S

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I just got back from Chicago. My surrogate is located there. I

understand the case laws they have in Illinois are better for

surrogacy than in Cleveland so that is why I went with a surrogate in

Illinois. We have daily contact and just this past weekend I spent

with her and her daughter. I found my surrogate independantly so we

could agree on all the conditions of the arrangement and we are very

comfortable with it. From what I've read on bb's that deal with

surrogacy, most IM's (intended mother) have close contact with their

surrogates. Some go to all the appointments, some live too far away

but email or talk on the phone frequently. Sometimes the surrogate

and IM will keep in touch after the birth, sometimes not. But these

are issues best worked out in the very beginning so every one involved

knows where they stand.

I had to have two trips to see Dr. Valle. The first one was for the

pre-surgery examination. The next time I saw Dr. Valle it was the

morning of my surgery. Everything else was done locally.

That's too bad that you weren't able to find anything in Independence.

The recreation center sold us on this town too. I have heard that

the houses go pretty quickly here and also that a lot of homes don't

even make the real estate listings. A lot of times they're " for sale

by owner " and that is hard to monitor when you don't live in the area.

Good luck with the relocation and please do keep in touch! Maybe

after you're settled we can meet for coffee.

Lee Ann

[Guest guest]

The twins are due August 23rd.

The infertility clincs here in Cleveland have been through some major

changes in the last 1 and 1/2 years. University Hospitals (UH) had a

great program. So did the Cleveland Clinic (CCF). The CCF clinic got

the RE (Dr. Goldfarb) who headed the UH program and gave him and his

people a facility in Beachwood. It is very nice. However, this left

two IVF clinics at the Cleveland Clinic. The one I went to is

considered downtown (not really in the downtown area though, it's at

100th and Euclid). So for the year 2001 they carried on as if they

were two separate entities, but we all knew that eventually they were

going to be merged. That must have happened this year, because the RE

I used to see, Dr. Attaran, is now head of adolescent gynecology (I

visited the web site about 2 weeks ago). The move has been made so

now only the Beachwood office handles IVF. I know plenty of people

from my Resolve group who used the old UH program and the old CCF

program and currently know one person who is using the Beachwood

facility. UH hired another RE, whom I've heard good things about and

their program has been running for about a year. Sorry this is so

confusing. The RE I heard who was good with uterine surgery is Dr.

Falcone, he is now the head of the OB/GYN department at the Cleveland

Clinic. He did my HSG for the surgery I had with Dr. Valle and we

talked about how he knew Dr. Valle and goes to the same seminars (or

whatever they're called) as him. I wonder if this is who your doctor

has in mind? I loved Dr. Attaran and Dr. Falcone was great (for the

few times I saw him).

Lee Ann

[Guest guest]

I asked my regular GYN about the Ashermans and if there are any health

issues with leaving it as it is. They don't seem too concerned with

endometriosis with me (I guess because I still have an opening and the

lining can escape?). When I asked about leaving the Ashermans as it

is and if it would cause any problems, the only response was " I

suppose there could be a possiblity that a cancer could be hidden near

the scarring/adhesions and could go unnoticed longer than if there was

no scarring. " It didn't seem to be of much concern. I'm convinced

the pulling I feel is the adhesions that run from the top of the

uterus to the bottom, not endometriosis. I felt this for about 7

months before Dr. Valle's surgery and he did not find any

endometriosis when he did my laparoscopy.

Lee Ann

[Guest guest]

How did things go with the house-hunting last week?

Lee Ann

[Guest guest]

Thanks Gwen for the explanation. No, as scary as it may be, you

actually didn't confuse me. I think I may just finally be starting to

get some of this stuff straight, but don't quote me on that just

yet!! Hopefully, I'll just know enough to scare whoever I choose to

do the surgery so he doesn't think he can get one over on me! HA!

Glad things are manageable enough in your life that you can find a

few minutes to join the board again...your input is ALWAYS

enlightening and uplifting.

S

[Guest guest]

I knew I could rely on you for an excellent thought!! I truly knew

there was some VERY, VERY important reason we should not

name 'names', but thought I'd start the creative juices flowing in

this group. I am very careful to watch my friends who are going to

the OB who did this to me, should they become pregnant and continue

care with him, I would warn them to be 'very careful' and what to

look out for. I AM very careful, but also feel a need to protect the

women I know and care about!! But, once again, intuitively I knew

something could come back to bite us if we start screaming it all

over the internet...NOW I KNOW!! Not the right idea.

I like your idea, but I still think it could cause us problems, don't

you? Both Corrina and Poly pointed out that a Dr could have been the

one who performed a D & C, done everything right, and the patient still

ended up with AS under no fault of the doctor. So, I guess we have to

be careful about judging all Drs. performing D & C's that result in AS

as guilty, especially in print as on a site like this.

What do you think? It was just a request to find out how to further

protect our cohorts, maybe it's a bit too risky though.

S

[Guest guest]

-Gwen,

Thanks for your thoughts on the naming of names!

S

[Guest guest]

O-o-o-oh-h-h-h-h, OKAY, that makes sense. Thanks! Enjoy the weekend

indoors or out!!!

S

[Guest guest]

Well, your laughter is contagious because I am laughing right now at

your idea of the next episode... " an alien named 'Zeek' " . Now that's a

good one. I was thinking something more along the lines of Shrek.

Couldn't you just see a uterus walking around with a pair of eyes,

maybe an arm or two helping to makes little kids dreams (hopefully

not nightmares) come true....or maybe 'big grown-up girls' dreams

come true!!!

When's your RE appt?

S.