Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad.

We know you have been praying for us in recent days, we appreciate it. We are finding peace in the midst of our suffering. And we are finding joy in the times of difficulty. 

We have a family that loves us.

We have friends that still love us.

We have God who loved us when we did not deserve it. 

For all that, we are grateful. 

We wish you a merry Christmas. And please, this time of Christmas, take a moment to:

• remember who is the birthday boy: Jesus;
• give thanks; if you have children, give thanks, others are not as lucky as you;
• pray for us; this Monday/29, we have a follow up appointment: it could be our last one;
• pray for us; we want to hear God's plan for us; we want to hear God's voice.

Thank you for your support. This month of December, we have received the support of Family in Mexico: Ezequiel, Julisa, Librada, Martha, Pedro, Pilar, Porfirio, and Zheila. And also, from our good friends in the US:  Ana, Johanna, Josue, Mauricio, Nicholas, Poornima, Sarah, and Seth.

Thank you for your generosity. Your gift makes us feel loved and supported.

Feliz Navidad
Pablo and Nancy

No joy

It is with profound sadness we have to announce that we no longer have living embryos.

On Friday, December 12, the day after Nancy's surgery, the embryologist called to inform us about the progress of our embryos. She said that out of the 10 oocytes only four were inseminated. However, only 3 of those were mature enough to go through the process. The embryologist said she would be monitoring the progress of the eggs and she would call us again on Sunday. Nancy and I were devastated by the news. We thought everything was perfect. There was no evidence that the eggs would not be mature enough. We thought that God was with us. Why did God allow this to happen? Why only three eggs? We spent several hours thinking about it, trying to understand. But that day we remembered that prior to starting the in-vitro fertilization study we thought it would be a good idea to have three embryos transferred into Nancy. Perhaps God hear us, and God is giving us three embryos after all. We still had hope.

On Sunday, December 14, we went to church. There was a church-wide breakfast, very exciting day. Pablo went for the rehearsal with the worship team, they were preparing for an acoustic christmas church service. Nancy went to the breakfast with the entire church and was helping serve. After that, the service started. We knew they could call us during the service; but, is there a better place to receive good news than the church? We could praise God for the good news right here in church. So, Pablo was worshipping with the guitar, Nancy was singing. We were singing "The first noel", a christmas song about how angels communicated the news about a child who was born. How ironic, because at that moment the doctor called with news indicating almost the opposite. Nancy stepped out of the sanctuary to answer the phone. The doctor said that out of our three embryos, only one was still growing. The cells on two of our embryos simply stopped reproducing. There was only one that was showing progress. Only one. The doctor said they would wait until day five (Tuesday) to see how our last embryo was growing and hopefully they could freeze it. It was terrible news for us. Only one embryo survived. And you know what is more ironic? The fact that Pablo had to preach about joy that very same morning. Joy. It was really hard for us to have joy on that day. Yet we prayed, we hoped, we trusted in God.

On Tuesday, December 16, Pablo was at work with a student when the embryologist called. She said that our embryo was not ready for cryopreservation (freezing). It seems that although the embryo grew, it was not as expected, it was not sufficient. The embryologist wanted to keep it under observation one more day, and hopefully the next day it would be ready for cryopreservation. Pablo went home and told Nancy the news. It was not all bad news, there was still hope. We decided to trust in God. We gave God our hope of having a baby.

Today, Wednesday, December 17, it was a cloudy day, a day with rain. It was one of those days that invite you to stay in bed for a little bit more. Pablo woke up and did exercise. We had breakfast together, and then Nancy did some exercise as well. While Nancy was doing exercise, Pablo received a call from the embryologist. She said that our last embryo stopped growing. It is no longer alive. She said "I am sorry. Have a good day". Pablo stayed in shock for a few seconds while his eyes became full of tears. Nancy said "who is it? what happened?" Pablo shared the news. We hugged. We kissed. We hugged each other some more. Today is the day we celebrate Pablo's mother birthday, and it is also the day when our embryo died. This evening we went to a christmas party for the community; we went there to bring a moment of happiness to children and parents; but when will it be our turn?

We wonder what is going to happen in our future. What does all this mean? Are we done? Why would God allow this? What about all this money that we owe? What are we going to say to our donors? Do our friends still love us?

Please pray for us.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

Surgery for extraction

Two days ago we received the bad news about an increase in progesterone that would postpone the implantation (transfer) of embryos. It was a little bit disappointing, we thought we would be pregnant very soon. But we decided to trust God in spite of this minor setback.

We were in the car by 4am, the sun was not up yet. We drove in the night and we arrive in the night. We were excited to be there and a little bit nervous.

The nurse called us into a room and asked Nancy to put on a robe. They brought several pages for us to sign; waivers, consent forms, instructions post-surgery, and so on.

They connected Nancy to a serum bag and measured her vital signs. We were both praying for everything to go well.

After a few minutes the embryologist came and introduced herself; she told us that she would be analyzing the oocytes and the sperm and performing the insemination. She was a red-headed young woman and sounded smart.

A few minutes later the anesthesiologist came and introduced himself; he looked kind of creepy. He was an old bald man with huge glasses. Pablo asked him, when would be a good moment to record Nancy being under anesthesia, but he did not think it was funny and left.

Later Dr. Burger came to the room and explained to us that she would be performing the extraction of oocytes and also about the problem with the progesterone. The life of the embryos would not be in line with the optimal conditions of the uterus and the chances of a successful pregnancy would be greatly reduced. She told us to postpone the implantation procedure. We think is a good idea as well, as long as it increases the chances of pregnancy, we should postpone.

Finally, when Dr. Burger left the room, in a matter of minutes they came to take Nancy to the operating room. At this moment Pablo was very nervous. He became instantly worried and anxious. He started to post on the Facebook page to ask for prayers.

Post by Baby.

The embryologist came into the room and told Pablo it was his time. They took Pablo to a room and gave him a cup. After Pablo deposited his sample, he returned to the room and Nancy was already back there. Nancy was something between asleep and awake. She was speaking and acting strange, repeating the same things over and over. She kept saying "it was fast, right?". Pablo took a video of Nancy at this point, but we don't think the world is ready to see it. If you want to watch it, you can ask Nancy.

The nurses kept checking Nancy's vital signs, and after an hour of monitoring her they authorized her release. The embryologist came for a last time to inform us that they collected 10 oocytes and the sperm looked great. She said that they would call us the next day, on Friday, to tell us more details about the process.

At that moment we went back to Waco. Nancy did not want to eat, the anesthesia caused some nausea.

The rest of the day we stayed home. Pablo was watching the status of Nancy, who experienced some pain, and gave her a Tylenol.

The day ended, we were tired, and anxious about that phone call with an update from the embryologist. We prayed strongly for our future baby. Please God be with us. If you want to help us pray, please do.

Thank you for all your support. Thank you for prayers. Thank you for being good friends to us.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy.

Progesterone elevated - the phone call

Today, now that our surgery has been scheduled, Pablo went to seminary and made arrangements to miss class due to the surgery on Thursday. After that he went to the Department of Computer Science to pick up the final exam from his students and post the grades on-line. By the end of the day, Pablo went to the parking lot to get the car and pick up Nancy for her class in seminary.

When Pablo tried to start the vehicle, there was a problem, the electric system was completely dead. The car would not even attempt to show signs of life. It was past 5pm and most of the faculty was already out. Pablo asked a couple of faculty members for help, but they did not help, they had other more important things to do or places where to be. Pablo lost hope for a little bit, until Dr. Greg Hamerly showed up, almost by miracle. Pablo is sure that he Dr. Hamerly had other more important things to do, yet, he was willing to take Pablo back home.

Pablo called Nancy on the way home, sharing with her the problem with the car. Nancy had to wait for Pablo for a few extra minutes. Hopefully they will be on-time for seminary class. It was the last day of classes in seminary and Nancy had prepared delicious tamales. She will bring them for all to eat afterwards, celebrating the end of the semester.

Once Pablo got into a car to pick up Nancy, while he was driving, he received an urgent call from the doctor's office. They said two important things:

1. Nancy should take one last injection specifically at 8pm. The injection is called Ovidrel, and it is shown in the picture. This injection is essentially the hormone called "Human chorionic gonadotropin" (HSG), which has been neutralized by the other injections controlling Nancy's cycle. This injection will begin the process of ovulation, which prepares the follicles for extraction on Thursday. The nurse gave Pablo instructions for Nancy to be fasting and ready at the surgery center by 6:45am.
2. The nurse also said something we did not know. She said, the implantation of the embryos had to be postponed most likely due to an increased level of progesterone in Nancy. The laboratory results of that morning revealed that Nancy had a progesterone level of 2.1 and ideally it should remain 1.5 until the transference of embryos. Apparently, this increase of progesterone levels indicates that the uterus is ready to host the embryos. The endometrial cavity is mature. However, this happened too soon. It should happen until the embryos were transferred, otherwise, the uterus would be old and the embryos would not survive in the uterus. The nurse said, we will probably have to freeze the embryos once they were ready and schedule the transference of embryos until later, probably next month. 

This news were shocking for Pablo. He did not know how to tell Nancy about this, especially because they were going to a party for the end of the semester. So, Pablo told Nancy on the way home, when they were going home for the tamales. 

We asked ourselves questions about the causes. Why would this happen to us? Was it because we were stressed? Was it because something we ate? What was it? Where is God in this? Did God abandon us all of the sudden?

We agreed to focus on one thing at a time. The most important thing was to focus in the extraction surgery. And later we will worry about scheduling the implantation or transference of embryos. We have waited for seven years; we can wait one more month if necessary.

Pray for us. We don't know what is going to happen. 

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

Doctor said we are ready for surgery

God we are so tired. We are exhausted. This week has been really hard driving back and forth from Waco to Austin and from Austin to Waco. Sometimes in the rain. Sometimes is still dark. Sometimes with heavy traffic. Sometimes with sleep depravation due to school assignments and work. Nancy's arms and belly have bruises due to many blood samples and many injections. We pray to God and ask for all this to end soon. Hopefully today will be the last day, we need a little break.

We woke up early that day in Waco, TX. The day was strange, the morning was dark and foggy. The fog covered us all the way up to Austin, TX. It was like a horror movie. 

We arrived at the Doctor's clinic and she performed the sonogram. The ultrasound examination revealed good news. It was what we were waiting for. We had good-size follicles. There were a few with size 21mm or more. Others were 19mm, 18mm, and 17mm. The doctor needed at least one follicle of size 20mm or greater to schedule the process of extraction. And she did. Dr. Burger scheduled the extraction this next Thursday. 

This means that we do not have to have any more injections or blood samples taken for a few days. Except for today, of course. But we want to celebrate our small victories. We are glad that the extraction surgery has been finally scheduled and that we are moving forward. It is a good feeling. God is with us.

So after consulting with the doctor we went to the laboratory to have Nancy's last blood samples taken out.

In the laboratory, there were so many people. We have never seen that before. There were about 20 people waiting, there was no chairs available when we checked in. People at the front desk were so rude with Pablo, since there was no place to sit, Pablo was standing by the front dest, but they asked him to move away. Pablo was angry. Finally, there was a seat for Nancy and she sat there for a very long time.


Finally they called Nancy and the nurse inserted the needle on Nancy's right arm. Nancy had bruises because of so many needles. And this time, not a single drop of blood came out of her arm. Pablo felt really bad about this. The nurse had to try the left arm, which is also bruised, in order to finally get some blood out. Nancy is really brave. They put needles in her two already bruised arms today.

After this, we returned to Waco. We still had to make arrangements for our surgery on Thursday. We had to pre-pay the anesthesiologist, because otherwise, they will charge a higher fee for the services. And also, Pablo had to tell his preaching professor, Dr. Joel C. Gregory, to allow him to be absent on Thursday's preaching class. So, Pablo went to seminary, that day it was the turn for Stephen Ballard, Shawn Boyd, and Sean DelBeccaro to preach their sermons on Jesus' life. They all did an awesome job, seriously remarkable. At the end of class Pablo spoke with Dr. Gregory and he was very understanding about Nancy's surgery and allowed Pablo to be absent.

So, everything is ready for surgery on Thursday. We are excited and nervous. But we know god is with us, what or whom shall we fear?

In this visit we spent on:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Burger (not covered by insurance): $200.00 dollars.
• Anesthesiologist pre-payment for follicle-extraction surgery (not covered by insurance): $400.00 dollars.

Total: $600.00 dollars.

Thank you for all your support. Thank you for prayers. Thank you for being good friends.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

Are no good news, bad news?

Things did not go exactly as expected today. We got up early and we drove to Austin for laboratory tests on Nancy's blood. Traffic was really bad near Austin. We witnessed a car wreck very close to us. But we made it on time to the laboratory in spite of that.

When Pablo was with the laboratory nurse providing patient's (Nancy's) data, we had a little problem. We could not find Nancy's drivers license and we realized that we have lost it. But Nancy remembered that last Saturday, when we went to a different laboratory, they asked her for her identification. But Nancy does not recall if they returned to her her drivers license. Pablo called the laboratory at the hospital and confirmed that they actually had Nancy's drivers license. It was a great relief.

When we went to pick up Nancy's drivers license we noticed that they had just put up christmas decorations in the Saint Davis Hospital, and we took a picture. Nancy looks very pretty. 

Then, we went to the clinic. After waiting, we went to examination room #6, and Dr. Burger performed an ultrasound. What we found was not what we expected. We wanted to have size 20mm follicles, but since Saturday, the follicles grew from 17.5 to 19.5mm. And the doctor wants to wait one more day and let the follicles grew a little more. So Dr. Burger wants to see us tomorrow to confirm the growth of the follicles and possibly schedule the extraction surgery for Thursday.

So, this is not exactly good news. But it does not mean anything bad either. It is just a matter of waiting 24hrs. The problem is that we were already considering the possibility of having the surgery on Wednesday. It was perfect that day. Especially because Pablo has to give a final exam to his students in computer science class, and also take a final theology exam in seminary, all on Thursday. 

This was one of those days when we needed God the most. We were really anxious and worried about everything. But God was with us. Pablo spoke with his TA and she can give the final exam to the computer science students. Furthermore, Pablo spoke with Dr. Kimlyn J. Bender, his professor of theology and a Karl Barth scholar, and he was very gracious and understanding and is going to let Pablo take the final test one day early. So, in a matter of hours, everything was arranged so that we can be together in our surgery. Now it is just a matter of studying hard and dedicate ourselves. But our desire for a child is so great that we will do whatever it is in our hands to do. The rest we leave to God, who has been faithful to us.

In this visit we spent on:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Burger (not covered by insurance): $200.00 dollars.

Total: $200.00 dollars.

Thank you for all your support. Thank you for prayers. Thank you for being good friends to us.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

We have a 17.5!

Saturday, November 6, 2014.

We had an unusual appointment on Saturday at the Texas Fertility Center (TFC) in Austin, Texas. It was unusual because, first, it was on a Saturday; second, it wasn't super early in the morning; third, the site of the blood test was in a hospital rather than a laboratory; fourth, everyone at the TFC was wearing regular clothes, they all looked like regular people. Our doctor was wearing jeans and the nurse was in sweat pants. 

Pablo was a little worried about this appointment. He was nervous and did not speak much on the way to Austin. But Nancy found a way to make him feel less nervous. When we were inside of examination room, Pablo noticed that they changed the socks of the examination table. It was good news already. 

The doctor came in for the sonogram and measured Nancy's follicles. Dr. Propst found some big follicles, the biggest was 17.5, and others were 15, 14, 13, 12, and 11. Optimally we want them to be size 20 at the time of extraction. So, at this point, all is good news. This is a normal progress, apparently, and we are coming back on Monday. They said that if everything was well on Monday, we could even have an extraction on Wednesday. 

We are very excited.

At the end, Pablo and Nancy "enjoyed" some salad and water as a reward for Nancy. She is doing great, even when they bruise her arm with so many needles. 

In this visit we spent on:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Propst (not covered by insurance, and charged as "outside business hours"): $240.00 dollars.

Total: $240.00 dollars.

Thank you for all your support. Thank you for prayers. Thank you for loving us.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

Growing follicles

It was still dark outside when we drove to Austin. Pablo woke a little late (4:40am) because he forgot to set the alarm. But we managed to get to the laboratory in time for the blood test. Fortunately, there was not much traffic, even though Google Maps sent us through a different route. You know, we are introverts, and unexpected things like this give us a great deal of stress. But we were able to arrive just at the perfect time.

After the laboratory tests, we went to our appointment with Dr. Burger at 8am. After waiting for a little while, we were put in examination room #3. It was so good to see her again, we have developed a bond of trust only with her. She explains things very clearly and we feel like we can ask her all questions we may have. She is a great doctor. She performed a sonogram and showed us how Nancy's follicles have grown since our last appointment. Those follicles are possible candidates for in-vitro fertilization. So we received good news, the follicles are growing as expected! Good job Nancy!

After meeting with Dr. Burger we met with Tamara, the coordinator of the IVF research study. She is very funny and patient with us. She explained us what is next: we have to continue with the increased FSH dosage and come back on Saturday. If on Saturday everything looks good, then they would probably schedule the extraction of follicles for fertilization next Wednesday. So, by Saturday, what we want are bigger follicles.

In this visit we spent on:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Burger (not covered by insurance): $200.00 dollars.

Total: $200.00 dollars.

Thank you for all your support. Thank you for prayers this morning. We feel God with us at every single moment; we feel cared for and loved. It is an amazing feeling.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy

FSH dosage increased-> everything is happening so fast!

Hello,

Today we went to Austin to our followup appointment for our IVF cycle. The appointment was at 11:45am, but Pablo had class with Dr. Angela Reed at 9:30am, so we both went to Truett Seminary. The class addresses spiritual guidance and direction, and Pablo was presenting this morning on the topics of Ethics and Referral and he led the class in a spiritual discipline. Dr. Reed was very understanding and kind by allowing Pablo to step out at 10am after his presentation this morning. She is awesome.

Right after Pablo's presentation we drove to Austin. The traffic was not to bad. We made it right on time; we arrived at 11:30am. We were called into examination room #9; we wanted to take a picture in the room, but simply put, the room does not put you in a mood for taking pictures. So we took a picture of the bed where they do the sonogram, and Pablo tried to make it look better with Instagram and its thousand filters and effects, but there is no way you can make that place look pretty, appealing, or welcoming. That bed is just a reminder that something wrong may or may not have happened, and we are about to receive the news.

After a few minutes, Dr. Lisa J. Hansard, stepped into the room. She was dressed like a nurse, and started to examine Nancy and speak up numbers to another nurse taking notes. We thought "who is this nurse? She is not Dr. Burger! who is this stranger". Pablo asked, "Excuse me, who are you?", and she replied, "I am Doctor Lisa Hansard", and she made a big emphasis in the "Doctor" part. And Pablo wanted to reply, well in that case, I am "Doctor Pablo Rivas", with a big emphasis in the "Doctor" part; but he did not say a word. This doctor did not explain things to us; thus, we understood that everything was fine because: a) there was no change the planned dosage (which was planned to increase twice as much), and b) we still have an appointment for next Wednesday at 8am.

Right after there, we went to the laboratory to get some blood work for Nancy. The doctors are monitoring closely the levels of estradiol. "Growing and maturing follicles will produce estradiol in your body, which is measurable in the blood stream. So, a small number or smaller follicles will produce less estradiol. A large number of follicles or larger follicles will produce more estradiol. Because each woman is different, there is no magic number that should be attained for estradiol results. Ultimately, we don’t want to see estradiol results too low or too high. Levels that are too low may indicate that you are not responding to the medication and require a higher dose. Levels that are too high may indicate an increased risk for multiples, due to a high number of follicles, or an increased risk of the development of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)." So, once again, they put a needle in Nancy's arm to get more blood samples.

On the way back to Waco, around 3pm, we visited our friend Johanna Rojas in Temple, Texas. You may know her for her famous fundraising youtube video (click here to watch it) where she is the voice speaking Spanish.

Today was a good cold day in Texas. And in the spirit of thanksgiving, we want to say THANK YOU to those who have supported us financially in the last few days:

Josue Calero $500
Nick Wright $510
Johanna Rojas $75

Guys, you have no idea how much your gift is helping us; you all are awesome. If you want to support us too, click here.

The expenses in this visit were:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Hansard (not covered by insurance): $200.00 dollars.
• Saint Davis Surgical Center deposit for extraction and embryo transfer (not covered by insurance): $2,250.00 dollars.

Total: $2,450.00

Thank you! Please share our story!

Peace,

Nancy and Pablo

Follicle-stimulating hormone

Great news today. The terrible traffic today helped make any news feel like good news. But this were actually good news.

We woke up at 4:00 am, it was still dark and cold outside. It was too early in the morning for us. We picked up Chuy Ayala, a friend, since he needed transportation, and it was on our way to Austin, TX. We had to be at the laboratory, near downtown Austin, by 7:00 am. We left Waco, TX, around 5:15 am and arrived to the laboratory by 7:08 am. We thought we would be the only ones there, but there were already 8 other people. The idea of coming early was because Dr. Natalie Burger wanted to see us at 11:30 am, and leave early for thanksgiving break. We were a little nervous about that.

The nurse at the laboratory was an expert; she found the vein quickly and extracted three blood samples (tubes) really fast. They ordered the tests to be done as soon as possible.

Between the laboratory and the appointment, we were killing time in Austin, trying to find a McDonalds so that we could get free WiFi and find a route to a "GoodWill" store (they sell second hand items) and look around. It came the time of our appointment, and we went to the fertility clinic.

The nurse introduced herself to us (for the third time) and then she checked Nancy's vitals and weight. And even when Pablo is convinced that Nancy looks very sexy, the weight scale somehow makes Nancy think that she looks big and fat. But she is not. We waited a few minutes; and Dr. Burger came into the room announcing that Nancy's vitals were perfect, and that she would do two things: 1) measure the size of the follicles, which contain the oocytes (eggs); and 2) measure the size of Nancy's uterus.

Dr. Burger performed a sonogram to measure the follicles; she found at least 12 follicles of good sized. Good job Nancy! The Lupron that Nancy has been injecting in her belly has been working, otherwise, those follicles would have been released and that would be very bad.

Then Dr. Burger took a catheter and measured Nancy's uterus, in the old fashioned way. Nancy held on and suffered through it, and the results were good. The size was normal and they will use those measurements during the oocyte extraction process.

Overall, great news. Dr. Burger, shown in picture, approved the next step, which is injecting (another) medication in Nancy's belly. The injection is a follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) that essentially will help the follicles to mature and produce great oocytes, in other words, it will induce ovulation; however, combined with Lupron, those oocytes are not released. They first will grow healthy, and have to remain there for a while, and later, they will be extracted for fertilization purposes.

Nancy will be injecting herself twice a day. One with Lupron (morning) and the other with the FSH (evening). This new hormone may cause:

• Hives.
• Bloating.
• Pain, swelling or irritation at the injection site.
• Rash at the injection site or on your body.
• Stomach or pelvic pain.
• Coughing.
• Headache.
• Mild nausea.
• Sneezing.
• Sore throat.
• Stuffy or runny nose.

Please pray for Nancy so that she does not experience any of this side effects. It is enough having to inject yourself twice a day in your belly. Seriously, it is not pleasant. But at least they gave her a very nice little thermal bag for the medicine, which needs to be refrigerated; and they also gave her a journal, see picture.

In this visit:

• Sonogram + 15 min consultation with Dr. Burger (not covered by insurance): $279.00 dollars.
• Deposit to Texas Fertility Center (TFC) for oocyte retrieval (not covered by insurance): $1,339.00 dollars.
• Deposit to TFC for embryo transfer (not covered by insurance): $536.00
• Deposit to Austin IVF for insemination (after a discount of $1,075.00): $175.00

Total: $2,329.00

Thank you all for your support in prayer and financially. We really need your help! If you would like to support us click here to donate. Thank you, you are amazing.

Peace,

Pablo and Nancy.

P.S. Check our new videos:
Click here for video in Spanish.
Click here for video in English.

Who is the new girl?... This is how we met

It was a cold Wednesday in January of 2001.

Nancy was visiting her brother Hector who had recently moved there. He invited her to come and stay with them during that cold winter, and visit the family. Nancy suffered from the cold, she is not used to that kind of weather.

They all went to church to the prayer service. Those days Pablo was in the worship team playing electric guitar and when Nancy came in, he was perplex: "who is the new girl?" - he asked.

After the service he came to talk to Nancy and ask her about her age (bad tactic!). Still they started a friendship that later on, four years after, would end up in a marriage.

That's the short story of how we met. And 13 years after we met, now we are trying to have a baby, if you want to support us, please click here.

Peace,

Nancy and Pablo

Finished course with birth-control pills

Last pill! (for now)...

We are very happy because the treatment with birth-control pills is finished. Today we took our last pill. Of course this is not over yet, there are still other things going on. We are still on Lupron injections for another two weeks and days. But what we wanted is to take a moment and celebrate our small victories.

Also, in case you are wondering, they asked us to take birth-control pills for two main reasons. First of all, taking birth control pills prior to an IVF stimulation cycle may help the ovaries to respond better to the IVF medication. Secondly, taking birth control pills allows flexibility in coordinating your cycle, so that procedures can be planned around your work schedule, trips, and when all the necessary professionals are available. Especially now with Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Please keep supporting us by giving, or by praying for us.

Peace,

Nancy and Pablo

You just have to relax... You just have to stop 'trying'...

Here is some humor about things you should and should not say to couples struggling with infertility.

What you may not want to say to your infertile friends:

• "You just have to relax..." 
• "You just have to stop 'trying'..."

Relaxation is a great thing and a commendable practice that all human beings should practice. If you are a Christian, you should know that relaxation is biblical.

Anyway, here is the logic behind the 'relaxation' reasoning: some problems in the body are a consequence of mental illness, such as depression and such. Therefore, if you treat the mind, the body will heal automatically. Remember the refrain "a sound mind in a sound body". But here is the problem... infertility is a diagnosable medical problem that must be treated by a doctor. It is not caused by stress. Please try not to ask people to relax in order to become pregnant.

Think about this: your car does not start, even though you have the key in, and you are following correctly the ignition procedure. Yet your car does not start. Just try to tell your car, "dear car, you have to stop trying", "you just have to relax". You do that and let me know if the car starts. Usually, you will try several times until you are tired of trying, and only then you will call someone for help; someone who know how to fix the car and that can really help you. I know, this is horrible example, but it is a good analogy.

Now, before you start arguing against this, let us acknowledge that there are stories, and it is likely that you know, about couples that, for a few months, tried to get pregnant, and then they just relaxed and became pregnant. Yes, we acknowledge those cases, and cherish those moments, when a child is born; it must be an awesome experience. However, people who relaxed and became pregnant were likely not infertile to begin with. So, if you know those stories, you need to know that they were likely not infertile; they probably had other issues, but not infertility. We say this with all respect, again, admiring and cherishing the moment when those who relaxed became pregnant.

This is what you could say to your infertile friends:

• "Infertility must be stressful. Would you like to go watch a movie one of these days? It may not alleviate the stress, but we can have a few minutes of distraction." 
• "You are my friends. No matter what happens, I love the two of you." 
• "I have no idea how you feel. Please let me know if there is any way I can support you."

Remember, we know you are our friend, and we know that you love us. So whatever you say, even when it hurts us, we know that you do it with the best intention. But remember the three things in the list above, and if this is how you feel inside, say it. We only want to know that, because our infertility, we are not failing you or all society for that matter. We want to know that you still consider us friends even if we never have children.

One last thing: try not to give us any advise. In all honesty, infertile couples, like us, have tried all sorts of things, things beyond imagination: from relaxation, cold/hot showers, to jumping up and down giving seven turns around and standing head-down. We love you, but try not to give advise, unless we ask you for it.

Simply give us a sincere hug; and we will know that you really care.

-OR- you could also donate to them if they are raising funds for an IVF cycle, just like us.

Peace,
Nancy and Pablo

Nancy is on temporary menopause

At 5am of this Sunday, we initiated a treatment with Lupron. This medication practically induces menopause on women. This is essentially used to prevent ovulation by preventing the production of a hormone that releases the eggs. This seems fine except these are injections! We are not sure there is a person in the planet that likes injections, they are not fun. Anyway, we will be waking up early in the morning, at 5am, in order to have this medication injected. If you are curious, these are the side effects:

Mild burning/pain/bruising at the injection site, hot flashes (flushing), increased sweating, night sweats, tiredness, headache, upset stomach, breast changes, acne, joint/muscle aches, trouble sleeping, reduced sexual interest, vaginal discomfort/dryness, vaginal bleeding, swelling of the ankles/feet, increased urination at night, or dizziness.

So, pray for us. Pray for Nancy because we do not want her to experience any of those side effects. And pray for Pablo because he needs to take good care of Nancy during this difficult time. Thank you for your prayers!

Also, many thanks to those who have supported us financially this past week:

Dr. Gloer with $50
Ulises Flores with $7

If you want to support us too, click here.  Thank you!

Nancy and Pablo

Excited about taking medications

There is something about taking fertility drugs that feels right. First, there is the sense that we are actually doing something, our part, in the process of conception. It ultimately does not depend on us, but it starts with our willingness to take the risks associated with medication. Second, we know that this kind of medication is really not something that we will take forever. This type of medication is for a certain period of time, a few weeks, not longer than a month. We have been there before, taking pills for months, years, seriously! It is not pleasant. But knowing that this will be something short term is also something to consider as positive.

Please pray for us as we start with all the treatment. We appreciate your support so far.

Doctor visit, including ultrasound: $200 dollars.
Medication: $204.41 dollars (with insurance, with cupons, and with discount).
Total: $404.41 dollars.

Peace,

Nancy and Pablo

Fundraising started during the weekend

We are not so sure that the fundraising was a good idea. It's been a few days and I am the only one who has donated so far. And possibly my pastor, but I can't be sure because the donation was sent anonymously.
We have a few friends who are helping us with the whole fundraising thing: Caroline, Sarah, and Seth (see picture). Our friend Caroline decided to be one to help us kick off the campaign while Sarah, and Seth will be helping us more during the longer process. They are in a very small group of people we call our best friends and we are glad that we are not alone in all this.
They always have our backs, even if sometimes we want to be alone. You know that is a strange thing, sometimes we push our friends away to be alone. Somehow the thought of us being there for each other is all we need and all we want. I don't know why; I don't understand why. Maybe it is the introvert personality in both of us. Maybe it is because we don't want to drag other people down with all our suffering. Or maybe we want to love each other more intimately during our difficult times, I don't know. But whatever the reason is, we are thankful for having friends like them. They are a blessing from God. They don't care if we are weird, and they respect and support us when we disconnect from them to be alone for the two of us.
That's why I say we are not so sure about the fundraising thing. Not because there seems to be little or no progress. But because the mere thought of being out in the open sharing our journey, our suffering, and also our deliverance from it, feels as if we may drag other people down with us. But whoever you are, dear reader, be sure that we will be honest with you in our journey, no matter how things turn out to be, pretty or ugly, because God has been with us, is with us, and will be with us no matter what.

Peace,
Nancy and Pablo

Exhaustive tests: our first appointment

September 10, 2014.

We met with Dr. Natalie Burger, for the first time. Our friend Sarah Miller recommended her. She was very kind. She collected all of our medical records and we told her our story. She spoke with us about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and she told us that we were going to have some tests, precisely that day! Dr. Burger, at that moment, performed an ultrasound on Nancy that revealed that there was a fluid outside the fallopian tubes, which she said was normal. This diagnosis contradicted Dr. Redman's diagnosis; he said that the liquid was inside of the fallopian tubes, and that the liquid was proof that the fallopian tubes were blocked. We were shocked by this and also felt very hopeful about our situation. Then we drove to the laboratories for the rest of the tests.

The tests included blood and sperm samples. They wanted to test and see if Nancy was pregnant and also confirm that neither of us had STDs or any other problems with our health. Nancy was very brave that day, they took four little tubes full of blood out of her, and just two from Pablo. But while Nancy handled it very well, Pablo passed out for a minute or two. Of course Nancy made fun of Pablo, because it was really funny.

Furthermore, the person who pinched Nancy with the needle was a practicing student (see picture), and pinched her about three times and they had to call the actual nurse to do it. Nancy was so brave.

Dr. Burger also ordered a test called hysterosalpingogram (HSG), which should verify that Nancy's uterus is good shape for the IVF procedure. The HSG was scheduled for October 6 because it had to be a very specific day on Nancy's fertility cycle.

After a few days, we had our test results: Nancy and Pablo have no STDs nor hepatitis nor nothing. Perfect healthy people. Sperm is fine. Results of the HSG revealed that Nancy's fallopian tubes were open, yet not open enough for natural pregnancy, there is still the risk of another ectopic pregnancy; but the uterus is in great shape for IVF.

We were told we were ready and qualified for IVF! We were ready for our next appointment. We were so excited. Not so much about the cost though:

Dr. Burger's visit and Nancy's pelvic sonogram (with insurance): $277.96 dollars.
Nancy's hysterosalpingogram (with insurance and discount): $64.34 dollars.
Multiple blood tests for Nancy and Pablo (with insurance): $23.17 and $7.19 dollars.
Pablo's sperm test (not covered by insurance): $240.00 dollars.
Total: $612.66 dollars.

We never imagined that building our own family would be this difficult. But we are grateful for friends that love us and support us. If you want to help and be part of this journey, please click here. Thank you.

Peace,
Nancy and Pablo