IVF and ICSI

Depending on how you get there, the view can look remarkably different

I love to think in analogies. Sometimes I’ll apologies for it before I give one. I’ve never been sure if my tendency to think in analogies was a sign of an intellectual deficit or asset.

I’ve done hiking in Whistler, Lake Louise, the Alps around Mount Blanc, Pyrenees, and the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. I’ve always found it amazing how I felt about the view at the destination depended on how I got there. For example, in Whistler I can take a gondola up to the top or I can hike up to the top. I’ve done both, but the gondola more frequently since I skied there as well.

Each time I hiked up I always saw something I didn’t when I rode up the gondola. But it was the same view. Somehow there was more satisfaction out of hiking up then there was riding the gondola up. Another one of my favourite hikes is Fairview in Lake Louise. This is the first major hike my wife and I did together. It is about 8 hours round trip and has an elevation gain of about 5,000 feet. It was tough. Near the end, the last mile so to speak, is the toughest. It is the steepest part. And at that stage the legs are like rubber and the whole body is exhausted.

I liken our IVF journey to this hiking on two points:
1) It is going to be tough and at the last stage I’m sure our entire body will feel like rubber.
2) When we get there I think the view will some how be different and more enjoyable.

I once said to my wife that I don’t think I would trade this infertility in for being fertile. I prefaced that with, as long as we can get a BFP through the IVF. She was a little shocked. Probably wondering why I would choose this again.

And I guess the reason is this:

If we got pregnant easily I think we would have been most concerned about buying the right crib, the right stroller, the right clothes, having the baby in the right month, and just generally the wrong things.

posted by Paul and Lisa @ 5:45 AM