Tuesday, May 6, 2008

I'm everywhere!

So how weird is this ... I'm going to be interviewed by a reporter about my fertility treatments - who would have thought?

Today I got an email from my fertility clinic coordinator asking me if it would be alright to share my contact information with a local news agency that's wanting to do a news story on fert.ility pres.ervation - being the ever so shy person that I am, my response of course was ... "I'd love to!"

For those of you that don't know ... this blog started out as a means to update my long distance friends on our life. At that point in my life I had just moved away from all of them, and Berilac and I had just started going through our miscarriages - I was finding it hard to keep track of email updates and repeat our painful status over and over again to my very loving friends. So I created a means to shout it from the rooftops - this blog. Since then, we have been very open about our struggles. We share our struggles with our entire extended family - who ever wants to know. I met a whole new group of friends at my new church and I have been very open with them about our ongoing struggles. I have shared my situation with many women at infertility supports groups, and even with all of my colleagues ... I guess you could say that my life is an open book. This blog has also become a means for staying in contact with my fellow infertiles that I have met through message boards, google searches, or shared resource sites. So this blog community is filled with IRL friends as well as Internet friends. Hey, if it's good enough for match.com it's good enough for me! So as you can see, we are not shy about sharing this information with friends or with strangers - so it's probably good that I was the infertility patient that the news reporter found on the other end of the telephone line - many do not share their stories publicly.

So now that I'm given the opportunity to move from communicating this struggle from web to TV - I'm so excited. I think that getting people thinking and talking about infertility on a local television program, is the best thing that could happen ... well, ok other than being on Oprah and discussing it there - ha!

So the reporter called me for a pre-interview and I think she was a little shocked to hear my story. You see, she's doing a story on "fer.tility pres.ervation" typically "fer.tility pres.ervation" is for women who want to delay their childbearing years by freezing a stash of eggs for later on in life when their careers are in place, they're no longer single, and they have finished doing all of their travelling and playing around ... I think you get the idea. As you probably already know, I'm doing it so that my eggs can be maintained while we wait for chromosomal test results - and it's just an added bonus that Berilac and I would *like* four kids ... but not all at once mind you! So this gives us an opportunity to hold onto 30-year-young eggs from this year - to use in X number of years when we're ready for kids #2, #3, & #4. And because I'm going into early menopause - it's really a natural solution (to a problem we really weren't looking to solve) (oh and btw: we know we're shooting pretty high to be wanting 4 kids when we're having trouble getting started with just one - we know we're shooting for the sky - but what does it matter - we're just ganna keep on trucking til we can't truck no more.)

The reporter was very shocked to hear my age and my diagnosis. She seemed very empathetic to learn of our four miscarriages. The one card she did pull (that no infertile likes) is when she asked if I was open to adoption. I simply explained to her the slippery slope to infertility and described the many stages between where we're at now (doing fert.ility pres.ervation) and adoption - I told her that if and when I get to adoption I want to CHOOSE adoption, not feel forced into it. She thought that was an interesting perspective and a good point.

So now, we wait. She's coming to my house with her camera crew tomorrow night (6pm Pacific) for an on-camera interview. I asked her where she'd like to do the interview and she said she only needed a couple of chairs. And get this, she wants to do a couple of action shots - you know like me: cooking, walking the dog ... the kind of stuff I do around the house in my free-time. I almost asked her if it was ok to get a shot of me sitting on the couch watching TV with my laptop on my lap as I blog and catch up on message boards. Though I'm not sure how much "action" there is in that. I wish I was less depressed and more motivated ... and I wish that I actually had any sort of "action shots" to give her. She's caught me at a bad time.

And seriously, I HAVE to shower, do my hair, and put on makeup (other things that have been neglected for the past ... oh, I don't know ... two years!!) And what am I ganna wear? So many decisions to make.

Well, I'll have to think about these things while I clean up my house. I can't believe I'm having a television crew in my house in less than 24 hours and I'm sitting here blogging ... people I have to get going!!

Please pray for me that I'll be transparent and honest. That the piece would reflect our honest situation - that it might touch the lives of other women who are going through infertility and loss. That it would honor God. And for my attitude with the reporter - when she asked me if I was open to adoption - I asked her if she has any friends going through infertility - she said there is one friend who's going through it, I asked her if she knows much about what it's like to be going through infertility and I chuckled (at her expense) as she shared that she didn't know much about it. She could tell I was being curt and rude with her ... I'm still trying to get back to hormone-free Polly, but I'm not there yet. I'll try to play nice tomorrow.

6 comments:

  1. OH WOW, POLLY! HOW EXCITING!

    They have chosen the right person to interview n you know what, it doesn't matter how you do at the interview. You're you - the earnest, heart-warming, strong capable woman you are who has gone through so much and yet you still persevere day after day.

    So, yeah! will look out in your next post as to what happened!

    CAN'T WAIT!

    woo-hoo!

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  2. Oh yeah, you'll do great! Just don't interrupt her with, "Are you talking?!?"

    hehehe

    And, I guess I'm new, but I just don't get the per.iod in bet.ween some of your wor.ds.

    :-)

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  3. Oh goodness!! What exciting news! I definitely agree that they could not have picked a better person to interview! I can't wait to hear about it! I would be feeling the same way about the "primping" as I have started not to "primp" as I used too! LOL I so love your answer to the adoption question.... for the longest I just couldn't find the right answer to that other than "we are open to it....eventually" but your statement is the perfect description!! Can't wait to hear the details of the interview!!

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  4. I hope there'll be a link where we can see your interview after it airs. I can't wait. You'll do great. Praying you play nice when they interview. =)

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  5. Yes, if there is a link--let us see it. How cool to be able to share your story with others.

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