Today is exactly one year from the day I did my first IVF transfer, which resulted in the conception of my daughter. It is such a hard time. I remember how full of hope I was and how sure I was I was going to be successful. I was.. it just did not last !
I got up this morning, did my morning injections of Ganirelix, Neupogen and Lovenox. I went to the imaging center and had the longest, most uncomfortable transvaginal ultrasound of my life ! The new nurse was taking forever. I felt like I had been molested by the time she got through twirling that thing in my hoo-hah ! It can not take anyone THAT long to look at a uterus, two ovaries and a lining !
Anywhoo… My follicles are still small. The largest being 8 cm. It has to triple in size before I will be ready to trigger. The nurse called saying that I have 10 small ones on the right, three measurable, and on the left there are 2-3 small ones and two measurable so far. They have increased the Follistim to 175 units and I am to stay on the same amount of Menopur as well as the other meds. I go back on Friday to get checked again.
Now that my follicles are growing slowly, I am running a slight chance of missing Jared and his grandmother’s funerals. The homegoing services are going to be on next Thursday morning and will be in the Bronx, which is good because I can take the train in to Manhattan and get a car service to the chapel then hop back on the train from Manhattan to Albany, if it is time for me to head there.
My friend just called me saying that the expenses are getting out of hand quickly and wants me to set up a GoFundMe account to help raise funds. I am very conflicted about this because I am always VERY irked when people start these funds to pay for expenses they should be responsible for. Preparing for death and life are things you have to take into account and make sure you have ample insurance for. I more often than not decline invitations to fund these because I sacrifice about $400 per month in life insurance so that should something happen to me, my family will receive close to 1.85 million dollars. They have been instructed to cremate me and not waste my money on an elaborate funeral and just do a memorial service and release my ashes over beautiful blue water then get on a plane and go to the Caribbean right away.
I have to remind myself that everyone is not me ! Everyone does not live life by the same standards I do and low and behold, SHIT HAPPENS ! No one expects a 15 year old child to get sick at school and then come home, rest a few hours and then die at 10pm in an ambulance.
I am thinking long and hard about this, but I will probably end up setting up the page for my friend, reluctantly, albeit. At least, unlike everyone else around me, she is not asking ME to fund a transport of her son’s body from Georgia to New York. Jared LOVED Amtrak, so his mom wants to put his body on the Amtrak from Atlanta to New York to be laid to rest. Evidently, the cost is a lot more than what was anticipated. Why does it cost so much to ship a body by train or by plane? It is not like they are taking up THAT much space, Jeezzz….
Anyway, I am going to pray about this and make a final decision. I feel so conflicted because I do not like doing campaigns for frivolous stuff. I do campaigns like this to raise money for the homeless, to raise funds to open an arts program for underprivileged children, and to fund my film projects… not to pay for funeral expenses. But, hey, never say never because it will be the ONE thing you end up doing !
Here is a video of Jared on stage with Stevie Wonder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZWBTHvr8E&feature=share
After much thought and prayer, I decided to create the Gofundme page ! http://www.gofundme.com/jaredsangels
I know you will make the right decision. Also, I hope stimming continues to go well. Mine also grew slow so I stimmed more a few more days than the average person. It still turned out ok, just took longer to get there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you !
LikeLike
For what it is worth– I always donate to gofundme campaigns that are covering burial expenses. I like to think that whatever little I can give can help ease a burden that is unlike any other. Good luck with the rest of stims- loving the recipes you are posting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the confirmation. I prayed about it and it seems the right thing to do. After speaking with his mom, she could not get a large policy because of his health issues he had had from birth so what she has is minimal and she is on disability, so I am going to launch the page and also make a substantial donation. I can not believe how ridiculous the cost is to transport a body. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just a note that life insurance is not always helpful in covering burial expenses. Most funeral homes and cemeteries require payment at time of service, which is frequently before an insurance payout. The best way to be truly prepared for a death is to pre-arrange and pre-pay at both the funeral home (embalming, casket, service) and the cemetery (grave, vault, market, and open/close fee). Pre-arranging allows consumers to lock in prices at the time they make plans and will almost always reduce costs– and will ALWAYS reduce the burden of planning for survivors. It’s great that you have made such detailed plans and discussed them with your family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true. Thanks for that reminder….
LikeLike