What's Wrong with Me

I have a feeling I am going to jump around a lot in this blog but oh well. So in the background story I talked a little about my Ectopic back on 7/1/12 but didn't really explain what was wrong with me and I think that was because there are so many different reasons infertility exists. For me, it is important to define mine. Dr. Burgoine (who I am sure you will hear a lot about) is one of my heroes.

Dr. Gary Burgoine

Before the surgery when Jay & I told him that no matter what, being parents is very important to us none of us knew what we were in for. When you have to deal with an Ectopic pregnancy surgically, many times for safety and ease the tube is removed.

Ectopic Pregnancy

Fallopian Tube Removal

Once the tube is removed you lose the ability to conceive on that side therefore diminishing your chances to 50%. I consider myself to be very lucky because Dr. Burgoine was able to save my left tube by making a small incision and removing the pregnancy.

When I woke up from my surgery I really expected to hear that he had removed the tube and that I should keep trying with my right side. Instead I woke up to great yet horrifying news. Dr. Burgoine was able to save the tube using the procedure pictured above however there was quite a bit more wrong with me than anyone knew. In order to explain lets look at a normal uterus.

As you can see the ovaries sit right in line with the opening of the Fallopian tube. This is because the eggs develop from the ovaries and are released into the tube at which point they become fertilized and then travel down to the uterus and the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining. As Dr. Burgoine was looking at my reproductive system when he was removing the nonviable pregnancy he noticed a few things and went to work to fix them. He found that my left tube not only housed this ectopic pregnancy but it also had scar tissue build up that had been part of the reason the pregnancy was not able to pass through to begin with. He also noticed the same kind of scarring in the right tube. I have never been diagnosed with Endometriosis so I can't deny or confirm that had anything to do with the scaring. In addition he found the my Ovaries were attached to my Fallopian tubes which is not how they are supposed to be either. Truth be told from what he found it was a miracle I have ever been pregnant in my life.

Blocked Tube Scar Tissue

Closest Representation I could find if the tubes were attached to the ovaries.

So the extra time Dr. Burgoine spent during the surgery was to detach the ovaries from the tubes and clear out the tubes of any blockage. Thus giving me a fighting change to have a normal reproductive system. So as of this surgery on 7/1/12 we should have been good. Unfortunately this was not the case. When a woman is deemed infertile she and her husband undergo a battery of tests which help determine why they are infertile. This helps the physician determine the best medical course of action. These tests and the first of my infertility treatments will be discussed in my next post.

To everyone like me I keep you in my thoughts everyday so that one day we can all smile and celebrate a viable life growing inside us or an approved adoption. No matter how our babies come our lives will be complete when we have them in our arms.