My OHSS Story - Introduction

I have not been blogging lately.  I took some time away, thinking that the space would do me good, help the subject of infertility not consume my life.  I have been quiet for some time on everything that has transpired this summer--all the emotional talks and decisions we made, the steps that we took.  But, now I am gushing, pouring out words like a waterfall in the aftermath of the last two weeks.  What has come out is unprecedented in my blog thus far and for my sanity and yours, I will have to be delivering the story in segments.  I do not do this for readership or for suspense purposes, I just do it for logistics.  Yesterday, when I began the cathartic ritual of pouring my soul out onto paper I had no idea what would come.  What did come was seven pages of accounts, details, and emotions.  And I am only half way through the story.

What will follow will be my Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) story.  I will not add drama or blow things out of proportion, but be prepared, because this is the most dramatic and traumatic series of events in my life to date.  I hope this story will serve as a call to all women to be vigilant about their care.  For all to listen to their bodies and the signs that it gives when it is in distress.  To demand that others listen and to demand answers.  I hope it will help others know themselves and feel comfortable in their decisions as they pertain to fertility treatments.  As one who understands what it is like to want a baby so bad you will do nearly anything, I do not want it to scare others away from the very things that hold promise in your life.  But, I do want it to be known that this sort of thing can and does happen, though it is extremely rare.

In the end, I sit here on the other side of this ordeal writing from my very own bed, thankful beyond belief that I am more or less fine.  As I sit in this bed, I remember that this is where it all began...
This is where we came to do the injections that started it all, it is where I first awoke to throbbing pain, it is where I screamed out in pain days later, where I made desperate calls hoping someone would listen to my pleas.  And now, it is where I come to recover.  It is where I come to transform back into my old self--physically, emotionally.  The fact that I am intact and will soon be able to reclaim my full health seems incredible after everything we've been through.  And with each thought of where I've been and where I am, more tears flow.

I am already to emotional too begin the real story, but it will come.  So, spanning the last two week period, this is my OHSS story. . .