Friday, March 23, 2007

EMBRYO INTERRUPTUS?

When we last checked in with our heroines, they had been given the green light for their transfer cycle with our frozen donor embryo. But a missing prescription had just as quickly put on the brakes. If the fertility nurse did not track down the recipients' doctor, get the prescription, fax it to the special fertility pharmacy and make sure the pharmacy expedited filling and mailing the medication, the cycle would be cancelled.

The deadline for all of this to happen was that afternoon at 3pm. Jenny called the pharmacy. No prescription had been filed. She called the clinic. The nurses were preforming procedures but the receptionist took a message. No one called back. Jenny checked the pharmacy again. Nothing.

Increasingly concerned, Jenny wrote me an email. I had worked with this clinic before. Should she lay off or keep calling? I urged Jenny to continue calling the clinic and leaving messages until the prescription was faxed. She could even call their medical emergency line -- this situation certainly seemed to qualify.

As a polite Southerner, Jenny worried that the clinic staff would find her behavior obnoxious. I urged her not to worry:

"
You and Erin are certainly the nicest patients they have. My wife and I spent many hours in that waiting room. You would not believe some of the scenes we witnessed. Women on big doses of hormones whose fertility cycles are not going well are easily annoyed, let's put it that way."


Finally the prescription went through. If the medication arrived via next day delivery, as promised, Jenny and Erin's cycle was on.