My transfer protocol was to stop taking the birth control on May 3rd and start taking Estrace (Estradiol) 2 mg twice a day on the 8th. I had an appointment on May 22nd for my Endo check, sign consent forms and make the cycle payment. I was instructed to continue taking the Estradiol and start taking Endometrin 3 times a day.
May 28, 2020, Transfer Day! On the day of the embryo transfer, I was told not to skip my morning dose of Endometrin. At 10 am I needed to empty my bladder then begin drinking 32-48 oz of non-carbonated liquid. At 11:15 am I needed to take my Valium (that was optional, I took it). We needed to arrive at the clinic at 11:30 am with a full bladder. They want you to have a full bladder for the transfer because it is easier to insert the catheter to transfer the embryo.
When we arrived Dr. Mann came into the little waiting area to talk with us. She explained to us that our embryo survived the thawing process but didn’t look too great. She went on to say that we had options. We could proceed with the transfer, or we could discard the embryo and we would receive our transfer payment back. I just stared at Ross in disbelief. We told her that we both wanted to go ahead with the transfer. I mean, I wasn’t about to discard our precious embryo. Even if it didn’t look great it was still a part of us. God had created cells from me and Ross and put them together in that little petri dish. I thought it as least needed a fighting chance. Dr. Mann walked us back to the same room that I got ready for the retrieval. I was given a gown, hair net, and booties but I only had to get undressed from the waist down. Ross was able to go in the room with me for the transfer so he had to wear a gown and a hair net as well.
Photos and Post By: Emily Horstman
They wheeled me into the same big dark and cold room as the retrieval. Once in the procedure room, I was handed a picture of our sweet not so great embryo. There was a nurse up by my head. She did an ultrasound of my uterus while Dr. Mann transferred the embryo. We could see the catheter go in and place the embryo. We got a copy of the ultrasound as well. I was to continue the Estradiol and Endometrin as before.
June 8th, 10 days after the transfer I went back to take my pregnancy test. They did the test by blood work. We would know later that day. The results… not pregnant. I thought okay, so we can just start over. We had talked about it if this was the outcome. It just wasn’t our time. God’s time. We took our time to grieve our embryo and the thought of how close we were to have our baby.