Since we made the decision to do Round 2 of IVF in November, I've been stressing about Thanksgiving. I'd resigned myself to not spending it with family, but I was hoping that we'd at least be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends instead of by ourselves at the Cracker Barrel located next to the hotel in Jacksonville. I've also been dreading today specifically -- Day 14 of Round 2 -- because during Round 1, it was the day I ended up in the ER for severe abdominal pain AND because it was the day we drove to Tallahassee for my appointment and learned we also had to see the doctor the next day -- in Jacksonville. Thankfully (see what I did there with the Thanksgiving reference?), the doctor decided today that tomorrow will be Trigger Day, and I won't need to see a doctor again until Retrieval Day on Saturday.
I'm fairly certain that my entire body visibly relaxed at that news. We wouldn't have to drive home from Tallahassee today only to turn around and drive to Jacksonville! We'd actually be able to celebrate Thanksgiving! And we don't need to be in Jacksonville until Friday evening! Even better, I didn't end up in the ER because I don't feel quite as physically unhappy as I did the last round (emotionally is a different story, but now is not the time for that). Don't get me wrong -- I'm quite bloated (hello yoga pants) from the ovarian swelling, I can't walk quickly because it hurts, and I've gained more weight than I'd like to admit (although I suppose that's better than losing weight from lack of appetite, which is what happened during the first 12 days of Round 1) -- but I'm in better shape than I was during Round 1. Whether that's because I've tried to eat a better diet, take a daily walk, or because I squeezed in an acupuncture appointment I don't know, but hopefully it will translate to a more successful egg retrieval on Saturday.
In any case, I'm extremely grateful for friends who are sharing their Thanksgiving traditions with us, for dog boarders that make our poochie extremely happy, for friends who ask me how I'm doing and check on our dog (sometimes three times in one week because of appointments), for family that is helping us make all of this possible in the first place, and for a husband that has been on Thanksgiving break since Friday so he could share the driving with me (and keep me company) on my Friday/Monday/Wednesday appointments.
Keep your fingers crossed for a successful and fruitful egg retrieval this Saturday.