West of Boonsville

My brother-in-law Chad, his friend Chad and I just returned from a ski trip in Utah. What a great time! I've been skiing in Summit County (west of Denver) and to Whistler (north of Vancouver), but skiing in the Salt Lake area has to be my all-time favorite. We went to Alta and Solitude.

We flew back into St. Louis and, instead of heading back home, I drove west to Kansas City. I had a 3-day meeting in KC where I would have the opportunity to meet a group of State Farm Agent interns and their leadership. Over the past 5 years, I have been pursuing an opportunity to become a State Farm Agent. Meeting these people would definitely help me in the future as they have responsibility for hiring new agents in the St. Louis area as well.

For some, the process to become an agent can be as quick as six months. It hasn't been that easy for me. I'm in the final step now, interviewing for specific openings. Each step along the way, I've been asking myself if it's the right move. After so many setbacks, it's hard not to question . . .

Driving along on my way from St. Louis to Kansas City, the thought came to my mind, "What if I don't ever become a State Farm Agent?" That was a profound thought, considering how much adversity I had fought through to get to the point I'm at.

At that moment, I felt a great sigh of relief come over me. I thought about how I could be a great father to my yet-to-be-born children, how I'd have more time to give to my wife and how I'd be able to continue to enjoy hobbies that I enjoy today. Owning and running a business means that you're probably working 50-60 hours a week, and when you're not at work, you're thinking about work. There's a lot of sacrifice that goes into it.

While these thoughts were going through my head, I looked up and saw a cloud that was shaped like what I thought reminded me of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, I seem to have a difficult time knowing when God is speaking to me. Maybe it's because I keep myself so busy?!

As I was driving west into the sun down Interstate 70, the best I could do to capture what I saw was to snap a few pictures with my cell phone camera. What do you make of these images?

All I can say is that I felt like God was using this opportunity to reassure me that living a life without having the opportunity to become a State Farm Agent could be great. And so I continue my search to see what opportunities await where God will fully use the gifts he has given me . . .

Polycystic ovaries

After seeing our OBGYN for close to 3 years for infertility issues, we were referred to the Jarrett Fertility Group and started to learn about the cause of Amanda's condition.

In just a short conversation and a look at her charts, Dr. Jarrett explained to us that she had what he called thin-woman polycystic ovaries (PCOS). Essentially, she had some level of insulin resistance that was causing her body to produce too much male hormone relative to her body's production of female hormones. This was causing her ovaries to produce poor quality eggs that weren't released from the follicles and were turning into cysts. This really made sense. That's why she had to undergo 2 laporoscopies!

Once he shared this with us, I scoured the Internet to better understand her condition and symptoms she had been experiencing that we missed. One site talked about having difficulty losing weight (she trained for and ran a marathon but didn't lose a pound!), irregular menstruation cycles, sugar cravings, naps and headaches. I was almost giddy to know that there was finally an explanation!

Another site talked about how glucophage (or glumetza), a drug normally given to diabetics, could help to reverse this viscous cycle.

Our visit with Dr. Jarrett

Dr. Jarrett was great. Very compassionate and understanding. He pinpointed the problem after a quick ultrasound. He thinks the problem is my polycystic ovaries (pcos). I knew I had them, but my other doctor's explained they were more a symptom than the problem. He said that I produce too much of a male hormone and so I am unable to fully produce the eggs needed for a pregnancy.

He gave me 2 options:

1. Go straight into the InVitro process.
   
2. Take a medication that will help me produce less of the wrong hormone and more of the right one. The first option is the one that I wanted to go with right away...lets get this show on the road! But after he explained the repercussions of not fixing the polycystic ovary (pcos) problem, which could result in a long hospital stay and possibly destroy my ovaries, I had peace about option #2.

He said that after 3 months on the medication, we could do invitro. But we may not need to because there is still a chance of conceiving naturally. Hope!

There are two downsides of taking this medication. The first is that I cannot eat any carbohydrates for 3 months. This will be difficult, but well worth it in the end. I may lose weight, which will be short lived once I get pregnant. The second is that any athletic ability I had, which is very little, may diminish. I guess Dave will have to get used to having an even "slower" running partner.

Anyway, Dave and I truly felt the presence of God yesterday. Everything went really well and we had a true joy in us. We know that the enemy who wants to destroy any hope we had was defeated thanks to your powerful prayers. Thanks also for your continued prayers, I truly covet them and need them. Our first born will know that her/his parents have a great group of friends and family that lifted them up in a very trying time and that she/he is a product of those prayers.