a bump in the road.

So, here I am, sitting in the hotel in Arizona...waiting. I'm waiting for it to be time to check out and head over to my next appointment. The first appointment lead to an unexpected bump in the road. Hopefully, there is an easy fix and this little bump doesn't become a mountain we can't get over.

I finally was able to put faces to all the names I've been emailing and talking to on the phone over the course of the past few months. The office staff is amazing and Dr. Nemiro was pretty awesome too. My hysterosalpingogram however, not so amazing. I'm pretty sure he said, "you'll just feel a little cramp, maybe, just like a small contraction." Yup, I'm pretty sure that it felt kind of like a lot more than just a small contraction. First, they stick a metal rod called a "sound" through your cervix to measure the depth of the uterus. Apparently, I have a very small uterus for having had 2 children. It was so small, that he kept trying to see if my uterus was tilted and he just wasn't getting an accurate measurement. That caused some decent cramping, but nothing terrible. After measuring the uterus, they insert a small catheter through the cervix and use a vaginal ultrasound probe, as they fill the uterus with sterile water. That felt great absolutely horrible. I was so surprised by how much it was cramping, definitely not what I was anticipating. While filling the uterus, they found what appeared to be a polyp. They checked to make sure it wasn't just normal, fluffy, uterine tissue hanging down, but rubbing the catheter back and forth across it, repeatedly, trying to knock it off. That also felt amazing (insert sarcasm font). It wouldn't fall off. So, it is in fact a polyp. Or, our bump in the road.

In situations like ours, a polyp is not ideal. Polyps are harmless, but during pregnancy, the increased blood flow to the uterus puts the polyp at risk for bleeding. If it bleeds, it will irritate the uterus and can cause miscarraige or preterm labor. So, the polyp needs to come out. With most insurances, this wouldn't be a big deal. Dr. Nemiro would have simply scheduled for me to have it at the hospital down the street and we'd be on our way. Thanks to military insurance, it's much more difficult.

Basically, we have 3 options. Option number 1: Ali & Brian pay for the procedure, out of pocket. The estimated cost of this procedure $5-$6,000. Option number 2: I switch my insurance to Standard, find a PCP in Phoenix, make an appointment with him. Get a referal to Dr. Nemiro who will then schedule the procedure and Ali & Brian would simply have to pay copays. Option number 3: I see my PCP at the Naval Hospital and hope and pray that he will write a referal for me to go to Balboa to get the procedure done there.

I'm sure that 3 options sounds like it isn't really a bump in the road. However, anyone whose ever dealt with our insurance knows how difficult it can be to work with them, and this all has to be done in the next 2 weeks in order to keep our timeline. We are hoping that since polyps could be precancerous, my PCP will agree to sending me to Balboa, and Balboa will be willing to fit us in within the next 2 weeks. We are hopeful that this will work because "a 31 year-old doesn't typically have polyps." This should make the insurance want to cover the procedure because it would be in their best interest to take out something that could be precancerous. We are going to need a lot millions of prayers for this to happen. If it doesn't, then we need help to make up for this additional, unexpected cost.

Ok...now the second test is done and we are about to head home. Both tests were similar and neither felt very good. All the research I did before hand did not help. I was not expecting both tests to involve putting a catheter through my cervix and injecting something into my uterus. This time, they injected contrast so the could X-ray my Fallopian tubes. Thankfully, my tubes look perfect and the exam was fast.

Prayers appreciated that we are able o get the surgery approved to be done at Balboa so we can proceed with the surrogacy as planned!