Clotting Disorder...

Wouldn't you know that my doctor's appointment was cancelled for today! Very frustrating. My doctor's office called last week and said that he had some unforeseen events causing him to cancel and that his next available appointment was for February 7th. That is a LONG time from now! When I was talking with the receptionist, I asked her to have a nurse call me because I still didn't know what was "wrong" with me and February 7th was an extremely long time to be in the dark.

I was so thankful when the nurse took time on her Friday afternoon to visit with me about my "disorder". I can't remember what she called it but my Factor VIII level was elevated. Normal was some number up to 158 (sorry, I don't remember the lower number). My number was 168 which is very slightly elevated. She said the reason for my visit was for the Doctor to run more tests to see if there are other "factors" that are playing a role in this. She didn't elaborate what those other factors are but I'm OK with that. Basically, it is a blessing in disguise because had we gone forward with the IVF, there would have been a higher risk for a miscarriage because there isn't a good enough blood flow between me and the embryo/placenta/whatever you call it for it to remain attached to my uterus. If we had not miscarried, there could have been severe damage to the embryo/baby including lower brain development, etc.

I learned that when I am traveling, I need to make sure that I get up and walk around and very often. This includes car rides! I also cannot be on "regular" birth control anymore but the progesterone only birth control. When we do get pregnant, I will most likely need to be on some sort of a blood thinner (she gave the name of the drug but I don't remember).

David and I had a good weekend. We stuck around home on Friday night. I was actually able to stay up until 10 pm that night despite only getting two hours of sleep the night before. Saturday we went to his work Christmas party where he got to go up on stage to get an award for 5 years of service! We also went to my God Daughter's 2nd birthday party which was just a blast! I love that little girl so much. Sunday we went to church and then David took me to Doolittle's for supper to celebrate his 5 years at Swanson's and him getting employee of the month. It was an OK meal. My favorite part was the flight of sparkling wine I got. So yummy! I know what I'll be getting at the next Happy Harry's penny sale!

I'm off to DE this week. I leave tomorrow (Tuesday) but I'm back on Friday morning by 10:30 am. I am really excited to stay in a "real" hotel on Thursday night. I'm staying at the Embassy Suites in Philly so I don't have to get up so early for my 6:10 am flight!

We head to Rugby on Friday night to celebrate Christmas with my family. We're back in time for the kids' Christmas Program at church Sunday night. Tuesday we'll celebrate Christmas by ourselves. I think I'm going to make Suzy's (Tammy's Mom) Peppercorn Ranch Chicken for supper. I can't wait for David to open up his gifts! He actually made a list this year! The on Wednesday morning we will leave for the cities to spend a few days with David's parents. We're also planning to have coffee with Laura (from my Outreach group).