Cancelled IVF Cycle

When we flew into Zurich, we had about an hour to make our connecting flight to Prague. We made it to the gate with plenty of time, baby, luggage and stroller in tow and boarded last to minimize her time on the plane. We were belted in and ready to go when it was announced that the plane had been leaking oil and could not be flown until inspected and we would have to deboard. But not just yet, we would have to wait on the plane for 30 minutes until they were "ready" for us. Oh, and there were no other flights for the night.

If my life were a movie, this would have been an overt case of foreshadowing.

The whole reason we were going to the Prague at the beginning of our trip instead of the original 1 week in Vienna, 1 week in Budapest, and 1 week in Prague was to pick up my IVF medication and start the injections, As soon as my cycle started, which it never did.

Now we're carting around almost $1,000 is medication (Menopur) that  has to be kept cold. Have you seen how small European mini-bars are? The medication would cost us 4-5 thousand back home so we did save a lot, but we cannot do IVF here. Even if I started the medication tomorrow, there would not be enough time left in our trip for egg collection and transfer.

So we are back to considering IVF in the states, where it will be $10,000-$15,000 for the procedure, instead of the $3,000 that it costs in Prague. But at least we saved on the medication. Medication that I'm not sure TSA will let me back into the country with (if anyone has experience with this please, let me know!).

Another reminder that even the best laid plans go to waste. A lot of people travel for IVF - it even has its own term now, "fertility tourism." But it would be much different if I were just hopping over from the UK, where many of their patients travel from, and if I were getting the flights in time with my cycle instead of one year out and regulating with bc pills. 

At least we were planning to be here anyway and out trip was not created around this procedure, only modified for it.

I was down about it for a few hours the other day, but I have to remember just how blessed we are with our little girl. I want to make her a big sister, I do, but again I go back to there being a reason things work out the way they do. If our first IVF worked, we would not have her and I thank my lucky stars every day that it did not because I cannot imagine my life without her in it.

So for now, we remain a family of three. And my heart is full. She completes us. A sibling would be a bonus, but we are so lucky to have her. We always want more, and I imagine another her when I imagine having a second child. But every child is different, and chances are that the next one may not be the perfect world traveler. Many couples who struggle with infertility never have the luxury of trying for a sibling, and i am ever-aware of that.