"Twelve"

Hello everyone, this is Justin on today's entry!

Well today was the day of the retrieval, and what a day it was. Aubrey, Aubrey's mom Sheree, and myself left for beautiful Lubbock around 7:45 this morning in order to arrive for our 10:30 appointment. The trip went well, Aubrey and Sheree got to read magazines while I drove. I really enjoy parts of the drive, because I am fascinated with the wind farms. I am amazed at the magnitude of them. It seems as if they are building more and more every time we head that way. Well other than that, I have never seen so many State Troopers on the road in all our trips up there as I saw today. I swear there were about 10.

We arrived in Lubbock around 10:20 and got to our appointment on time. The waiting room was pretty empty and we just sat there for about 25 minutes and then they finally called us back. I walked with Aubrey to the back and they put her IV in for the procedure. After Aubrey got her IV, we headed back into the procedure room. Walking into the room gave me flashbacks to our time before. We had quite the adventure last time in that room. Aubrey could not wake up from the anesthesia and every time we tried to get her up, she would almost pass out and fall back asleep. It took about 4 hours after the retrieval to get her to the car. I was just hoping that this time would be a lot easier for her. We waited in the room for about 45 minutes I believe. I really do not know the exact minutes, but I was getting impatient, because I was very nervous today. I was just so worried about a lot of things. God, however, was in control. When the nurses finally came in, I had to leave and go back to the waiting room. I sat there patiently with Sheree, catching up on the newest issue of Time and just hoping all was going well with the doctor and Aubrey. At around 12:30 or so, the nurse came out to get Sheree and I. Aubrey was done with the retrieval and everything went really well.

As we walked into the room, Aubrey laid there peacefully not moving at all. She looked like she was enjoying her sleep, which she does. The nurse told as that we had "12" good eggs that were retrieved. We had 14 last time but only 8 survived so we are 4 more ahead this time. I was excited to hear this news and I know Aubrey's mom and Aubrey were too. I was then sent to do my part of the retrieval and returned later to be with Aubrey until she woke up. When I got back Sheree had said she was slightly awake, but still wanted to sleep. During this time the embryologist told us that my count was still low like last time, so they will have to do ICSI which we did last time. I was a little disappointed because I have been doing everything I can to help us out and I still could not get a higher count. Aubrey woke up gradually and we got her up and ready to go a couple hours later. Then it was back on the road again. We stopped at Rosa's for a little bite to eat since Aubrey had not eaten since the night before and headed towards Abilene. The ride was going great until we got about 10 miles outside of post. That is when Aubrey woke up and said she was not feeling good. I thought she was going to throw up so I was about to pull over, and that is when she passed out. She had one of her spells which looks scary and sometimes is, but she came out of it about 30 seconds later. We do not know what causes these spells, but the main thing is that she is OK. The rest of the trip was fainting free!

We are back in Abilene now, Aubrey is asleep in the bed taking it as easy as she can. She will be a little sore tomorrow though. We find out tomorrow how many eggs have fertilized and how many look like they are maturing the way they should. What an exciting time in our lives and I am glad we can share it with you. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray that we have multiple eggs mature and progress they way they should, and that God will continue to give us patience.