About 6 weeks ago, I saw Dr. Patton at OHSU. He is an reproductive endocrinologist. I finally had enough nerve to go. I sat on the referral I had from my OB for 6 months. The first thing is you pay the 300 dollars upfront to see the doctor even if you have insurance. It is the most beautiful office I have ever seen. It is on the 10th floor of a building that overlooks the Willamette River and downtown Portland. You can watch the tram run right past you up to the OHSU campus.
Anyway, it was the most wonderful appointment I could have ever wanted in last six years. Wow, I just calculated, that I have been dealing with infertility since 2002. Hard to believe it has been apart of my life for so long. For so long I have wondered and hoped and prayed for some answers and I finally had enough courage to begin the process. Dr. Patton is the head doctor at the clinic. You can look him up online. He has published a lot of scientific research. OHSU is a teaching hospital so there was a young doctor with him as well. I sat in Dr. Patton's office looking towards my mom's work (she is very close) as we began looking through my entire medical record from Dr. Bishop (my OB). I could have cried as it all sat there in one pile together holding all my information and answers from 2002. In matter of 1 hour they put me together and began explaining things that I couldn't believe. The doctors reconfirmed that I am a "classic" PCOS patient. They also looked up all my progesterone levels and began explaining what kinds of testing they would do on me and Mark. It turns out, that I will never be able to just get pregnant on a whim, because if we do it will turn out the same way the first three pregnancies did. I have to be monitored, I have to take multiple medications to help me keep the pregnancy. I am thankful to God that I am able to get pregnant because I don't have to think about egg harvesting and IVF. They know just based on lab tests that I do not make enough progesterone to keep a baby alive. I possibly could have an autoimmune disorder because I do have psoriasis. They will check that. They will also check me for a blood clotting disorder and check different hormones in my blood and also take a look at my uterus. And they also wanted Mark and I to do a blood kerotyping genetic testing. It is very expensive, over 800 dollars a piece. But, in a turn of luck, or blessing, our insurance (or should I say Mark's insurance) covered it at 100%. Today... just a few hours ago, OHSU called to tell me that we are genetically compatible!!!! I was so relieved because I was very nervous. Just last night we sat and talked about what would happen if we weren't compatible. I am praising the Lord because this is great news! It is the one factor that the clinic could not help us with. Yes, we plan on trying to have a baby at some point. But right now the doctor has me on medication to turn everything off regarding reproduction so that it can have some time to rest. I am just enjoying one day at a time and reveling in the fact that I have allowed myself to hope once more that we may be able to have a biological baby. Not that we love our kids any less for being adopted, we absolutely do not. But this is a deep longing in my heart that was awakened six years ago when I lay in hospital bed being told that I had miscarried my baby. I had no idea at the time what the journey would be like. But here we are, walking down paths that we never, even intended to take. I know it may be difficult to understand why a blood test could make one so happy. But, if you thing about it like this, it is like I have been in a dark room for so many years and little by little, as answers come, the light in the dark room begins to brighten. It is so wonderful to see the light. Again, knowledge is POWER!
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