The Beginning of the End

This is it.

Today is "Day One" of my very last IVF cycle.

In many ways, that's a good thing. As I've shared here on more than one occasion, doing IVF is financially expensive, physically challenging, and emotionally draining.

But it is also a little bit sad.

This has been my life, on and off, for just over five years. The process is familiar. So are many of the people I see. I'm used to life being very structured, with certain things happening on certain days. I know my Melbourne IVF patient number so well I accidentally put it on a work document recently instead of my employee number!

Behind these walls each of my daughters was born.

I enjoy the acupuncture that I undergo as an adjunct to my IVF treatment, and value highly the support I have received from staff at Fertile Ground Health Group. I know parts of East Melbourne like the back of my hand ... and have put enough coins in parking meters there to sink a ship!

Still, change happens. And it can be very exciting. A new start awaits.

In the meantime, I hope to be mindful as I go through this cycle. I want to pay tribute to all the people who have supported me on this journey. I want to honour the embryos that haven't survived, as well as the beautiful three that did. And I want to show respect to this body, which has been through so much to get me to where I am today.

Have you experienced an ending that was also a new beginning?