ticker time

Hello my darling readers. Thank you for the encouraging comments about my letter to the Washington newspaper copied in my last post. I'm proud to report that they actually emailed me back to get more info (confirm my identity, etc.) and even sent a slightly edited version of the letter that was considered for publication. But, alas they didn't end up printing it. I officially gave up hope a few days ago. The points that I made needed to be said and echoed the thoughts of my many online IF friends. So, note to self: I should be quicker to respond the next time such an opportunity comes up.

Did you notice my new tickers? Yes, I've made a lot of progress on my dissertation and am tentatively scheduled to defend it on August 25th. So far I've written about 92 pages, including nearly 50 charts, tables and figures. Having recently finished the Methods and Results chapters, I still have to write Discussion and Conclusions. This is where the real magic (a.k.a. bullshit) comes in. Hee hee.

The second ticker is counting down to my baby girl's scheduled c-section on Oct. 6th. This week I saw Dr. Single-Thin-and-Neat and we went ahead and put it on the hospital calendar. Not that I'm such a crazy control freak lady, but my in-laws will be driving up from Texas so things must be planned. Now I'm living in fear of premature labor and the possibility that a derailed baby ticker will screw up my PhD ticker. Not that I have any risk factors or symptoms of early labor, but a gal's gotta be paranoid about something, right?

At 28 weeks PG, I'm still feeling okay, but starting to slow down and get more tired. I'm definitely more of an old pregnant lady than I was just 3 years ago with Waffle Girl. My upper abs feel sore in the latter part of the day and hurt like heck when I sneeze. My heels are suffering from the extra weight - I'm actually wearing my athletic sandals around the house 'cause I need the cushioning. The weather has been rough. Today was the first day in July that wasn't anywhere near 90 degrees. Here's hoping that August will be more tolerable. I'd hate to be an A/C-addicted couch potato all summer. What's the point of that if I can't swig a brew while I'm at it?!

why we need IF advocacy

i'll keep it brief today..

here's a feature story from the Was.hington Post this week:

"Smug Rich Lady Puts Babies on Ice While She Does More IMPORTANT Things"

(okay, so i slightly revised the title.. hee hee)

here's my letter to the editor:

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Your July 6th piece, “By freezing embryos..”, reinforces the false assumption that fertility and youth are synonymous. Infertility is not a life choice of foolish women who wait too long to have children. Infertility is a disease with many underlying causes. Many women in their 20’s have reproductive organs scarred and twisted by endometriosis or previous infection.

Rather than educating your audience on the reality of couples struggling with infertility, you ran an article that belittles them and suggests that they are chumps for resorting to “Desperation IVF”. My husband and I spent years in fertility treatment - apparently I wasn’t clever enough to avoid having polycystic ovaries, another common cause of infertility.

Why does this matter? Because in most states fertility treatment is not covered by insurance – it’s considered an elective procedure. If we recognized infertility as a real medical issue and not poor planning, then treatment wouldn’t be such a traumatic and expensive ordeal. Our society makes many infertile couples literally choose between having children and buying a house to put them in. IVF is not a hobby for spoiled rich people – it is a medical necessity for couples who deserve to have the life that others take for granted.
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just keepin' it real, girls!