Inside an OR

Pretty much all of my experiences with doctors to date have been in a regular doctor's office. I have been to the hospital once, but even there I was put in a private area while waiting for tests. It was a surprise then, when I got to the back side of the IVF place.

It's kind of an open concept. You pass a whole bunch of other women siting in recliners, all garbed in matching hospital gowns and robes, each wearing their required "warm pair of socks", until you get to your plastic covered recliner. There's a curtain separating all the women, so once you're seated, you really can't see anyone, but you can hear all the women speaking with their husbands or partners. I got a bit nervous when I overheard the woman next to me was asking how many eggs she had last time, which was 19....I was told I had only 7 follicles last time I spoke with the nurse.

Somehow I never realized that I would be in a hospital like environment, but it definitely was that. After about an hour of waiting they took me back to the operating room. Now THAT was surreal. Sterile empty room, attending nurses, big machines, operating lamp, surgical tray...It looked a bit like a hospital room from a horror movie. I guess for most operations the patient (victim) is already asleep before being wheeled in. I've got to tell you, it's pretty hard to make yourself sit down on an operating table.

The anesthesiologist was very nice, especially considering how nervous I must have seemed. He told me to think of some version of paradise. I said New Mexico. He said that seemed a bit domestic. I told him I liked the desert. He agreed that it was nice. That's the last thing I remember.

I really wanted to remember waking up. I have no memory of waking up, or of moving from the OR to the recovery room (another plastic covered recliner). I seemed to be (nearly) completely with it as soon as I woke up. The nurse couldn't find my husband, so she commenced to telling me all kinds of important information that I was sure I'd forgot. (fortunately there's a take home brochure). It turns out I had 15 eggs retrieved, way more than I thought (although some will be bigger than others). I'll get a call tomorrow to see how many fertilized. On Saturday they'll put the little guys back where they belong and then hope for the best.

What a strange way to go about having children.