Undo what has been done. To Oklahoma and back!

When Jamie and I first became a couple, we had to overcome a lot of obstacles.  There was our mixed families, our children, our age difference, the fact that our friends knew both of our ex's. But one of the biggest obstacles that we had to face was the fact that I had chose to have a vasectomy in the past and could no longer have any children.  Jamie only has one child and wanted more of her own.  We often would talk about it, and it was somewhat of an issue in the beginning of our relationship.   Luckily Jamie decided that she loved me enough that she was willing to marry me despite the fact that we would not be able to have any children together. After settling into marriage we had some talks about how we would like to have a child together so we did a little research into vasectomy reversal surgery.  In searching we found out that there are only a handful of doctors in the U.S that specialize in this surgery. There are a lot that claim to be able to perform it, but very few that have a large success rate.  After a lot of research, we found a doctor in Oklahoma that not only does 16 surgeries a week and has one of the highest success rates, he also had really good prices. We could fly to Oklahoma, get a hotel and rental car, and get the surgery for less than a surgeon here in Utah would charge.  After a lot of conversations, we decided we were going to do it!  We started saving money and got on a waiting list for an appointment.  I did some weekends of back to back tattoos to help raise the money for the flight, and some amazing people even donated to the cause.  One day we got an email that we had an appointment booked with the doctor.  It was on Feb 22nd 2013.  We were so excited to actually have a shot at having a baby together.

As it got closer to the day, I started to feel a little nervous.  When I first got the vasectomy done, there was a complication with the local anesthetics, and they hadn't numbed me properly.  I ended up in a lot of pain and had a terrible and somewhat traumatic experience.  You can't help but feel a little nervous after something like that.  We flew out of Salt Lake City the day before the surgery, and got into Tulsa, Oklahoma fairly late.  We got our rental car and had about an hour drive from the airport to the hotel.  I was tired, so I fell asleep easy in the hotel, but then nerves kicked in. I was awake at the crack of dawn and couldn't go back to sleep even though my surgery wasn't scheduled until 1 pm.  We had some breakfast and made our way to the appointment.  It was so surreal to actually be at the appointment talking to the doctor, I couldn't get over the thought of "This is happening" "We are actually doing this".  Once I got on the operating table and he successfully numbed the area, I was fine (it also could have something to do with the Xanax he gave me to keep me calm ha ha).  After getting most of the prep work done, he even let Jamie in the room while he finished up.  Everything went great, we had some good conversation with the doctor during the procedure. He made me feel comfortable and relaxed and although I am not religious, he said one of the most impressive prayers I have ever heard, gotta love that bible belt .  He felt good about the end result of the surgery, we felt good about it, and he gave us an 85% chance of getting a return of sperm.  Pregnancy chances of course are lower than that, but we felt good that the surgery went well, I wasn't in any pain, and we were excited that there really was a chance that we could get pregnant in the future.

The day after the surgery we just hung out in the hotel room trying to let me heal.  I actually felt pretty good, the pain was manageable and it was nice to just hang out in a hotel room with my wife.  The feeling pretty good all came to a bitter end though when it came to the flight home.  The drive to the airport wasn't too bad, but sitting up for too long would start to make me sore. We got to Tulsa and had quite a while to wait for our flight.  We got a wheelchair from the airport and hung out in one of the restaurants in the terminal until it was time to go.  We flew from Tulsa to Denver and then had a 2 hour layover in the Denver airport.  They had a wheelchair waiting for us in Denver and they took us to our gate.  I told the guy pushing the wheelchair that we had a 2 hour layover and wanted to get something to eat and asked if Jamie could push me around until our flight left.  "No" he said " I am responsible for this wheelchair, it is not allowed to leave my sight".  Wow, you're kidding me.. So we got dropped off at the gate and I started bitching about our experience to the gate attendant. When we got our tickets printed off, the airline had put Jamie and I in different seats. I needed help getting around, and had to sit with an ice pack down my pants. I did not want anyone but Jamie next to me on the flight.  The person at the gate called a motorized cart to get us and take us to one of the restaurants, and assured us that he would handle the seating arrangements.  To get food we had to travel to the other end of the terminal, there was nothing by our gate.  Since we had about an hour until our flight left, the woman driving the cart dropped us off and told us she would return at a certain time to pick us up again.  From sitting in the car, the airport, the plane, and now the hard restaurant stools, I was starting to get uncomfortable and really starting to feel the pain of the surgery that I had avoided until now.  While we were waiting for the woman to come and get us, I decided to take one of the"just in case" painkillers that the doctor had prescribed hoping that would make me feel a little better.  We sat waiting for the woman in the cart to return, but there was no one coming.  We called down to the gate and told them that we needed a ride back, and still nobody came.  It was starting to get very close to the time our flight would leave and my discomfort was not getting any better.  Still, nobody came to get us.  It was too far for me to walk, so we went behind the counter at one of the gates, took one of the wheelchairs, and started heading back to the gate.  When we got about half way back to the gate we saw the woman that had dropped us off at the restaurant running down the terminal pushing an empty wheelchair.  She came running over to us apologizing that she had forgotten about us, and in a rush because the plane was getting ready to board.

Thankfully, when we got back to the gate, the attendant had done what he had promised and we were handed our new tickets with our seats right next to each other. We made it onto the plane just in time for us to sit on the runway for 45 minutes while they deiced the wings. By now I was completely miserable and couldn't wait to get home and lay down and not have to sit in these uncomfortable seats anymore.  Finally the plane took off into the air. About 30 minutes into the flight, I started to feel sick.  I started to shake and sweat.  This had happened once before, so I immediately knew what was happening.  I was having a reaction to the pain medication that I had taken in the Denver airport.  I pulled out the little doggy bag that they put in the back of every seat, opened it up knowing that I just may have to use it.  There was no way I was in any condition to make it to the bathroom. Even if I was, we were going through a bad patch of weather and the plane was bouncing everywhere and the "fasten seat belt" signs were lit up.  The flight attendant noticed my condition and brought me some bags of ice to put on my neck and a bigger bag for me to throw up in.  By this point I was sweating so bad that my shirt was drenched. I looked like I had just taken a shower in my clothes.  I did not want the embarrassment of throwing up on a plane, I was already getting an embarrassing amount of attention from the people around us.  I was in the window seat, so I tried to sink into the side of the plane with my plastic bag and as quiet as possible, I threw up in the plastic bag.  What did I do so terrible that I deserved this kind of misery.  Fortunately, just like last time I had had this kind of reaction, it completely passed and I went right back to normal for the rest of the flight.  Please just get me home and in my bed!! I sure hope our future baby understands what I went through for him/her to get here...