of stimulation. I went in early (enough on a Sunday) for a blood test, then had coffee and a fabulous chocolate eclair at the Patisserie at Marylebone High Street while waiting for the ARCG to call back. Another blood test at noon and back home now. Instructions for today is 75 units of Gonal-F immediately.

Yesterday was a bit of a strange one though. I went in for the usual blood test and the results must have been crazy because I was then told to poke myself with Cetrotide, a different drug. What this drug does is to delay the LH surge, which means it just delays my body from ovulating. My eggs are not mature yet - they need to grow just a bit more - so LH level has to come down.

Cetrotide comes in a big box with two alcohol swabs, a large syringe, two needles and a vial with white powder. It's like doing Chemistry at O Levels all over again! After mixing the solution I poked myself below the belly button and it was actually quite painful, and painful to watch too as it was a large syringe and everything had to go in. I decided I don't like Cetrotide very much.



==

I had bouts of nausea that come and go but today was better. The only side effects of all the drugs (so far) are the sore area where I poked the Cetrotide, the bloatedness where my ovaries are and a bit of a headache. But the latter can be just because of the cold. I actually woke up to hailstorm this morning! Rubbish London weather indeed.

But everything I go through is nothing compared to the joy and happiness that T and G will have if this works. I saw a pair of twin boys at the Patisserie this morning and it reminded me of what T told me - that she thinks she will have twin boys from my donated eggs. I wonder how they will look, with a little bit of myself and G mixed together. Hmm.

Dr C told me last week when I was still in Hong Kong that the first recipient of my donated eggs, M, got pregnant but subsequently miscarried. I was really disappointed but I'm sure M will be trying again soon. I just hope that my seeds of labour will bear fruit. Really, spending time with T and G just made my realize how some people are destined to be great parents - and if anyone deserve to be parents, it's them.

Fingers crossed!

poked by the wicked witch of the west

T brought me to the theatre tonight to catch Wicked, the acclaimed musical I have heard so much about. It was brilliant. Absolutely fantastic. One of those shows which I'm sure I can watch another three times.

But today was a weird day in terms of the egg donation procedure. I went to the clinic at 8:30am for the usual blood test, then trotted over to La Fromagerie off Marylebone High Street for coffee. On a side note, the shop is like a little paradise for me. Anyway I hung around as I thought I would receive a call from the clinic to go in shortly for yet another blood test (it happened yesterday).

But no call came. I headed back to T's place and because it was a beautiful day, I did some raking in the garden. My very first time raking! Pleased as punch. Then came the call from the ARGC to say I have to poke 75 units of Gonal-F now and go in at 2:30pm for blood test and scan.

More stats:
Wednesday, 25 Nov 2009: LH 2.9 IU/L Oestradiol 2577, Progesterone 1.7
Thursday, 26 Nov 2009 AM: LH 2.7 IU/L Oestradiol 4190, FSH 5.5
Thursday, 26 Nov 2009 PM: Oestradiol 4989
Friday, 27 Nov 2009 AM: LH 2.6 IU/L Oestradiol 5147

Follicles are growing nicely, big and round like the Japanese grapes. Dr G (yet another doc!) had a very quick consultation - I'm starting to feel like I'm cattle now, what with all that prodding and poking and being hurried along - and then off I went.

The evening instructions came at 6pm for 37.5 units of Gonal-F between 8-10pm. But because I was going to watch Wicked, I had to poke myself at the intermission. I couldn't possibly have poked myself at my seat so I had to do it in the bathroom. It was a stroke of pure chance that we were sitting right next to the Ladies, which made things a lot easier. So many pokes for today! What is it, 4 pokes? That sure is a record. My arms are getting sore and bruised with all the blood tests. And we're only halfway through. Wish me luck!


Hello, my name is Real Golden Goose and I am a druggie.

poke #2.5 and prod #2.3

More pokes and prods. Yesterday's poke was Merional 75IU and today I was back on Gonal-F 112IU. Earlier this morning (Wednesday) I went back to the clinic for blood tests (that's probably poke #2.5 but oh, who's counting when it's just my arms) and another prod. Again I have a different doctor, a female one, hurrah! She was much more gentle although had a more hurried manner. I felt as if I only had 5 minute to see her.

I do have polycystic ovaries which explains why I have many follicles and almost all of them are of the same size. It was explained to me that the symptoms of Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) include weight gain, excessive facial and body hair, very irregular periods, etc. I have mildly irregular periods but definitely no excessive hair (on the contrary, I'm actually so hairless I have never shaved my legs!) nor obesity, so there's nothing to worry about. The upside of this is that T will potentially receive a lot of eggs from me, like M the first time round. Well, 55 eggs or not, I hope I don't get OHSS again.

More stats:
Monday, 23 Nov 2009: LH 2.7 IU/L Oestradiol 678
Tuesday, 24 Nov 2009: LH 2.0 IU/L Oestradiol 2220

I have no idea what Oestradiol is but to see it jump from 678 to 2220 is scary. I was assured that everything is going fine, with the doctor saying that nothing is out of the ordinary. I sure hope so. Fingers crossed.

poke #2.3

The ARGC requires me to go in for a blood test every day so after the trudge down to the clinic on early Sunday morning, T, her daughter and I went to the zoo. Of course I had to go - it's the London zoo!

That was a lovely excursion which distracted me just a bit, before a call from the ARGC in the late afternoon instructed me to lower the injection to 112 units of Gonal-F. Apparently I am reacting a little too well to the drugs.

I went in for a blood test and a scan this morning. Nurse K at the clinic managed to get my file right on top so I didn't have to wait too long - how sweet of her! This time it was Dr D who greeted me (how many doctors do I have to see, I wonder?) and he said I have too many follicles and not one dominant one. Ideally there should be a few big ones but mine were all "democratic". Hmm.

I jotted down my blood test results:

Tuesday, 17 Nov 2009: LH6.0 IU/L Oestradiol 37
Thursday, 19 Nov 2009: LH 8.4 IU/L Oestradiol 37
Saturday, 21 Nov 2009: LH 5.9 IU/L Oestradiol 137
Sunday, 22 Nov 2009: LH 3.2 IU/L Oestradiol 420

They don't mean nothing to me, but it seems that my Oestradiol shot up a little too much and hence the lower dosage of Gonal-F. I started on 150 units on the first poke, down to 112 units on the second and third poke (today).

in London (again) - gear two!

After sitting through a stifling flight on Cathay Pacific - what is comfortable about the new "clam-shell" seats?! - I finally arrived in London. Every time I visit this city there is usually beautiful weather and I was proven right again with a rare bright autumn day greeting me.

I was driven straight to T's place and what a wonderful, big, lovely house it is. The guestroom on the third floor was enormous; the bathroom itself is bigger than my study in Hong Kong! Neat. And the house has a large garden, complete with an apple tree (!), plum tree, lavender shrubs and a 2 metre-high trampoline. It is paradise for T's precious adopted daughter, B, 5 years old. It is paradise for me. I'm 28.

We went straight to the ARGC to get in queue; they have a maddening system of patient management which I have to accept. No specific appointments, just go in and queue. So T and I queued for almost 3 hours before we saw Dr A (all doctors are your doctors - that's the motto!), had a scan and blood test. LH level is finally down to 5.9 so I can finally start stimulation.

My suspicions that the ARGC wanted me to be in London before I start the injections were proven right when we were waiting for our turn to see the doc. Part of the waiting game means you hold on to your medical file and wait - which means I get to see everything in the file. There was a memo inside which says that since I will be in to see the clinic on Saturday, I may as well start stiumulation then. Ha! They are unbelivable, aren't they.

This means that I will have to remain in London till 4 December at the very least. Sigh. As much as I love London, I need to be home soon...

Anyway, we are set in gear two now. Poke #1 tonight!

last visit to dr c

It was my last visit to Dr C this morning. She made me wait again, as usual. I believe she is the only woman in my life I will wait two hours for!

There were no updates from the ARGC, not to her nor me. So in other words I continue with my Suprecur nasal spray 4 times a day like a druggie having it straight up. I quite like it actually, besides the part where it trickles down the throat leaving a bitter after-taste.

So Dr C and I just chatted. She reminded me that I would have to stay in London for two weeks (!!!) as there will be a minimum of 10 days for the injections/stimulation, and 2 days later the egg retrieval will happen. I can't possibly get on a flight on the very same day, so one rest day and off to Hong Kong. Sigh. I told her I will be so bored and she said I can go shopping. I'm not much of a shopper, I'm afraid...

And Dr C told me about her time spent in Edinburgh where she put on 10 pounds even though she was running everyday (not anymore in HK though, thanks to her 3 year old son). Conversation drifted to how it will be cold for my training (I am doing a 250km desert race in 2010) and how the sun sets early, and that it affects the mood of the people in England. Suicidal rates go up during winter months - thanks for the tip, Dr C. I suppose I will have to keep my mood light and happy while in England.

I ended our visit saying that after I'm back from London I will take her out for dinner. I quite like Dr C - she makes intelligent conversation, is gentle and appreciative, and just the kind of friend that will make you smile on a gloomy day.

been too busy - a long due update

I'm definitely still donating my eggs for the second time and I am starting stimulation very soon. I have been on the Suprecur nasal spray for about 3 weeks now (instructions from the UK clinic) and the dosage has been increased to four sprays a day instead of three. So far there has been no side effects with the spray although I can't say the same for T, who developed a rash from it, unfortunately.

I saw Dr C on Tuesday, had a scan - nothing special - and more blood tests. Had another one earlier this morning which was a bit of a pain as the nurse had a tough time locating my vein so it was extra painful with all that poking around. At one point, Nurse E was calling Nurse V for help while the needle was still in me. Ouch.

Dr C will fax the blood test results to the UK clinic and upon their instructions, I will then be given the injections for today. A final trip to Dr C tomorrow and then off to London tomorrow evening!

==

I returned from Tokyo last week after a little side holiday I decided to take on a whim, armed with ten small boxes of Japanese grapes - so amazingly sweet and juicy. I gave Dr C three of them since I noticed she likes her fruit (there's usually a kiwifruit or pear on her desk) and it was a hit. So chuffed that someone else appreciates the grapes as much as I do! Let's see if I can bring some over to London for T. I think they are still pretty fresh...


They sure look like my follicles eh!

the beginning of another chapter

My period came yesterday morning. It was four days early which is suspiciously unusual as my period is almost always late. It explains the nausea I had been getting late at night which resulted in lousy sleep throughout the weekend. Anyway, now that I have my period I can finally start the monitoring cycle with Dr C for my egg donation procedure for T.

I called the clinic yesterday to make an appointment to see Dr C but she could only accommodate me this afternoon. Talk about being busy! If you're an aspiring medical student reading this blog, I'd advise you to go into Obstetrics and Gynecology and especially into fertility. Your services will always be in demand as more and more couples get married later and have kids later in life. And it's an immensely interesting field with all that eggs and sperm and creating life and saving lives...

So it's back to Dr C again today for the blood tests - FSH, LH, Oestradiol and Prolactin - and I will have to be taught how to use an ovulation detection kit on Day 10 of my cycle. Once I get a positive surge, I will be required to return to the clinic for another test.. but that's another story for another day.

Last blood test for M (first recipient of my donated eggs)

I went to the clinic for a final blood test (for HIV) around noon today - one last poke in the arm - and just like that, it's all done.

Good luck, M. I wish you the best of luck for you to get pregnant and hold a little one (or possibly more) in your arms.

Good luck, little eggs. I wish you the best of luck; I can tell you now that you sure need it because growing up is often painful and full of challenges. Then again, life is very special and one beautiful journey that you will be very privileged to have.

to London, and back

The trip finally happened - it was all a bit of a flurry of events, one after another, a quick succession of outcomes, but isn't life just like that. T was a wonderful host who planned my stay extremely well and all the little nice touches (making sure the hotel is aware I will have a very early check-in; having a driver to greet me at Heathrow; planning to meet me only after I have enough rest to get over jet-lag, etc) made me appreciate her more. We finally met at a bustling restaurant overlooking Covent Garden on Thursday lunch-time. She is a beautiful and terrific woman, and is everything I expected of her through our numerous correspondences over email.

On Friday morning I made my way to Baker Street to meet the counsellor for the mandatory counselling session. It was a great session - words flowed easily and she went through pretty much all the questions I have thought of previously. She is quite the opposite of the stoic doctor who counselled me in HK. There were a few points she brought up which were a surprise to me, e.g. the child born from my donated egg has the right to sue me once he/she turns 18 should I not disclose any pre-existing medical condition that I am aware of. But of course I have my entire family's medical history disclosed so it's more likely a case of knowing a little too much!

I was then off to the clinic (the ARGC), housed in a nondescript building right at the end of the street just like any row of identical houses in London. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be and in fact I found it quite quiet. T arrived soon after and we had the meeting with one of the head nurses - no doctors as they were too busy - and she talked us through the egg donation procedure together. It seemed that the ARGC needed me to do a lot more than my procedure with Dr C and I found myself wondering if it was all necessary. Of course T and myself just wanted everything done and over with but there is so much to do: first of all I had to undergo the whole series of blood tests, then choose a monitoring cycle to be done in September, followed by the actual cycle in November. We decided that November will be better for the both of us for the actual cycle as it will give us more time to work out several logistical issues.

I was told that I have to go on the nasal spray when I begin ovulating prior to the actual cycle. After about ten days of the spray my period should start and I will then begin the injections. At this stage I will still be in Hong Kong and going in to Dr C for (more) blood tests and monitoring. On day 5 of my injections I will then fly to London for the rest of the treatment, which by then will just mean about a week left to the egg retrieval.

There is a lot to digest and work out, like the timing of my injections while I'm still in HK. With the previous egg donation, I injected at about 8-9pm and this made sense as the last jab will have to be exactly 36 hours before the retrieval (which is usually scheduled for 9am). With the 7-hour time difference between Hong Kong and London, I will have to inject the Gonal F at about 3-4am while I'm in HK! That will be quite a task indeed.

It was a short walk to the other clinic for the blood tests and once that was done, T and I parted ways. We said our goodbyes and I gave her a warm hug - she has been nothing short of gracious and wonderful - and deep down, I am truly delighted to know that my donated eggs will have a mom like her.

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Now all I have to do is to enjoy my summer (a lot of travelling!) and wait till September when I will begin my monitoring cycle with Dr C. Hopefully the blistering hot humid summer of HK will pass soon. I can't wait for autumn!

been a long time, but eggs are never far from my mind

It has been a crazy summer, one filled with a lot of ups and downs: we got another dog (a sweet Labrador-cross from the local shelter), my mother suffered a mild stroke, more tragedies with missing airplanes and more unrest (Iran and China), Michael Jackson died... well, the last bit shouldn't even be on the same line as the others but he's still an icon who has played an influential role in my childhood. I will miss him.

As for the egg donation with T, it's all coming along nicely. Tickets are booked and arrangements made for the short trip in London. I am strangely excited to meet T - it will be such an honour to meet this wonderful woman who trusts me enough to have my eggs fertilized with her husband's sperm and then put into her womb. Sometimes when I look at this from another angle, it's just so mind-boggling. The wonders of science indeed.

I feel very positive about this particular donation to T, like I said in my previous post, partly because this is an open donation. T has been very open with this right from the very beginning, telling me all about herself and her family. I found it refreshing and somehow knowing that she is so open about this, gives me a sense of security that there will not be any drama later on in the child's life. Because the child will grow up knowing about me and my gift for T, she will not get a nasty shock when she suddenly finds out and starts her search for all the answers.

Less than two weeks before my trip to London. Ohh I am getting quite excited!