How did we get here?
Well, let's recap the last several years...
March 2014: Married and ready to see what the future holds (how naive we were)! We were both 28.
May 2014: Honeymooning in beautiful Santorini, Greece. Reid started having some stomach aches while we were there. I was a very supportive new wife, and told him to suck it because it was our honeymoon and we needed to go explore. I still feel guilty for this... had I known the extremity. Now I know, if he's complaining then it really hurts.
June 2014: We go to see a Gastroenterologist to discuss problems we had both been having. We mention that Reid has also had elevated liver enzymes for years, but doctor's have never figured out what's going on. A week later, he has a diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, and a likely diagnosis of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (much harder to diagnose). We learn about both diseases... are a little scared, but honestly not sure what to think. We're told liver transplant is a good possibility with PSC, but likely 10-15 years down the road, and not a certainty.
August 2014: We start the baby-making dance.
August 2014 - April 2015: Trying, trying, trying. And getting more frustrated each month. Gynecologist says he won't refer us to a fertility doctor until we've been trying a year.
During this time, we're also doing lots of tests on Reid and learning to control his symptoms.
April 17, 2015: Positive pregnancy test! Yay, here we go!
April 29, 2015: I go to the emergency room in excruciating pain. We learn that our pregnancy is ectopic and my fallopian tube has ruptured. I'm rushed into emergency surgery to remove the fallopian tube, which also ends the pregnancy.
April 2015 - June 2016: Dude, these were some dark times. We had so many friends getting pregnant, and I was constantly reminded of our loss. We were feeling very isolated.
June 2016: We finally see a fertility doctor. They run tests on both of us, and learn that my AMH is 0.5... which basically means I have the egg count of a 45 year old. Fun. Doctor's recommendation is that we jump straight to IVF. We're sad, but glad to have a plan to move forward.
July 21, 2016: Pregnant, again. The day before we're to start IVF. Excited, but also nervous.
September 7, 2016: Learned that the baby's heart had stopped beating at 9 1/2 weeks. Later found out that the baby was a triploidy (3 sets of all chromosomes) after having a D&C.
January 2, 2017: Pregnant for a 3rd time.
January 17, 2017: After weeks of blood tests and ultrasounds, we learned the baby was no longer viable. We elected to do another D&C so we could send the tissue off for testing. We later learned that the baby was Trisomy 11 (meaning it had a 3rd set of the 11th chromosome).
January 2017: I start blogging, putting our business out there for the world to read.
March 4, 2017: Reid was admitted into the hospital after having some excruciating abdomen pain. Doctor's learned he had cholangitis, which is a very serious bacterial infection in the GI tract. He was septic, and the infection had spread to his bloodstream.
March 9, 2017: Reid is released from the hospital, with a mid-line in his arm, administering antibiotics for 2 weeks.
April 12, 2017: Reid is admitted to the hospital again. Cholangitis, again.
April 13, 2017: Reid's doctor performs a Spyglass procedure to see how his liver/bile ducts are doing. Based on procedure, doctor recommends starting the transplant process, and mentions very high likelihood of developing cancer.
June 8, 2017: Reid is added to the Houston Liver Transplant List
August 2017: Reid is added to the Indianapolis Liver Transplant List
September 2017: IVF Round 1. 4 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilized, 2 made it to day 6 biopsy and freeze. Both embryos came back abnormal (via PGS testing).
November - December 2017: IVF Round 2. 7 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized, 2 made it to day 6 biopsy and freeze. Both embryos came back abnormal (via PGS testing).
May - June 2018: IVF Round 3. 6 eggs retrieved, 5 fertilized, 2 transferred via a fresh embryo transfer and 2 frozen on day 6.
June 26, 2018: We learned that our first embryo transfer ended in a chemical pregnancy (very early miscarriage)
August 1, 2018: We transfer one of our frozen embryos from IVF round 3.
August 15, 2018: We learn that our frozen embryo transfer was not successful.
August 2018: Reid is added to the Cleveland Clinic transplant list, specifically for the living donor program.
September 6, 2018: We transferred 2 frozen embryos (one from the first round, originally deemed "abnormal", but we learned it was mosaic - also had normal cells - so we decided to take a chance on her)
September 13, 2018: The best call ever comes from our doctor. He says, "expect miracles, man. You're pregnant!"
September 26-28, 2018: Our first potential living donor goes to Cleveland for testing to see if he's a match.
October 2, 2018: We hear TWO beautiful heartbeats. It's official - we're having twins!
January 14, 2019: Reid received a direct donor liver transplant!
April 11, 2019: Oliver Clayton and Kaylee June were born via c-section at 33 weeks 5 days gestation. They spend 19 days in the NICU to grow and learn to eat.
April 30, 2019: We bust out of the NICU and start our life at home as a family of four!
Well, let's recap the last several years...
March 2014: Married and ready to see what the future holds (how naive we were)! We were both 28.
May 2014: Honeymooning in beautiful Santorini, Greece. Reid started having some stomach aches while we were there. I was a very supportive new wife, and told him to suck it because it was our honeymoon and we needed to go explore. I still feel guilty for this... had I known the extremity. Now I know, if he's complaining then it really hurts.
June 2014: We go to see a Gastroenterologist to discuss problems we had both been having. We mention that Reid has also had elevated liver enzymes for years, but doctor's have never figured out what's going on. A week later, he has a diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, and a likely diagnosis of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (much harder to diagnose). We learn about both diseases... are a little scared, but honestly not sure what to think. We're told liver transplant is a good possibility with PSC, but likely 10-15 years down the road, and not a certainty.
August 2014: We start the baby-making dance.
August 2014 - April 2015: Trying, trying, trying. And getting more frustrated each month. Gynecologist says he won't refer us to a fertility doctor until we've been trying a year.
During this time, we're also doing lots of tests on Reid and learning to control his symptoms.
April 17, 2015: Positive pregnancy test! Yay, here we go!
April 29, 2015: I go to the emergency room in excruciating pain. We learn that our pregnancy is ectopic and my fallopian tube has ruptured. I'm rushed into emergency surgery to remove the fallopian tube, which also ends the pregnancy.
April 2015 - June 2016: Dude, these were some dark times. We had so many friends getting pregnant, and I was constantly reminded of our loss. We were feeling very isolated.
June 2016: We finally see a fertility doctor. They run tests on both of us, and learn that my AMH is 0.5... which basically means I have the egg count of a 45 year old. Fun. Doctor's recommendation is that we jump straight to IVF. We're sad, but glad to have a plan to move forward.
July 21, 2016: Pregnant, again. The day before we're to start IVF. Excited, but also nervous.
September 7, 2016: Learned that the baby's heart had stopped beating at 9 1/2 weeks. Later found out that the baby was a triploidy (3 sets of all chromosomes) after having a D&C.
January 2, 2017: Pregnant for a 3rd time.
January 17, 2017: After weeks of blood tests and ultrasounds, we learned the baby was no longer viable. We elected to do another D&C so we could send the tissue off for testing. We later learned that the baby was Trisomy 11 (meaning it had a 3rd set of the 11th chromosome).
January 2017: I start blogging, putting our business out there for the world to read.
March 4, 2017: Reid was admitted into the hospital after having some excruciating abdomen pain. Doctor's learned he had cholangitis, which is a very serious bacterial infection in the GI tract. He was septic, and the infection had spread to his bloodstream.
March 9, 2017: Reid is released from the hospital, with a mid-line in his arm, administering antibiotics for 2 weeks.
April 12, 2017: Reid is admitted to the hospital again. Cholangitis, again.
April 13, 2017: Reid's doctor performs a Spyglass procedure to see how his liver/bile ducts are doing. Based on procedure, doctor recommends starting the transplant process, and mentions very high likelihood of developing cancer.
June 8, 2017: Reid is added to the Houston Liver Transplant List
August 2017: Reid is added to the Indianapolis Liver Transplant List
September 2017: IVF Round 1. 4 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilized, 2 made it to day 6 biopsy and freeze. Both embryos came back abnormal (via PGS testing).
November - December 2017: IVF Round 2. 7 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized, 2 made it to day 6 biopsy and freeze. Both embryos came back abnormal (via PGS testing).
May - June 2018: IVF Round 3. 6 eggs retrieved, 5 fertilized, 2 transferred via a fresh embryo transfer and 2 frozen on day 6.
June 26, 2018: We learned that our first embryo transfer ended in a chemical pregnancy (very early miscarriage)
August 1, 2018: We transfer one of our frozen embryos from IVF round 3.
August 15, 2018: We learn that our frozen embryo transfer was not successful.
August 2018: Reid is added to the Cleveland Clinic transplant list, specifically for the living donor program.
September 6, 2018: We transferred 2 frozen embryos (one from the first round, originally deemed "abnormal", but we learned it was mosaic - also had normal cells - so we decided to take a chance on her)
September 13, 2018: The best call ever comes from our doctor. He says, "expect miracles, man. You're pregnant!"
September 26-28, 2018: Our first potential living donor goes to Cleveland for testing to see if he's a match.
October 2, 2018: We hear TWO beautiful heartbeats. It's official - we're having twins!
January 14, 2019: Reid received a direct donor liver transplant!
April 11, 2019: Oliver Clayton and Kaylee June were born via c-section at 33 weeks 5 days gestation. They spend 19 days in the NICU to grow and learn to eat.
April 30, 2019: We bust out of the NICU and start our life at home as a family of four!
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