This was an eventful week! 

I had my first lab check on Monday and that went well. My levels were above threshold, so I didn’t need any transfusions that day. I returned on Wednesday to have labs rechecked and I received 2 platelet transfusions to prepare for my egg retrieval procedure the following day. My platelets went from 20k to 120k after the transfusions! I was at a safe level for my procedure. 

Fertility was a big part of this week and I had an ultrasound Monday morning to check the follicle sizes of my ovaries and determine that I was ready for the trigger shot. I received the trigger shot Tuesday evening that caused my body to go into an LH surge and prepare my follicles for the egg retrieval. Thursday morning, Greg and I went in for the egg retrieval procedure and everything went as expected. 

I was in a lot of pain for the first 36 hours after the procedure and struggled to manage the pain. 

When I went in on Friday morning to Fred Hutch, they were able to get me a blood transfusion, and that helped my other symptoms a lot. During the egg retrieval they were able to get 17 mature eggs and of those 17 eggs, 14 fertilized. We will get a final count of viable embryos in about a week. The fertility side of things is now complete and I move into the scary step of preparing for my bone marrow transplant. 

My first day with the transplant team is 2/7 and I’m feeling pretty anxious about things moving fast but I’m also ready to start feeling better. 

Thank you for those who are following my journey and supporting me from the sidelines. The encouragement and love I receive means everything to me as I continue on this roller coaster that is aplastic anemia.