11.03.2008

Update- thinking about number 2!





I have not written anything in awhile. So here is the latest with our little family! Vivian is almost 4 years old!! Time flies when you are having fun! She is the coolest little girl ever. Really she is a rock star!! I am seriously thinking about number two at this point. She isn't a baby anymore, I just turned 38, my DH turned 40. . . We need to poop or get off the pot!
My only misgivings are of course the expense; what if it doesn't work; what if it does work and we have a multiple birth (yikes!); what if they aren't as fabulous as Vivian. . .
About a year ago we were seriously considering IVF again and contacted the agency to see if our donor was still available. Well through a series of events we had signed up to have her donate again and then apparently she got married and moved out of the area. Then something weird happened. She was in the process of getting an updated medical history and apparently her father had been recently diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. So of course I freaked out and wanted more information. This turned into a big problem and a lesson learned as far as donor pregnancies go. Of course the whole time we are going through the donor agency and the reproductive endocrinologist's office and are not speaking with her directly. I'm sure a lot was lost in the translation. We found out that her father went in to see a doctor due to pain in his leg/hip and was told he had a form of MD. They also said that her father is over 300 pounds and that he had a lot of old football injuries and that was what they thought this was. I looked up everything I could about this condition and I am really not convinced that he was diagnosed correctly. But in the meantime the donor got freaked out and decided that she would not donate eggs again. I was pretty upset for a lot of reasons. I wanted a sibling for Vivian that was from the same egg donor- but this is not to be. Also I was freaked out that Vivian could possibly develop MD.
There are so many unknowns with Egg Donation. I spoke with the Egg Donation Agency and asked what their policy was on notifying couples if donors have changes in medical histories. There is no policy, apparently. So in a case like this if we had not been trying to use this donor again we would have never found out about the possible family history of Muscular Dystrophy(MD). This is a little alarming. But I guess if you think about it- with adoption you wouldn't know about any changes either.
I can only pray that the donor's father was misdiagnosed and that Vivian will never have any problems but there are no guarantees in life.
This be itself will not prevent us from using Egg Donation again. I mean we really didn't have very many options and I believe that this was the best thing for our family.
I will say it again and again- I NEVER THINK ABOUT THE EGG DONATION- unless for instance something like this comes up. On a day to day basis I forget that she is anything but mine mine mine. She acts like me and looks like her father. She is an amazing little person and I am so lucky to have her.
We have already started the discussion with Vivian about the way she was conceived- at least to the best that her 3 year old mind can understand. I found a couple of books (see above pictures) which really helped to open up the dialog between us. She understands that a "nice lady" helped me to have her. That I was missing a piece that I needed to make a baby and that she gave us the piece that we needed. She asked if we could meet the lady to thank her and I told her that she was like a Secret Santa- that we didn't know her name or where she lives- but that we could thank God for her in our prayers. She seems totally fine with this. Of course as she gets older the questions will get harder but I feel like talking to her about this now and making it just sort of "matter of fact" will prevent any hurt feelings later on.