Shelton & Brandi

Hello! We're Brandi & Shelton Koskie. Since 2006 we’ve been one of the many couples on the In Vitro Fertilization journey. We were the first IVF fundraiser blog, and thanks to the generous help of many, in we had our first successful IVF attempt. Nine months later, we had a beautiful girl, Paisley. You’re invited to follow along on our journey from infertility to parenthood.  Learn more

All Stitched Up and No Where to Go

Well folks, I’m home and doing well. Surgery started at 1 yesterday and I believe we were home by about 4. I spent the whole of the evening sleeping and letting the anesthesia wear off. Since the top off our bed stands about chest-high on me, I’ve moved into the futon in the den- since there is no way in hades I can get myself in and out of the bed. Just not yet.

The surgery went really well. Can I just send out huge kudos to Dr. T and the entire surgical staff. Everyone was wonderful. They asked lots of questions, answered all of mine and made me so comfortable. Having had this surgery before, I can say this entire experience has been 100% better than the previous (which was not done here or by this doctor).

For starters, we were actually able to plan and schedule. My last one was done in the ER at 10pm on a Saturday. I’ve known my doctor for a while now and felt comfortable with him, and as usual, he did a great job. The incisions are significantly smaller and look so much cleaner than last time, too. That was the biggest for me. I know it’s part of the deal, but not having my stomach look like someone chopped it up is kind of important.

They found that the cysts were all gone, which is good news. They were also not able to find the polyp they had suspected. Surgery a bust? Not exactly. We’d suspected that I might have endometriosis and sure enough they found it. I’m a high stage I, low stage II. (this is about the only explanation of the stages I can find on the Web. If you know of a better one, please fwd it).

Knowing that we’re now dealing w/ the Endo definitely explains so many things- like the extended periods, painful cramping and additional pain throughout the month, painful intercourse, etc and so on.  And this means I’ll definitely be going on the birth control. My follow-up is in two weeks and I’ll know more then.

So, I’m just kicked back on the futon. We’re pet-sitting my parents’ dog, Tibet the shih-tzu. She has yet to leave my side, just curls up and sleeps with me. I’m taking my Lortab, which is probably the only money-saving part of this surgery. Here’s a tip- I had my wisdom teeth removed last year and still had a full Rx of Lortab (hydrocodone). I also have a near full Rx of Tylenol 3 from a procedure last month. I took these with me to surgery yesterday and the doc said there was no sense in refilling and paying for a new one since I already had these. If you already have these necessary meds on hand, make sure it’s OK with your doctor and avoid the cost of a new Rx.

I walk around a little bit- mostly to go the bathroom or wander into the kitchen. I get tired quickly, but know I need the exercise. Shelton has been absolutely amazing. He takes such good care of me. I’m such a lucky girl!! This morning he whipped up blueberry muffins. My appetite is small though so I ate what I could.

Thanks to all of you for the emails with notes of prayer and well-wishing. It means so much. We are on the upward climb from here. More news to come soon.

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey

Surgery It Is

I got in touch w/ Dr. T’s fabulous staff today and they have me booked for surgery on Thursday afternoon. I went in for lab work this afternoon to make sure I don’t have any weird diseases that would render me inoperable. I’m going to get in touch with the woman who manages insurance tomorrow and clarify a few questions and get squared away on our cost after insurance. That new FSA money is going to come in handy right about now!

Should be pretty simple- a laproscopy and a hysteroscopy (There is also this link, and I’m really only including it because- HOW SCARY IS THAT PHOTO?!).

This should alleviate the cysts I’ve had taking up residence on my ovary all summer. Those seem to be the only things reproducing down there. We should also find what is causing these obnoxious periods and make those a distant memory. He did say that following surgery I’ll most likely go on birth control until we’re ready to start the IVF. This is for two reasons- one, will stop the cysts and two, will get my schedule on track with theirs.

We also decided to cancel the IVF class we were scheduled for Saturday. I don’t believe I’ll be up for going to class and figure someone else with a cycle sooner than ours can have our spot. We’ve actually spoken to a few people who were going to be in that class via email and were looking forward to meeting them. Hopefully they’ll send us a note telling us about their experience.

Will definitely post and let you know how everything goes. I’ll see you back here Thursday or Friday with new scars!

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey

Under the Knife?

This entire summer my periods have been way off. And “way off” in this instance is defined by 10-15 days of unrelentless female hell.

Last month while at Dr. T’s, he thought there was a chance that a polyp had developed on my uterus. I asked if that had anything to do with my crazy cycle and he said possibly. He wanted me to go through one more month and see if it got any better, and to call at the end and report how it had gone.

At the end of my July (or August, I can’t keep track) period, I called in to let them know that this one had also hit the 15 day mark. The nurse said, well it says here in his notes that if you call in with a bad report that you’ve won a ticket to the operating room. He wanted to wait until my next period started to do the operation, and I was to call in once I started so they could schedule everything.

I made that call on Friday. So, being that it’s Labor Day weekend, I don’t imagine getting a call back any sooner than Tuesday. At that point I’ll know more about when and where.

Of course, no one looks forward to going to surgery. One, it’s expensive and so add this to the financial plate. Yay us! Two, there are always risks. But I’m confident in my doctor and having done this before, know what to expect. Three, the down time. But part of me is looking forward to a little forced down time. No excuses- just resting and getting better. And hopefully, an answer and an end to these horrid periods.

I will update you once I know more. In the meantime, I’m going to buy stock in the tampon company.

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey

Yes, we’re still here and we come with news

Hello Baby Or Bust readers! Yes, we’ve been neglectful lately and for that I am truly sorry. As I mentioned in a few previous posts, this hiatus has a couple of reasons. 1) We’re kind of in a holding pattern right now. But I do come baring news, and that is still to come. 2) My family has been on one hell of a roller coaster ride this past month. Unlike anything I’ve ever been through before. But we’ve also come together for each other and working through it- one baby step at a time. And lots of those baby steps are going to be required.

So, we have a little bit of financial news.  My company has started offering an FSA (Flexible Spending Account). We already have one through Shelton’s work and found out that I’m also eligible to carry my own. When we max out both of our FSAs, we’ll have $7,000 worth of pre-tax money that we can put toward our IVF. Isn’t that fantastic?? Imagine my surprise when I was looking through the itemized list of eligible medical expenses and found In Vitro Fertilization listed on there. Finally, one place that thinks it’s acceptable to cover this expense! Thank you IRS… now if we could convince the rest of the government to require insurance coverage!!

I strongly encourage EVERYONE** to find out if their company offers this benefit. Whether you’re going through IVF or not- but especially if you are. This allows you to put money away, pre-tax, for medical expenses. And depending on what your company caps at (ours is $5,000 and $2,000) you can determine how much you put away. Then, throughout the year, the money is taken from your check, just like insurance or taxes. You submit receipts for co-pays, prescriptions, Advil, thermometers, IVF, glasses, contacts, crutches… seriously, the list goes on an on. And you get reimbursed. It’s a really simple, tax-free way to save for unexpected medical expenses.

At the beginning of the year we had only committed about $1,300- not knowing that all this baby stuff lie in front of us. So next year, as mentioned, we plan on maxing out the plan. My FSA just became eligible Sept 1 and so the full $2,000 is available to us now.

We’re still so far from our goal. And everyday we cut a new corner and find something else that just isn’t necessary. But we’re also so hopeful and everyday gain so much more support from family, friends and the like. We know we’ll make it.

**Obviously, I’m not your tax advisor, so please just take this as a friendly suggestion. It might not be the best decision for all of you. Also, I’m just repeating my understanding so take that for what it’s worth and do your own investigation before you sign the dotted line.

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey

Will Scrapbook for Babies

I’ve mentioned that I love to scrapbook. Along with being a can’t-miss-her Oprah fan and being fascinated with Rachael Ray, I’m just a big 25-year old nerd. What can I say?

I’ve nearly scrapped all the photos I have of our lives over the past few years, I’ve kind of hit a wall. Nothing left to scrap. Weird, huh?!

Anyway, I’m offering up my services to scrapbook for those of you who would like a scrapbook (or a few) but don’t have the time, energy, interest or desire to do it yourself. They really make fantastic birthday, anniversary and Christmas gifts. Or just because gifts!!

Obviously this is a time consuming project, especially since I have a day job. But I could take on a couple of books and see where we go from there. Timing, pricing, etc. would be negotiable based on the size of your project.

I did a scrapbook-for-hire job last year and I really enjoyed it. It was of a friend’s granddaughter. By the time I was finished I did not want to return the books (three total) to her at all!! She fell in love with them and gave them to her daughter as a gift.

I know I need to find a way to earn extra money for our IVF fund. I’d like to do something that will allow me to be at home and really enjoy what it is I’m doing. And possibly help one of you fine folks out in the process.

Please email babyorbust@gmail.com if you are interested…. place “Scrapbook” in your subject line.

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey

CF Free

I got the results of my Cystic Fibrosis test this week- it was negative. Good to know. This means we won’t do the test on Shelton and save ourselves $180.

This is fantastic news!

Written by Brandi and posted under IVF Journey