Media Coverage
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
I have some dear friends who work in PR and their names will soon be added to the Thank You page (Shakila and Shawn).
Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Wichita’s Fox News anchor Liz Collin wanting to do a story. She wanted to meet 45 minutes from the time of her call. Shelton wasn’t able to make it, I honestly had dirty hair and my house was a disaster- Sure, please come on over!
The interview went really well and I handled it better than expected. The story aired on the 9pm news last night on Fox. Thanks to Liz and Fox for doing the story and for all of those who stopped by “BOB”.
This afternoon we heard from KFDI radio here in Wichita and we’ll be on their morning show Friday at 6:40- so tune in if you’re awake.
Week 1
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The site went live a week ago today and we’re simply overwhelmed. The responses, support and donations are far exceeding what we ever expected at this point. The biggest thank you to each of you who have visited, shared the site and to those who have donated.
We passed that initial scare and now we’re thinking that this might really work. So again, thank you- thank you!
Less than 30 of you have done what we had anticipated 1000 would do- your generosity is so deeply appreciated.
Please continue to pass along our link and share the site wherever you can. We’ve still got a long way to go- but with each of you by our side we’re confident we’ll get there.
Adoption
Monday, July 10, 2006
Something we discussed very early on and is often the subject of many questions we’re asked is adoption. It’s something I’d never really given much thought to, but the second we learned of our infertility it immediately showed up on my radar.
Early on we agreed if we aren’t able to have children of our own, we will definitely pursue adoption. Our families have been on the giving and receiving sides of adoption- so it’s not something we’re unfamiliar with. And we’ve seen first hand the joy and love that these babies bring to their new parents, and vice versa.
Shelton and I talked on the way home from that visit where we learned that we’d have to do IVF and he asked me why would we even pursue this, why not just go straight for adoption. But I knew we had to give our baby a chance. I know somewhere out there our baby is waiting for us- and I have to do everything within my power to get it here. And if we’ve exhausted that possibility, look out adoption- here we come.
I do have a greater respect for people who have both given their babies for adoption and those who have brought them home as their own. I’m beginning to learn that is one of the most loving and selfless acts a person can do. But like I said, I’m just not ready to give up on the possibility of little Brandi/Shelton baby. The odds are stacked in our favor for the best outcome with IVF and we’re hanging on to that hope. Right now, it’s all we’ve got.
Thank you to everyone who has written to us with this question. We hope this will help answer that question.
Please see the FAQ section to see what we’ve written about this subject.
Store
Thursday, July 06, 2006
As you might have noticed, the “Store” is not yet active. Please bare with us and we hope to have it up and going next week.
Beginning
Thursday, July 06, 2006
We definitely have a lot of ground to cover. I really regret not journaling all of the events of the past 6 months and having them stockpiled for the site. But I didn’t.
While Shelton and I have now reached a point where more days are spent laughing and joking about the situation we’re in than not, the first few weeks were probably some of the darkest I’ve ever experienced. If that is what depression feels like, I want no part of that, thank you very much.
There were a lot of unanswered questions at the beginning- the biggest of which was if we’d even be able to have children. My request for a puppy increased daily! There were a lot of nights spent in a completely dark house, no dinner- just sitting together silently, crying, talking. Neither of us knew how to make the other feel better.
When we’d finally gotten the “diagnosis” and referred to the fertility specialist, Dr. T, it was another 6 weeks before we’d have any finality to these questions. I finally told Shelton I was done crying about it. There was nothing we could do and we’re just making it worse for ourselves. We kept telling each other we were so sorry- and I said no more apologies. It wasn’t like one of us had done this on purpose. It’s nature… and she is a bitch sometimes! At that point we were still under the belief that we’d do artificial and be done with it. We had no idea IVF was the way.
Following that first appointment we set out to build this site and I dumped all of my energy into that. I soon realized that I wasn’t sleeping, my body was aching all the time, I was probably eating more than I should and I had not cried. When I was called out at work for not caring anymore I kind of woke up from my haze. I love my work and I wear that on my sleeve and if that was suffering then I needed to kick myself in the ass. I apparently also where every ounce of my emotions on my sleeve.
So I figured it out- I hadn’t given this infertility situation the proper attention it needed. In a sense, there was a mourning process that needed to occur and I wasn’t letting that happen. As part of that, not crying was huge for me. I cry every time Ty gets the keys on Extreme Home Makeover. But not being able to conceive my babies- that left me completely dry.
Finally, Mother’s Day came around. We spent the afternoon with my family- my mom, aunts and grandmother. All of us celebrating the amazing things they had done for each of us. And I wanted that so badly. I wanted to be holding my baby and soaking up the fact that I too had joined this elite club of moms.
Shelton and I had driven separately that day. I no sooner left my aunt’s neighborhood and I just practically collapsed behind the steering wheel. The tears came so suddenly and with such force. I probably should have pulled over. But nothing beats a good cry at 65 on the highway… right girls? I bawled the entire way home and I thanked God for finally letting it happen. It felt so good, refreshing.
I woke up the next day and it felt as though the air had cleared and I could now approach this with a clear head and do what needed to be done. I haven’t cried since then, but I haven’t needed to.
Not to say there haven’t been bad days since… and I know there are plenty ahead. But for now, I’ve made a “little” peace with the situation and I’ve said you are not going to take me down with you.
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