Egg Retrieval Week!

Wow, what a whirlwind week it has been! Our shot routine was a little different this week. Grant can officially say that he's given me a shot in the doctor's office bathroom (because we had an appointment at 8:30am and that is shot time) and in the church bathroom Sunday night (because it was the night of James and Spencer Boyd's Eagle Court of Honor). Who would have thought?

A little mirror selfie in the Doctor's bathroom after shot 1+ 2.

 We've been to the doctor 4 days in a row for bloodwork and ultrasounds and gosh darn it...those nurses have the hardest time finding my veins to draw blood for the bloodwork! Each ultrasound, Dr. Amols would check the follicles to make sure that they are growing. He said, "Well, it looks like you won't get the award for producing the most eggs." He predicted us having 10-12 eggs at retrieval. Grant and I were feeling a little concerned about that comment so we asked the nurses how many eggs a typical healthy woman produces. She told us anywhere from 8-12 eggs and that made us feel a little better. The main goal is to have healthy eggs. We continued the stims until Tuesday and the nurses notified us that we would be taking our last Tuesday shot, Novarel, at 10pm. Novarel stimulates the release of the egg during ovulation and we were scheduled to do the egg retrieval on Thursday morning at 10am!!! Oh my goodness! We couldn't believe it was finally here!!!

But first...the booty shot! Grant gave me our typical Follistim shot at 8:30pm like normal and then we had to wait until 10pm for the long-anticipated Novarel in my bottom. Ouch! I told Grant not to tell me, just to do it. The nurse told him to hold it like a dart and man that is a deep needle. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt, because it HURT! Grant said he can't believe he didn't faint. I'm sure glad he didn't because that needle went deep through the muscle. Oh, the crazy memories that take place in the walls of our home on Linda Lane.

Presenting the booty shot!

We re-enacted how the shot went. 

Today, March 5th was our scheduled egg retrieval day! I received a beautiful blessing from my dad last night which brought so much comfort to us. It is so amazing to me that Heavenly Father knows his children perfectly- he knows me! I have felt the Savior carry me these last few years. As soon as my dad and Grant placed their heads upon my head, a tingling feeling went through my whole body. 

I recorded and typed up my dad's blessing to me because I want to remember these words and these feelings forever. 

Father’s Blessing

March 4, 2020

Kathryn Lucy Coon, in the name of Jesus Christ and with the authority of the holy Melchizedek priesthood, we the Elders of Israel, place our hands on your head to give you a father’s blessing. 

Katie, you have so many gifts that our Heavenly Father has blessed you with. Your blessings are of many, one of which is your great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your Heavenly Father has blessed you with the talent of a pure heart and of a willing heart and I bless you that as you continue to be strong and faith, he will continue to purify your heart and you will be able to exercise that talent with increased faith. Our Heavenly Father has blessed us all with great gifts and talents and you have been blessed with great talents and one of the greatest gifts that you have been blessed with, Katie, is the blessing of faith. If you recall, even as a little child, you have always believed in the Savior and his love. And I bless you, Katie, to remember. Remember what the scriptures say; how often to reflect and reminisce about what you have taught and what you have been taught. 

I bless you, Katie, to realize that your Savior walks with you and has even carried you. Katie, your faith is great and He will continue to be able to bless you as you go through this procedure and life to come. 

Your Heavenly Father will continue to bless you and Grant with a strong love for one another and a joint love for Jesus Christ. I bless you, Katie, that he will, that you will receive the blessing of being a mother and the ability to bear children. This will be your blessing. 

Heavenly Father knows your pure intent and your righteous desires and he will fulfill that righteous desire. I bless you, Katie, that your body will be prepared, the doctors will know how best to treat you so that you will conceive and bear a child and continue to bear the children that are rightfully yours and who have been given to you. 

I bless you, Katie, with a continued blessing of health, strength, of well-being. I bless you that you will continue to exercise your faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ and that his love will be given to you throughout the day and days to come. 

You are a choice daughter of our Heavenly Father. He loves you and is very aware of your desires. Now I bless you, Katie, with these blessings; the blessings of faith, the blessings of purity, the blessings of love. There have been many talents that you have been given. We know there are those who have been given the blessing to be healed but the greatest blessing is the blessing of faith. I bless you that you will recognize that great talent that you have been given and I close this blessing and do so with the holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

We got to the office at 9:15am and the nurses took us back to the preparation room where I dressed in the stylish hospital gown. My stomach was feeling so bloated and so swollen. We said a prayer that all would work out and we felt peace! After a few pictures were taken and a few Marco Polo's to our families updating them, the anesthesiologist took me away to the operating room and left Grant all by himself to get the collection. Poor guy. In the operating room, the anesthesiologist put the fluid in my needle. He told me that I would start to feel dizzy and a little nauseous and within two seconds, I was out!  

Always by my side!

All I remember was waking up in the recovery room- no idea how I got there! As I was coming out of the anesthesia, I was randomly singing the song, "Families Can Be Together Forever," in my head! Dr. Amols poked his head in and told me that the procedure went great. It took about 20 minutes and the nurse told me that they retrieved 20 eggs!! That is way more than we were expecting! We felt so grateful! We can definitely feel the Lord's hand today and I never want to forget the gratitude my heart feels for all the prayers, fasts, and the faith of others. 

Thumbs up!

After the procedure, the nurses let us know that it is very important to eat lots of salt in order to keep fluid out of my ovaries...french fries, pizza, hamburgers, etc. It was funny, because when has a doctor ever prescribed the patients that kind of food? Instead, Grant and I stopped by Jamba Juice to get a smoothie because I was parched and hungry. Mom came by and fixed us lunch and stocked our whole fridge with food! She brought some salty food as well. Grant was in heaven! I just love how thoughtful and kind my mom is. That act of service meant the world to me. I hope I can be the kind of service-oriented person she is someday. Tomorrow, our nurses will call us and let us know how many eggs fertilized. Now it's the waiting game!