Was I Dreaming?

My memories of my one day work up in Colorado now feel like a dream - one where I was transported to a futuristic society. Where everyone walked around in lab coats and beautiful outfits, was young and pretty, always smiling, in a grand builiding that was something between an ultra-modern 5 star hotel and a Paris train station. Everyone had answers to any question, no matter how hard and how many times reapeated (but I didn't do that ) and ushered me around from room to room with the gentleness and ease of a spring wedding. Everyone eager to attend to the silliest or the most profound thought you may have - even the lady at the in-house cappucino bar. Having no US cash on me, she gave me my first Latte in a week for free, and laughed it off with a wave and a smile. Like scientists from another world, they spoke and performed examinations and proceedures I had never even heard of - fagile X chromosome testing for severe retardation (bought that one), Comprehensive Chromosome testing of embryos, hysteroscopy (no biopsy, but the needle in the cervix was a little coocky), Doppler ultra sound to test blood flow to my uterus and many more. I came home with not only a binder, but a stack of consent forms for us to sign and fax, lab work to be done and shipped frozen (they don't trust other labs - why should they? they're from Saturn), having to notorize some of our signatures, and general paperwork to get us on our way.

The proposed timeline is this: Day 3 of cycle in January means day 3 blood work, a chlomid challenge test to test my ovaries and hormones, Day 10 blood work along with Stef's blood work, all frozen at the lab in the hospital and shipped overnight to Colorado. Speaking with our doctor on January 13th to assess our prognosis and probability of pregancy based on the tests carried out during my one day work up and the chlomid challenge, and a decision about moving forward. February: if all goes well, I will start what they call "my calendar" or "IVF cycle" in February, which entails taking a birth control pill to suppress and take over my natural hormone system, followed by stimulating my ovaries to overproduce eggs - on one of their 21st century ultrasounds, they found 12-13 follicles right now, which means I may produce as many as 15 eggs. At the end of February/beggining of March, I would be there for egg retrieval. If we chose the embryo chromosam testing, I have to go home after that and will not have an embryo transfer. They get tested and frozen - I would come back at a later date for a frozen embryo transfer. They freeze their embryos by a process called 'vitrification' which guarantees a living thaw at 97%. If we do not opt for chromosmal testing (it sounds simple but it's not - there are risks involved of not having any embryos in the end and it's $6700 extra) then we will have a fresh transfer and go home. Their labs are second to none, so I'm hoping one way or another, an embryo(s) will find it's way into our life as a happy child/children. The success and prestige of this clinic was confirmed to me by the driver of my $100 towncar ride to the airport (hey! I got a needle in my cerix!) A wealthy couple from Spain flew in on their private jet to purue their egg hunt at Colorado - and he was their private chauffer for the entire time. If figure if millionairs from a country with state of the art fertility clinics of their own are prepared to spend some gas money on their jet to kiss the skies and try their hand in Colorado, we have a half a chance.