Time to Pause, Again@**@$#@$%$^%$&^%

Well folks, in the never-ending saga of trying to conceive through modern science, Ben and I have hit another obstacle. In order for me to complete my next in-vitro cycle before our next trip to Carnegie Hall, I had to take ten days worth of progesterone. After such a treatment I was to have started my period within two to three days. Well, when one week went by and nothing happened with Aunt Flo, I called the doctor. Needless to say, they were also concerned, and I had to go in for ultrasound and bloodwork on my birthday to see what was the matter--pregnancy, tumor, etc.

Apparently I am a super high achiever in the world of endometriosis. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, six weeks after laparoscopic surgery during which my ovaries were sucked dry of cysts, there rested on my left ovary a 6.5 cm cyst. Oh yes, that is large. It is so large that my ultrasound technician was reluctant to tell me just how large it was. Take your index finger and look at it from the knuckle to its tip, and that it how large my left ovarian cyst is. This is a bad thing because cysts feed on the drugs that are given to stimulate the ovary to produce more than one mature egg per cycle. This also means that we can't start my next in-vitro cycle. At this point I'm not even sure IF there will ever be a next cycle. Even more cruel is that I have to take birth control pills to try to shrink my left ovarian cyst. We'll see next week if this works.

We've been putting off filling out the China Adoption papers, but this will most likely kick our butts in gear. We are in the midst of Verdi Requiem week at Symphony Hall and I am preparing for a recital on March 7 at the Oglethorpe University Museum with my harpsichordist pal, Ben Carlisle. It's nice to have distractions.