IVF Journey (2)

Finally, the army grew into the ideal size range of 18mm to 22mm on 2nd day of CNY. Dr Cheng  & Catherine both made a trip to the clinic to let me have a scan to ensure everything is ok. I am administered with a dosage of Lucrin (for the ripening of eggs) at 9pm to 9.30pm on the same day in preparation for the surgery on 4th day of CNY.

I need to fast since 12 midnight on the day of surgery, not even a single sip of water. With the constant prayers, I wasn't too nervous and had a good rest the night before. Hubby brought me to the Thomson Fertility Center early in the morning as we are scheduled to arrive at 8am for the operation. Catherine was already there...I really admire her punctuality and her passion for her job. (She did shared with me her personal story) She has welcomed me and prepared me for the surgery. She has been very caring towards me and I really respect and felt loved by God that he has sent her to walk me through this journey together.

I changed into my attire, joked abit before sitting myself on the surgery chair. Everything was ok as Cahterine & my hubby have been with me all these while. There came Dr Tan who is in charge of anesthetic and he clarified some medical history & verify my particulars before performing his job on me. Suddenly my tears flowed down like a stream....I was fearful as the atmosphere reminded me that this is my first surgery in my whole life. Hubby and Catherine quickly come by me and dried my tears and calmed me down...ensuring me that things will be fine. The last I remembered in the operating theater was breathing in the oxygen mask....

I woke up on the resting bed outside and feeling safe & happy as I don't feel any pain at all. Just like wake up in the morning from a good night sleep. I vaguely remember that a nurse gave a container to my hubby for the sperm collection. I guess I went back to sleep again. At about 10am, a nurse came to me and asked if it is alright to let me have biscuits and Milo at 10.15am. I felt hungry then and quickly nodded my head. I wasn't aware of the timing at all and I just knew that my hubby was sitting next to me and I was comfortably lying on a bed. After finishing the food, I asked for Catherine and Dr Cheng. Then I realised that they have left the place long ago... Hubby told me I was snoring amidst the surgery and he was there watching each follicles taken out of my body with Dr Cheng & Dr Tan. Dr Ballargi (I thought his name was Dr Biology...haha). Dr Cheng left 2 inside my ovary as he said it is quite near the blood vein and it is fine to leave it there...

In total, 37 eggs was retrieved from my ovaries. =)

Dr Ballargi gave me a ring the next morning. Informed me that 23 out of 37 eggs were matured. 17 out of 23 has been fertilised. However, he also mentioned that some of them are of poor qualities...I got worried! I asked him how many of them are good quality and he answered: " One..Two...only 2 I didn't made any comments and the rest all I have comments, so it is 2." My heart sank and started to feel lousy. I whatsapped my hubby about the news immediately. I prayed to heavenly father for miracles to happened. In the initial hour after the news, I wasn't able to concentrate on anything. Many negatives thoughts flowed in...need to go through the injections cycles again...adoption...etc. I went on for an hour and felt lost.

Luckily I have many books from friends (I declare from Mui Leng & Chicken Soup for soul from Amos) recently and I decided to grab one of them to read and distract myself. They are all short story so I started to speak to God via prayers in between. As I have learned, I should trust God for his plans for me and cast all my worries and burdened on him. I sticked to this belief the entire day.

Catherine gave me a ring early the next morning, she informed me that I have 10 good embyros to be frozen. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. Miracles really happened. I am happy with the results...that my tears almost filled my eyes once again. I quickly arranged with Catherine to collect my medicines & proceed with my FET program. I also went to visit TFC to collect my embyro report and I have a first glance on the 10 embyros of my own & hubby's. 6 Grade 1 and 4 Grade 2 embyros...Thanks heavenly father for the abundance blessings for us!

IVF Journey (1)

I have finally decided to commence on my ivf journey last December.

Consulted with Dr LC Cheng (WC Cheng & Associates @ Thomson Medical Centre) almost a year ago, found out that I have a block fallopian tube on my left. Felt really upset as I do not understand why it happened on me. As my husband was half way through his MBA course, I have not done anything since then...

I have a very fruitful journey for the last one year. (You may refer to my blog posts )

Month 1: I started off with a month of birth control pills to let my ovaries rest. A tiny pill a day is still ok actually...

Month 2: The injections begin... hubby initially promised to assist in the injections as I have phobias of blood & needles. On the day the nurse taught us, he couldn't do it out of fear of poking his wife. As I would not want to further delay the nurse's time, I took over.

I was confidently changing the needle head, adjusting the correct dosage of medicines etc. However, just before I placed the needle into my flesh, my hands got numbed and the whole world is like spinning.... and my hand holding the needle started to shake. I took a deep breath, calm myself with a little prayer and here it goes. (The nurse said just poke it in FAST!) I did it. I have placed the needle into my tummy, but my thumb has no strength to push the medicine in....and 5 seconds later, I tried to press it harder as the other hand is pinching onto my tummy fats. Hold on and count 10 seconds before I retrieve the needles and it is done. =)

The subsequent 4 jabs I did it at home nightly around 10 pm and my hubby was always there to give me assistance and moral support. (Thanks dear...!feeling loved) It wasn't easy as each time I tried, I still need to overcome my fear. I felt clumsy at this as I have once poked in and the needle fell out due to my shaking hand, causing it to bleed right away and I need to find another place to continue with the injection. I have also accidentally drop the whole tray on the floor.....

After 5 days of injections, I went back to Dr Cheng for the 1st scan. This time my hubby joined me in witnessing the follicles growing in my ovaries. Counted 30 of them ranging from 4mm to 12mm. Dr Cheng was happy with the progress and warned me of running the risks of OHSS due to the quantity of follicles produced. So his instruction was for me to take minimum 6 to 8 egg whites daily with hugh quantities of fluid intakes.

He prescribed me with another 4 days of injections and scheduled a scan after. As each injection was costly, about SGD 200+ each, the nurses at TMC were very helpful to help me combine the leftover so that I can have some savings. (Remember to leave the left over needles with the ice pack ALWAYS)

4 days later, we went back for the scan and we counted more follicles (36). The size ranges from 4mm to 18mm. Majority of the follicles are in the range of 14mm to 16mm. Dr Cheng's strategy is to harvest as many follicles as possible for frozen ET program. I guess he noticed I might run into risks of OHSS and also usually my uterus lining might not be good with so many follicles produced. All the nutrients have gone to grow the follicles I assume. This time he told me that I have to start taking 2 jabs a day as the follicles are getting closer to the ideal size. One in the morning (to prevent ripening of the eggs) and one at night (continue stimulating the egg growth). He gave me 2 days dosage to start with and I have to return for a scan. This time, the morning injection is complicated. I have to learn to mix the solvent with the powder form of medication, suck out the medication into the syringe and expel the air before injecting on myself. (Forgot to mention that the first injection I did was a pen syringe which is very user friendly, it just need to adjust the dosage, change the needle head and poke!)

In this situation, I made sure I wake up early in the morning to prepare for the injections...Hubby also wake up extremely early to prepare breakfast for us. His gestures really warm my heart even though I have to go through those scary and painful moments for the ivf journey. Never ever I feel like giving up despite all the difficult tasks assigned. Not to mention, hubby also prayed with me everyday to give me encouragement and to seek PEACE & FAITH & COURAGE from our heavenly father.

We scanned again. This time round, bigger follicles appeared. Dr Cheng officially counted 38 follicles. 2 outliers have grown to 22mm and a soldier of armies are in the range of 16mm to 18mm. Dr Cheng aimed to harvest this army and adviced me to wait for 2 more days with injections. Everything else is on track. He again emphasized to me that he aimed to do the FET (not fresh embyros transfered due to my womb lining is not ideal).

The 3 R’s to Preserve Purity in Marriage

No marriage is ever perfect. Yet, most couples try and find ways to continually make it better.
When a man and woman come together and choose to get married, they make a vow to each other – and before God – to love and care for each other. While the wording of vows might vary somewhat, the essence of all vows is to love and respect each other. Forever.
This means the couple will put forth the effort to work together as a team.
Unfortunately, as a marriage progresses there are many distractions and temptations that challenge that vow. Some manage to continually renew their vows and keep their marriage pure. Others struggle with diversions and lose their way, sometimes ending the relationship.
The reality is there will always be invitations to explore something new, different, or seemingly better. These enticements never stop.
So how does a couple preserve their marriage and keep their vows? There is power in the value of purity.

The Value of Purity

As a differentiating value, Purity means unity of the essence of an entity; or clean and free of extraneous material.
Unfortunately, many people associate purity with perfection. But the only connection between these two values is the direction of focus. Pure thoughts and deeds seek to move one in the direction of perfection.
Let’s be clear here. There was only one who was ever perfect – Christ.  He promoted the importance of oneness and repentance, two attributes that form the basis of the value of purity. Christ also made clear the benefit of purity, when He said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” [Matthew 5:8]  That is the ultimate goal!
Purity also provides an important benefit in a marriage. A man and woman can see each other as they are and still love each other.

Preserving Purity in Marriage

To help a couple keep their marriage vows, and reap the rewards, here are three ways ( 3 R’s) to preserve purity in marriage.

1. Reject distractions. The best way to prevent problems is to avoid the temptation in the first place. If one has a natural weakness to an addiction, then make plans to sidestep it. As a wise man once said, the best way to avoid marriage problems is to not stop at the bar on the way home from work.
2. Repent transgressions. Of course mistakes do happen. Words are said and actions are taken that hurts the one you love. Bad stuff creeps in. Just as a home needs to be maintained, so do relationships. Continually work to keep clean and free of anything that comes in between. It’s also important each spouse understands the other’s language of apology and say it with honesty and authenticity.
3. Renew vows. No need to wait for a major milestone (e.g. 25 years) to renew marriage vows. Re-stating, re-committing, and re-articulating a promise is a great way to remind each other of a desired intent, and fend off extraneous enticements.

By practicing the 3 R’s – Reject, Repent, Renew – couples can enjoy the benefits of purity in marriage.

Gu Long Dong

I am looking forward to dogsit Gu Long Dong once my hubby told me that his owner is going for a trip soon ^_^

Indeed Mr Gu has been very well behaved in my house (compared to Cherrie =P)

Amazingly, he knew where to pee & poo in the toilet and is such a gentle-man. Everyone in the house praise him alot and at the same time, condemning Cherrie for being a spoilt child. (Hmmph! Too much...)

Sunday Worship @ SAC

Praise the Lord that both my hubby and I are building our relationship with GOD!
Here's a snapshot of this beautiful place: (Guess Benji love singing in this place too)

Praise the Lord! My new commitment....

It has been awhile that I wish to straighten my teeth...and I made a new commitment with Dr Amos yesterday! Very soon I will have my beautiful smile.....(on top of the free slimming programme as a side effect) Haha.

Orthodontic Treatment Plan – Ms Helen Chan (04750)

Ms Helen Chan clinically presented:
• Upper Teeth Proclinations & Lower Arch moderately severe crowding with a Class 2 division 1 Profile
• Good side facial profile with generous smile
• Skeletal & Dental Class I Bimax expression

Treatment Outline:
Non-Extraction Approach.
Upper& Lower Arch Expansion to resolve crowding & correct Proclinations.
KIV Interproximal Reductions(IPR) to create more space if needed as an alternative to extractions.
Establish stable & harmonious bite.

Duration: 1.5 - 2.0 years

Cost of Treatment:
Records $ 400.00
Invisible Aligners Issue $ 1500.00
Follow-up Issue No.1 in 12 weeks $ 1500.00
Follow-up Issue No.2 in 12 weeks $ 1500.00
Follow-up Issue No.3 in 12 weeks $ 1500.00
Subsequent Follow-up 12 weekly No Charge
End of Treatment Retainers: Upper/Lower $ 600.00

Make you feel my love- Adele

This is a very nice song =)

When the rain
Is blowing in your face
And the whole world
Is on your case
I could offer you
A warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows
And the stars appear
And there is no - one there
To dry your tears
I could hold you
For a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you
Haven't made
Your mind up yet
But I would never
Do you wrong
I've known it
From the moment
That we met
No doubt in my mind
Where you belong

I'd go hungry
I'd go black and blue and
I'd go crawling
Down the avenue
You Know there's nothing
That I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging
On the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change
Are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing
Like me yet

I could make you happy
Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love, To make you feel my love