change of events

It has taken me a while to come on here and give this update. For a while, I wasn't sure surrogacy was going to happen. I was (and still am) worried that writing out the process was jinxing me. But let me give you a recap of what's happened since February.

So I think things happen for a reason.  Last post I said I couldn't start the mock cycle until my period started.  And my period was abnormally late.  But before it could actually come, I got the strangest text from my IM.  She wished me the best of luck and said sorry things didn't work out.  Talk about confused.  I emailed J asking what was going on, and she called me.  Apparently the counselor sent a report completely jacked up.  And I mean completely jacked up.  She said I was on zoloft (I'm not) and that I have an eating disorder (wtf?) and possibly something else that I can't remember now.  I mean, I thought the woman was asking some weird ass questions, but she seemed strange in general so I wasn't too concerned.  Obviously I was wrong!  So once I confirmed that nope, not on any meds and nope, definitely don't have any issues with eating, she said okay let me try to straighten things out.  Unfortunately, the doctor at CFA saw my anxiety in the past as a "red flag" and didn't care that the counselor's report wasn't accurate.  I was a no-go. And my IM wasn't willing to switch Dr's.

At this point, I thought it was it for me.  But after a few weeks of kind of hanging in limbo, J set me up with a different counselor to get the psych screening done before trying to find me a new match.  I talked with someone NOT off her rocker, I took an MMPI (another looney test), she passed me and that was out of the way.  But I still needed to be matched.  Let me tell you, I was never so nervous.  Then an email came.  There was an IM, not so far from me, who liked my profile.  We set up a skype call, and had the longest talk.  This woman, she has the biggest heart.  And her struggles have been long and hard.  But her support circle is huge and that's something I worried about with the previous IM.  She didn't seem to have much support.  SO who knows.  I do hope someone is approved by her Dr (I found out I was the 3rd surro that didn't work out), but I think this is where my path was meant to go.

So after the skype call, we set up a meeting.  Of course, with scheduling conflicts, it had to wait about a month.  That put us into late April.  She brought a friend, who I loved, and we all talked for about an hour.  They couldn't stay longer but we could have chatted more otherwise.  We talked about things from the pregnancy, to support, to delivery and beyond.  I think we touched on everything.

One thing I love about this IM is her determination and drive.  She's waited a long time for this and so delays aren't her thing now.  When we tried to have me set up for a consult with her clinic, they wanted to make it for the end of May!  After some push-back, IM got it bumped to early May.  So the day came and I called the clinic.  I was so nervous!  But the Dr. I talked to sounded so down to earth.  We did talk about my past anxiety, but he didn't seem very concerned.  Especially since I've come so far with chilling out.  We went through the tests I still needed (which was just a few more blood tests and then a saline sonohysterogram.  Which is not as bad as the HSG test I had done with dye).  He went through the meds I'd take and transfer.  All in all, it went really well.

So oddly enough, we got the saline HYS scheduled for the same day the consult call was meant to take place.  I had to drive down to the clinic, which is near DC but actually in Virginia, around lunch-time.  The DC beltway.  At lunchtime.  Oy.  I gave myself plenty of time though, and I actually got there 30 minutes early!  Surprisingly, they took me back immediately.  Brownie points!  True to his word, the procedure was easy peasy and showed I have a picture perfect uterus (what a compliment!).  Got back to work and finished the day out.  The next week I got my blood work done.  Now unfortunately D needs blood work too, but his work schedule is craaaaazy.  So he's scheduled for this Friday, but now he may have to cancel because of a change in where he has to report to.  So frustrating!  He only needs ONE test done.  But it is what it is.

Almost done this update, promise!  So the other update?  I have a lawyer!  Yep.  We've entered the contract phase.  I was pretty well officially cleared by the clinic (I mean, barring D's blood test coming back wonky, which it shouldn't!) so IM's lawyer is currently drafting the contract.  My lawyer will receive it and then slide it over to me.  Then we'll set up a time to go over any changes we want, and do tweaks until both sides are ready to sign!  Woah!

But I'm not saying anything else jinx-worthy.  If it is meant to happen, it will happen.  And that's it.  But I am getting a wee bit excited about the reality!  Nervous about the unknowns, and how things will be at work.  Meh.  Not worrying too much about work, they survive women getting pregnant and having babies.  Anyway, I'm not happy with how the previous relationship dissolved, but I am SUPER happy with how things have turned out. Praying D's work schedule allows him 30 minutes this week to get the blood test done! And that there aren't crazy changes that need to be made to the contract.  I'm flexible, so we'll see!

My perfect uterus! :)

Itty bitty progress

I feel like I need to give an update, even though I don’t have much to update.  So with CFA, the mock cycle is part of the screening process.  Which means we won’t do legal until I’m done with the mock cycle.  They need to make sure I'm a suitable oven for someone else's bun.  So I was told to email the clinic when my period starts. Aaaand guess whose period still hasn’t come, more than two weeks after stopping BC pills?  Yep.  I've had some greater than normal stress at work (shaky job situation, uncertainty of the future, you know same ol’ same ol’ for the corporate America workforce), and then got hit with the mother of all stomach viruses.  Our whole family was hit.  D recovered after two days, I’m still recovering after 4 days, and the girls are still getting sick.  This is day 6 for Bubs, who got it first.  So, the point of all this is, I’m pretty sure that completely messed up my cycle.  It was already messed up because I had basically a period in the middle of my last pill pack, but I kept taking the pills.  I don’t know why.  I guess I kind of suck at changing course.  

Soooo, every night I go to bed thinking I have to start temping so I can figure out where I am in my cycle!  And every morning I wake up and completely forget to take my temp.  For those of you scratching your head, I was BIG into the fertility awareness method about five years ago.  There’s an awesome book on it, and it should be a required read for all women!  If you want to look it up, it's called Taking Charge of your Fertility, by Toni Weschler.  Seriously, I learned so much about my body!  And I credit it to getting pregnant so quickly with both girls.  Granted, I have no fertility issues so that helped too.  Your temp tends to run lower from the start of your cycle to ovulation.  Then once you ovulate, your temp skyrockets up, then stays up through the luteal phase until your period comes.  Then the temp drops back down.  I pretty much know my baseline temp, which I don’t think has changed.  So if I could remember to take my temp, I’m sure after a few days I could figure out if I’m pre or post ovulation.  There’s also cervical mucus to check (yeah it’s as lovely to check as it sounds) but I’m out of practice so I can’t rely on that.  If I were to guess, I’d say I’m around ovulation though.  Which means at least another week.  I hope I’m wrong!  I started bleeding on the 18^th of January, and before BC pills, my cycles were about 26 days.  So, that would put AF at Feb 12.  Um, yesterday.  haha.  So maybe it’ll be a 30 day cycle, and come Monday.  

But I have gotten some things done for the process!  Took the PAI test (personality assessment something or other; a looooong test to see if I’m BSC), and Derek & I went to the pysch screening, first met with the counselor by ourselves and then with IM.  It was slightly awkward, but mostly good.  And I only say slightly awkward because I randomly started crying about something totally irrelevant to surrogacy, and Derek was thrown off guard and got all flustered.  Yeah, me and my stupid overactive tear factory!  But I’m pretty sure she put in a good word about us.

So, who wants to pray my period comes?  Haha okay, I guess there’s no rush.  It’s going to come in the next two weeks, and then things are going to get really real!  Oh and one more update that’s not as happy.  Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it.  My IM is taking a job offer that will put her in another state!  Boo hiss!  I thought it was awesome that we lived so close, but she won’t be across the country, just a few states away.  And good for her, it seems like a better position.  Work is such a big part of our lives, so it’s important to find something you can enjoy or at least happily tolerate.  I mean, come on, I live in the real world.  Not everyone LOVES their job.  There's too many mediocre jobs out there that need to be done.  But anyway, I hope she really likes the new job and hometown.

So that’s all for now.  I literally won’t have anything else to update until the mock cycle starts, since everything else is done.  Well, unless someone comes to the door to take me to a loony bin after interpreting the results of the PAI test.  :)  And since I feel like a picture makes such a nice ending to the post, here's the bubs (and Sateen) taking a nap in the sunshine spot of the house.  I used to do this before I had kids, even when I WAS a kid I did this at my parent's house.  She's my mini me. :)  And excuse the random clutter.  That's how we roll!

meds received

So I came home from work (and an awful day at that, complete with a commute that was triple in time) to a box of meds.  Well, technically the meds were inside the box.  But I was quite surprised by how light the box was, and how little the pills were!  My mock cycle meds have arrived, though I'm not ready to start them yet.  Still, it was exciting opening the box and reading the two page long warnings for each medication.  I've got estradiol (estrogen) and progesterone to fluff up my lining in preparation of the "transfer". I'll get instructions later on dosage and timing of the meds, plus appointments for lining checks and blood draws.

This process is so humbling.  I am in awe of the women who do this not by choice, but by necessity.  The pressure for success of each cycle must be paramount.  Not only is a great deal of funds riding on each cycle, each medication, each day of fertility treatments, but a life.  A potential part of their family is riding on the line.  I'm seeing this from a completely different point of view, but I will make it a point to really attempt to place myself in the shoes of the countless women for whom fertility does not come easily.  They may still be excited to see a box of medications on their porch, but for them it's more likely the excitement that their future son or daughter is within their reach.  For me, the excitement is in making that reach a little closer for someone, if I can.

D finally got his blood work done, and now in less than two days we'll make a trip down to DC for our psych screening.  I'll be sure to update when it's done!

Oh and here's a pic of the meds I'll be taking in the near future! haha hey I want to document the journey!

First test is in the bag!

Wow I went from having to really stretch for information to put in updates to having something worth writing about!  As my last blog post stated, I was scheduled to have a phone call with a doctor at CFA on the 12th.  And by the way, time didn't exactly zoom by.  I had plenty of things to keep me busy, but it was on my mind every day.  So I had the call and it was such a simple thing.  She asked me a few questions about my medical history, but most of it she had in my chart.  She then went over the process and what test I needed first, plus what to do next.  So basically, the first thing to get done was an HSG.  The technical term is a hysterosalingogram (or -ography, depending on the site you look up).  Basically it's a type of xray, a fluoroscopy, using a contrast material they shoot into the fallopian tubes to see if there's a blockage.  Women facing infertility have this done to look for possible causes.  For me, it was to make sure there wasn't a a blockage that could cause trouble for the surrogacy.  So the doctor said to get that done this month while I'm still on birth control.  Then when my current pill pack is done, to stop taking them so we can do a mock cycle.  That will be me getting all the meds of a real cycle, minus the actual transfer of embryos.  That's to see how I'll respond to the meds.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I got off the phone, and started poking around looking for a place to get an HSG test done.  Apparently nothing super local does it!  Or at least nothing I could find.  I made so many calls that day, I had to stay over at work because I used too much time doing it.  I did find a place in Columbia, but the first woman I talked to was a bear!  And I was certainly not my pleasant self either.  I felt like I'd been running in circles to find a place that did this test, and now this woman was telling me because I don't get a regular period, I needed a blood test from my OB's office proving I wasn't pregnant!  I told her, it's because I'm on lo loestren, one of the side effects is a light or non existent period.  I did question it but my midwife assured me it was normal.  So it's been like this for months.  Anyway, I wasn't having that so finally she put me on hold, came back and said fine if you want to consider your spotting a period, what's the exact day you spotted?  I said I don't know, why is that relevant?  She said this test has to be done 6-10 days after your period.  So I said look I'll have to call back, after I go home and try to figure it out.  But by the time I got home, they were closed.  I just used the 2nd day of my pill pack as the day because I think it was around there, and J at the surro place said that 6-10 day window doesn't apply if you are on the pill.  Someone needs to tell that lady that!  Thankfully someone different answered the next morning.  It took a while but she squeezed me in for the Friday, the 16th.

Sorry this is so long-winded! haha can't help going in depth since this is the first real step I've taken.  So I get there, and man did my nerves kick in.  I wasn't waiting long before I was brought back.  So there's a table, and a HUGE machine (where the pics would be taken) that slid over the bed.  I got prepped and laid on the table, talked to two very nice techs who thought it was awesome I was doing surrogacy.  They explained what would happen, sort of how it would feel, and the rare risks that could happen afterward (mainly infection).  The doctor came in (why did he have to be so dang good looking?), and inserted a catheter into my cervix.  Inflated a balloon to keep it in place, then injected contrast through the tubes.  The worst of it was that damn thing they insert for a pap, I hate that contraption!  I felt normal cramps, like day 1 of a real period.  No pinch, nothing worse than that.  It was so quick too!  Less than five minutes, a few x-rays, I rotated my hips to each side for different angles, and then he pulled everything back out.  The contrast was gross, but they warned me about it.  Oh and the best part? No blockage!  That would have hurt, and I have such empathy for women who have this test done and see (and feel) a blockage.  It's an amazing test though, being able to so quickly identify a problem.

So now that the HSG is done, next is my annual with blood work Monday.  And Derek has to get blood work done.  Then the psych screening.  Still waiting to hear about that being scheduled.  But wow, things are really moving!  Some moments I'm nervous, some I"m excited, some scared, some eager.  Depends on my mood and what I start thinking about.  Delivery?  Yeah, that's scary!  Helping create a family?  That's the awesome part.  Praying that all goes well, and that this is my path.  I feel that it is, but I am trying very hard to keep an open mind and heart so that I can roll with whatever comes my way in this adventure.

Looking forward to the next update!

Here's a picture of the place where I had the HSG done, just to make things a little more "real"

CFA

A happy update!  An actual update!  Had the phone call and we really got along well!  We're on the same page, it was easy talking to her, and she's someone I feel really good helping.  She actually wants to transfer two embryos, so the possibility of twins increases, but it was something I said I'd be okay doing.  But I'm getting a wee bit ahead of myself.

After the phone call I told J I was comfortable moving to the next step and waited to hear what my potential IM said.  There was a bit of a delay, and I was actually starting to get worried.  Finally heard back from J, and she said IM was confident this was a great match and so we were officially matched!  No meeting needed before making it official!  I'm sure we will meet soon, but I think given the fact that two previous surrogates have fallen through for her, IM wants to wait until I get approval from the clinic.

And speaking of that, I filled out pages and pages of paperwork this weekend for CFA (Columbia fertility associates) and will email them Monday.  I have a scheduled consult call on January 12th with a doctor there.  Seems so far away, but with Christmas, New Year's and Olivia's birthday party, I'm sure it'll come fast.

But I have IM's contact info so I am working up my nerve to make small talk while we wait for my consult.  I wish I was better at casual conversation!  Or any conversation. haha

Seriously though, I think this is the biggest update I've given so far!  Merry Christmas & happy New Year!

Moving on...

So my latest update is not one I’m too excited to post.  After months (and months) of waiting, I got the news that it wasn't going to work out with the IP’s I’d been potentially matched with.  

To sum up, in September they went through the process of retrieval and creating embryos, then PGD testing.  No embryos were good.  After some more waiting & contemplating, they decided to try another cycle for more embryos.  That took us through November.  So earlier this week, Tuesday the 9^th I think, I got a message that there was an update, and we needed to have a phone call.  I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be good news.  So I guess when I actually got the news that again, no embryos were normal, I wasn’t shocked.  Granted, my heart hurts for this couple, because there’s an issue with her eggs.  Since they don’t want to use an egg donor, this is the end of the line for them.  They do have a child already, so he will be their blessing during this difficult and emotional time.  As I was trying to process this news, I was also told there is another potential match for me.  This time a single woman unable to carry a child, but someone that wants to start a family.  Talk about mixed emotions!  I want to cry for the couple that I was supposed to be matched with, but at the same time I want to cheer at the possibility of moving forward so soon.  The difference between these two is that the single woman already has healthy embryos frozen and ready to become babies.  So once we officially match, things will move forward at a normal pace.  What’s more, this woman had a surrogate but that fell through due to her history and not being cleared for another pregnancy.  So here we both are, having the other side fall through.  I know she is more eager than I am, considering her future family rides on finding a suitable surrogate.

So what actually happens next?  A phone call.  It all starts with a phone call.  I had the option of that or an in person meet-up.  And as much as I dislike the phone, I’d rather start there.  Then after getting those first few nervous questions and comments out of the way, we can meet up.  Hopefully.  I’m not going to get ahead of myself.  First, we need phone chemistry.  So Monday night we’ll chat, and then go from there!  I’m feeling hopeful.  More hopeful than I have in months.  This could be it! 

I’ve waited five+ months with no movement, barely any communication from anyone.  I was a teeny bit hurt that the potential IP's didn't want to have any communication with me while they went through the process of egg retrieval and embryo testing.  But now I suppose it's a bit of a blessing.  Still, I do wish I could tell them how sorry I am for them and that I wish them the best.  And to give their son a big hug for me.  But I think they'll give him more than enough hugs for themselves.  :)

Hurry up and wait!

Well, I would LOVE to have a ton of updates because it has been over 3 months since I posted.  However, this is surrogacy we're talking about. haha.  Which means, not a whole lot has happened.  But a few things, so here's what you missed:

Had the phone call, it turned out to be just IM & me.  Wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be (granted there were some pauses but overall it was way better than I expected).  I got to hear more about her story, she got to know a bit about my perspective.  We talked about our thoughts on pregnancy, lifestyle, etc.  We agreed on nearly everything!  Only thing we didn't see eye to eye on was coffee.  If you know me, you know where I stand.  But hey I can give anything up for 9 months, so bring it!

So after our talk, we both gave J the thumbs up.  I thought our next step would be to meet.  But then I got the news that the IPs decided they would rather wait to get embryos that passed PGD testing before we move forward.  Disappointing that I couldn't stay in contact yet, but I understand their need to have their guard up.  They've already had plenty of heartache trying for a baby.  No sense in building a relationship and then have it end because they didn't have any embryos to go forward with the process.

So to back up a bit, if you don't know what PGD testing is, it stands for preimplantation genetic diagnosis testing. So in vitro fertilization is done, where an egg retrieval occurs and is fertilized, then after a few days the embryo divides into 8 cells and 1 or 2 are removed for testing.  If everything checks out okay, the embryo is either implanted or frozen.  In our case it would be frozen until we get to the point where we'd be ready for it.

The cycle was set for September.  I was told by the end of September, we'd have the results and there was no reason to think anything would be wrong.  So when I didn't hear anything by early October, I was a bit worried.  Apparently the internet decided to eat some emails, because I found out J had emailed me, and that no embryos were good.  Talk about a blow to the gut when I saw that!  Not just for me, definitely not for me.  I was so upset for my IPs.  I didn't know what was going to happen at this point.  A few days later I heard they were going to try again, but didn't know the timeline.  So more waiting.

Fast forward two weeks (which puts us to the end of October) and I found out IM was on Lupron (suppresses the hormone that causes LH surge, i.e. ovulation) and she was scheduled to go in for a check soon.  And that check was last Friday.  So, based on calendars that Mr. Google provided me, after a baseline assessment and a stimulation phase, a tentative egg retrieval would be set for about the 17th, best case scenario.  Add 5 days to grow the embryos out, and another 5-6 days to get results of the PGD testing, I'm looking at possible results (and healthy happy embryos) by Thanksgiving.  But realistically I'd be more likely to hear the first week of December.  That would be a pretty cool way to end the year, huh?  A visit with the IPs and plans to have my screenings done!

But that's all up in the air.  So in the meantime, I'll do some more waiting.  :)

And I'll try to update sooner than 3 months from now!

Moving on to IPs

Whoops!  I didn't come back to update!  So a brief recap.  Last I left you with was I had my appointment with the midwife.  Well, the day came and I headed to the office. I was more nervous than I've ever been!  In fact, when they took my blood pressure, it was 130/80!!  Okay, that doesn't sound horrible.  But my normal BP is 100/60.  So I was even more freaked thinking there's no way I'll be approved now!  Well, my midwife came in and we chatted about surrogacy.  About the risks of pregnancy, about her concerns with me postpartum, but she took the words out of my mouth when she said, "So do you think it was actually PPD or more like, 'wow I'm now responsible for this little person and I have no idea what I'm doing!' kind of overwhelmness?"  (Okay she didn't say overwhelmness, haha but you get the idea).  So yeah, that's exactly what it was.  So then she brought up Clomid and the risks, and if I'd been in my right mind I would have pointed out that I won't need that since we aren't using my eggs.  Shew!  So after a good long talk, she filled out the approval form!!!

So next step, J sent my profile to a potential couple, and they liked what they saw.  I looked at their profile, and they are exactly the type of people I was hoping to help.  To complete their family.  But I won't say much about them, for now, because we're still in the feeling-each other out stage.  In fact, we're going to schedule a phone call this week!!  EEK!  I am NO good on the phone, so I hope I don't say crazy stupid things!  I need a script.  lol  Hmm, maybe I should start writing one out.  :)

So that's all for now.  I know this is rushed, but it's late and my bed needs me.  Until the next update!

Still in limbo, but getting closer...

So I wanted to give an update, even though its not a mind-blowing one.  I’m still kind of in limbo, but I’m closer than before.  

So my medical records finally made it to the agency in late June.  I got an email from J the owner, and she said we should schedule a call.  So I made it for July 2^nd.  I was so nervous!!  I went down to the cafeteria for my lunch break and right on the dot, my phone started ringing.  I answered and sure enough, it was J.  So the first thing that came up was something I thought could be an issue.  After having Olivia, I went through a stage of not knowing what the hell to do and it freaked me out.  we struggled with breastfeeding (for two months), she cried for hours every evening, didn't sleep at night (okay does any newborn?), and I didn't feel like I had a maternal instinct.  I was put on zoloft and felt instantly better.  Seriously, it was miraculous.  Or it could have been the return to work (and a normal routine) that fixed me, which was around the same time.   Whatever the case, I was off it after about a month.

 But anyway, back to surrogacy.  It was recorded as PPD in my medical record, which always sends a red flag (hello, forever stigma).   But luckily I won't have to keep any babies with surrogacy, so there won't be any change to my schedule after delivery.  I can blissfully go back to my own chaos.  So after that was settled, we went over the process and talked more about the agency, and ended the call.  I felt relieved, but knew the waiting wasn’t over.  

Next step?  I only need approval from my midwife, and I go see her on Monday.  So less than a week.  I’m worried.  Why?  I don’t know, because that’s what I do.  I’m worried the second she walks in, she’s going to say “you can’t handle surrogacy, so I can’t approve you.”  No idea why she’d say that, considering immediately after Cassia came out, she said “You’re ready for a 9 pounder next!”  But I tend to focus on worst case scenarios, which would be her saying no way.  So I’ve been staying busy to try not to think about it.  I just signed up to be a Jamberry consultant!  Haha, totally outside my comfort zone but I love their wraps so why not.  It’s a challenge and gets my mind off negative thinking.

So I will be coming on here immediately after the appointment to update! Okay in all reality, I’ll try to post sometime next week.  At some point, this has to get less nerve wracking, right??  I feel like the kid waiting to be picked for the kickball team.  I was usually the last one picked...

Snags

So this is a post I didn't even contemplate writing.  I guess I thought once I decided to go for this, it would be a slow but steady process.  What I was not expecting was to get an email thanking me for my time, but that I didn't fit with their agency.  Apparently my views on early termination are so extreme (they really aren't) that it would take years to find me a match.  Thanks, but no thanks, they said.  I read the email and just felt shock.  Then outrage.  What kind of agency are they running that none of their clients believe in avoidance of early termination?  I was hurt by the rejection, and considered forgetting this whole process.

Then I decided to apply to another agency that had been a close second when considering where to apply.  And guess what?  They denied me too.  So at this point, I've spent an enormous amount of time filling out applications (they aren't quick) and received two slammed doors in my face.  Out of either desperation or frustration, I rushed through the application of a third agency that had been on the back burner.  Even quicker rejection!  So, this seemed like a sign for sure. And it still may be.  But.

A friend of mine who is also a hopeful surrogate told me about her agency.  A small one that has a more lenient view on termination and finding matches.  So, here I went again.  I emailed the owner and got the application, along with medical & record release forms, and a fee schedule.  I decided I'd fill out the application first.  Then waited for denial.

It didn't come.  In fact, she said everything looked good, and to get her the rest of the forms!  I wish I could say I felt relieved, but I'm still worried about what they'll say when they look at my medical records.  I don't know what they say, so I don't know if my midwife wrote that I was stark raving mad or who knows what.  So I'm still waiting for the email of rejection.  And if it comes, I think I'm done trying to find an agency.  It will be clear they won't accept me.  But I'm not giving up hope until that rejection comes.

So hopefully in the next 3 weeks I'll have an update. I pray for a happy update.  I want this to work out, so so much.  I pray for it daily.  So now I wait and see if what I'm praying for is what God has planned for me.

Testing 1..2...3...

Test post so that my sad little blog doesn't say "You have no posts" anymore!

Just submitted my twenty page application (describing every aspect of my life in detail) to the agency.  Now I wait for "3 business days" before the next thing happens. What that is, I have no idea!  I'm assuming they'll request more info, maybe medical info, maybe get some things signed, talk about the process.  I'll post when this next step happens!

Whew this is actually happening!  Well, potentially.  :)  I'm not exactly a half glass full person, am I?