Wow, I'm a bad blogger

So, it's been a very long time since I've posted last. A lot has happened (huh...seems to be the way things go when you only post once every 6 months!)

I met with the new doc in June (shortly after my last post). I got a great feeling from him and felt very confident in his abilities. Upon a physical examination (yay!) he confirmed the cyst on my left ovary. Would have been nice if Dr. Asswad (not his real name...but close to it, and it's fitting) had actually examined me - I could have had the cyst dealt with long before! He sent in a surgery request.

Friends of our announced their engagement this summer - he was a groomsman for us. They are planning on getting married in the Dominican Republic in February. So, when we were determining whether or not we were able to go, I figured I better find out when my surgery was going to be scheduled. So I called the hospital. The original date - March 23rd, 2011. Now...keep in mind - I'm an accountant at a small firm - March through to April is INSANE for us as it is personal tax time. If I were to take 4-6 weeks off work starting March 23rd, I would miss 50% - 75% of the busiest time of year for us - I would also be fired! So, after I started breathing again, I told the booking tech that there was NO way I could do the surgery then, and that if I was going to wait 10 months for surgery, I might as well wait 11 and schedule the surgery for May. So, that was the plan.

I went off work starting July 1st to go on my "UFE summer". For those of you unfamiliar with the UFE, it is a 3 day, 13 hour exam required for the Chartered Accountant designation. Preparing yourself for this exam (and writing the exam), is one of the most difficult, challenging, draining and excruciating things a CA candidate will do. I have never felt so drained, exhilarated and scared all at once. We wrote September 14th, 15th and 16th. Results were not released until December 3rd. It was a LONG wait!

After writing the exam in the middle of September, D and I went to BC for a week for me to recuperate. After that, I headed home to my parents for a week. What is happening with my family is a whole different can of worms that needs its own blog. My brother's health is not good - mentally or physically. My parents have huge weights on their shoulders as they try to help their middle child survive. I felt the need to go see them, to do what I could, offer what support and encouragement I could. And to show them that I'm ok and that they didn't have to worry about me.

I returned to work at the beginning of October. I quickly got back into the swing of things, though the waiting for results definitely drove me crazy! Mid-to-late October I received word that the surgery I was expecting to happen in May was going to happen December 8th. Time to tell my boss that after taking 3 months off, I was going to need another 4-6 weeks off! Thankfully my boss is fantastic and very understanding.

December 3rd came - results day. I hadn't been sleeping well all week. You have some pretty weird, intense dreams when you are waiting for that kind of result! The morning of the 3rd, when the results were supposed to be released at 8:00 am, the website crashed. Too many stressed out UFE candidates cause the site to not work. Once I finally was able to access the results I found out that I PASSED! I've never felt so happy, relieved, excited, etc. in my life. D was laughing at me saying that he's "normally the 4 year old!"

December 8th came - surgery day. The surgery went as well as expected. The doctor was forced to take my left ovary as the dermoid cyst was too large. This has been a hard pill to swallow, but I'm coming to terms with it. I escaped the hospital on the 10th and have been at home, healing since. My recovery has been slower than I had anticipated, but not any slower than anyone else expect.

We were referred down to a fertility clinic in September. Our first appointment will not happen until around May. Between now and then, I hope to work on becoming parents the 'ol' fashioned way' (once D is allowed back in the bed again of course - right now, I'm too tender and it's too possible that he'll flail and hurt me). D and I have talked - D wants to try treatments before pursuing adoption. I'm ok with that. I think, deep in my heart, I wanted that too. Don't get me wrong, I think adoption is the right choice for many couples. But right now, it's not the right choice for D and I.

So...that's about it. You are now officially updated on my life. Yay for you! :-)