Welcome to Oregon

January 17, 2022 No Comments

Holy moly, time flies! I’d really like to be posting more than once a month (or a month and a half!) and I think it’ll be more likely in the future.

This past month has been exceptionally busy. First, there was enjoying the last few weeks of maternity leave with family and friends in Germany. We celebrated Christmas with some of my aunt’s family by having a nice raclette feast! Shortly thereafter, my aunt and uncle drove us to Frankfurt where we all spent the night before baby and I caught our flight to Ohio.

During our short three days stay in Ohio, we visited my residency program to see everyone. I also had an OBGYN appointment for my Pap smear (make sure you are up to date on your Pap smear, my cervix possessing friends!).

Our journey to Eugene Oregon the next day was a doozy.

Connecting Time – Indefinite

Our journey from Cleveland to Eugene started really early on December 30th. Our flight out of Cleveland was at 6:10 AM (!). The flight to San Fransisco was fine, Baby didn’t sleep much at all but did make friends with the passengers around us. Shortly before landing, I checked the airline app to see if our connecting flight was on time. It was not. Au contraire mon amie! It was CANCELED. Due to staff shortages.

Remember hearing in the news how United had to cancel a bunch of flights between Christmas and New Year. Yeah, mine was one of them.

Once on the ground, I contacted a United agent to see what my next option would be to get to Eugene. The best they could do was put me on standby for a flight at 4:30 PM. Not great, especially since it was only 8:30 AM at the time. All of the flights the next day were only on standby as well. I neither liked my chances nor did I like the idea of being stuck at the airport with a baby for 8 hours. So after some deliberation with my family, I decided to rent a car and drive. Also not ideal with an 8-month-old baby but at least I was getting closer to my destination.

Road Trippin

We were looking at a 540-mile trip ahead of us. It took forever to get out of San Fransisco. Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge somewhat made up for it though. I only made it to Redding, California before booking a motel and spending the night. I don’t typically experience jet lag but I kept us on sort of a wonky schedule in Ohio because we had such an early flight to catch. Now being 3 hours even further behind, we were in bed by 8 PM. However, we then left the motel by 3:30 AM.

The morning drive was adventurous. Once we crossed the Californian border, we were in the mountains. The fog was so thick and it was snowing. At one point, I was only driving 15 mph downhill and hoping my little economy car wouldn’t fail us. Eventually, I started to get hungry and really wondered if there would even be a place to eat since I hadn’t seen an exit in quite some time.

Heaven on Earth

I asked GoogleMaps where the nearest restaurant would be. It suggested a place called Heaven on Earth which was only 20 minutes away. Well, with a name like that, and my options very limited, I decided to give it a try! We left the highway and quickly pulled up to a wood cabin with a big sign that read “Home of the Famous Cinnamon Rolls”. The sun was just starting to rise. We walked in to find cinnamon rolls as big as a plate! A lovely lady seated us. The only other folks there was a table with 4 older gentlemen who all seemed to be cowboys.

The omelet I ordered was exactly what I needed. The open fire made the place very cozy. We chatted a bit with our server and the chef before heading out again for the last 2 hour stretch of our journey. Before dropping off the rental car at the airport, I stopped by the gas station to fill up. I was quickly informed by a nice man that I better not touch the pump or I could be looking at a $1500 fine. … Wait…what? Turns out, you are not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon and New Jersey. Good to know!

Eugene

I spent New Year’s Eve going to bed around 9 PM. I was in a new city, knew no one, had a baby, and was perfectly content with it all. The following day, we walked around the city a bit and ran some essential errands before picking up my uncle late at night. He flew in from Germany to watch the baby while I went to my first week of work.

My first impressions of Eugene:

Weed is omnipresent. There are so many dispensories in and around the downtown area. Holy Grail, Spacebuds, Oregon Weed Oulet… so… many…shops.
Homelessness is omnipresent. There are large lots filled with tents. Tents are set up at seemingly random places along the neighborhood. As a co-worker would later let me know, the numbers of homeless people is so high in Eugene due to a combination of skyrocketing rent, strict city expansion laws and liberal policies which make it a more welcoming place. In contrast, in Springfield, a more conservative town, which is literally right next to Eugene, it is illegal to hand anything out of your car window. Apparently its a law to stop people from giving food or drinks to the homeless. Supposedly, other more conservative cities in Oregon give the homeless a one-way ticket to Eugene and tell them they’ll be taken care of here.
Kindness is omnipresent. Everyone I have met has been kind. There are countless Black Lives Matter signs in the businesses and “Choose Kindness” signs in the neighborhood.

Svikki MD

My first week at work was all orientation. I work at a community health center. There are several offices throughout Eugene and I was able to shadow at several of them throughout the week. Not only was it nice to shadow providers to get a feeling of how their electronic medical record program works (vastly different than the Epic program I am used to) but it was also nice to shadow them seeing patients. It’s been 9 months since I’ve seen patients. Although I wasn’t afraid of having forgotten how to use a stethoscope, it was nice to ease back into the clinical setting by being a fly on the wall.

Everyone, from the providers to the support staff, really seem to enjoy the work that they do. The patients we see in the clinic are mainly Medicare, Medicaid, uninsured and underserved. They tend to be fairly complex, both medically and socially. However, the people working in the clinics really seem to have a passion for helping these people get the healthcare they deserve.

I was happy to find out that I would be working in a clinic closer to home than the one I originally was told I would be at. Since I was all over the place for orientation week, I was able to stop by at home for lunch a few times. My first week was Monday through Friday. Going forward, I’ll only be working Tuesday through Friday.

My first week of orientation went well and my first week of being back at work went well for Baby too. My uncle did a great job and I really enjoyed having him here with me.

I receive very intense kisses when I get home from work.

Three Day Weekend

I’m so excited to spend our 3-day weekends exploring Oregon. My coworkers have given me some fun suggestions of things to check out. My uncle, the baby, and I spent our first weekend in Portland. I’ll write about that and my first week back seeing patients in the next post (which hopefully will be next weekend…truly, I hope). If you have any suggestions of what I need to see, eat, do, or experience in Oregon, PLEASE let me know! I’m here for 7 months and I want to explore!

mfg

Happiness, Travel

Getting into the Christmas Spirit…sort of?

December 1, 2021 No Comments

Over the last several weeks, I have been back and forth between Stade and Göttingen. I’ve been visiting family and friends. I’ve also been spending some time looking through old pictures at my grandparents’s home and working on putting together a family tree.

I haven’t really done much exploring as I intended to. This is multifactorial. Firstly, going back and forth between Stade and Göttingen so frequently eats up quite a bit of time. Especially when I get back to the house in Stade, its grocery shopping, doing laundry, getting organized. When I leave the house, there is a checklist of things that need to be done and trying to pack as minimally as possible for the baby and myself.

Secondly, the weather has been a bit of a bummer lately. It’s not exactly an appealing thought to go on a long walks in the rainy, windy weather.

Thirdly, the COVID numbers have been rising dramatically again in Germany. These numbers are mainly fueled by the unvaccinated. About 68.6% of the eligible population is vaccinated. The distribution is not proportional. There is a clear north-south divide when you look at a map of the cases. The north is more vaccinated and has less cases. Northern states are taking ICU patients from the southern states because the southern hospitals are overwhelmed. With these rising numbers comes increased restrictions on public life. As of today, many parts of Lower Saxony have a 2G+ rule.

German Covid Regulations

In Germany, they have the 2G and 3G regulations. The G’s are geimpft (vaccinated), genesen (recovered), and getestet (tested). Many places already had 2G regulations in place. If you were vaccinated or had recovered from Covid in the past 6 months, you were good. As I mentioned, as of today, many increased the restrictions to 2G+. So in order to partake in certain activities (Christmas markets or going to get your hair cut), you need a few things. You have to be either fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid no more than 6 months ago AND need to have a negative test result from that day as well. Oh, and you still have to wear a mask.

The rising numbers have also caused many Christmas markets to shut down after only being open a few days or not opening at all.

Christmasmarket Adventures

I briefly visited the Christmas market in Göttingen last week when I was in town to grab some chocolates and flowers for my friend’s birthday. I had to show my proof of vaccination and ID to obtain a wristband. This wristband had to be shown to vendors to be able to buy anything. I quickly grabbed some fried mushrooms as a little snack. Back in the day when I was a medical student, we would head to the Christmas market as much as possible in the evening to drink some Glühwein (hot, spiced wine).

Yesterday, I drove to Buxtehude, about 20 minutes from Stade, to check out their Christmas market. Buxtehude is associated with fairytales. The city’s mascots are a hare and hedgehog. The story surrounding the two is similar to the American story of the tortoise and the hare. You’ll find statues and depictions of the two in stores, on the street and on street signs. For Christmas, they set up statues of various fairytale characters throughout the city. To enter the Christmas market, I had to show them my proof of vaccination and ID. I read a few of the stories posted under the fairytale statues and grabbed some Schmalzkuchen. That is fried pieces of dough topped with powdered sugar. Similar to funnel cake in the USA. Overall, it wasn’t really busy. Maybe I was just too early. But it didn’t feel like the typical Christmas market experience.

Mission: get into the Christmas market!

Today, I drove in the opposite direction and wanted to see the Christmas market in Himmelpforten (Heaven’s Gate). On the radio, I heard that Lower Saxony was now using the 2G+ rule and wondered if this would already apply to the Christmas market. When I arrived, I saw the large poster at the entrance gate announcing the 2G+ rule. I asked the gate attending where I could get tested. Luckily for me, there was a testing location in walking distance. Their website said they weren’t open for another 40 minutes but I decided to head over anyways. The walk was filled with light rain and fairly strong winds. My baby was tucked in the baby wrap under a cashmere sweater and oversized winter jacket. If it weren’t for the imminent threat of Christmas markets potentially closing soon, I would’ve gotten back into my car and driven home.

My wait at the testing center was maybe 15-20 minutes before being tested. They had opened early. When I exited the building, I saw that the line had quadrupled in length. I apparently wasn’t the only one surprised by the 2G+ rule. In Germany, you can use an App on your phone at testing centers. Your individual QR code is scanned and then the result is automatically uploaded into the app. Germany actually has a few Apps it uses. There is one for checking in at restaurants and such by scanning a QR code so that you don’t have to fill out the contact tracing paperwork. Another App verifies your vaccination status and one even alerts you if you have been in the vicinity of a person who recently tested positive. All pretty nifty.

Mission accomplished

Since it was going to take about 15 minutes for my test result to be ready, I headed to the grocery store to grab a few items. When the test result was on my phone, I finally headed to the Christmas market. All in all, about an hour after I originally arrived.

It was a bit depressing to see how empty the Christmas market was. This was likely due to all the people still standing in line to get their Covid test. There were a lot of vendors with handmade crafts as well as several food and beverage vendors. I walked around a bit looking to see if they had potatoes pancakes (one of my favorite Christmas market foods) but unfortunately, they didn’t. Nonetheless, I wanted to support the vendors, so I found one selling deep-fried apple rings. At this point, baby was over being in the carrier, so I decided to head back to the car and head home. Again, the real feeling of Christmas market was lacking a bit unfortunately.

The church in Himmelpforten (Heaven’s Gate)

Practicing gratefulness

I really am grateful that I’ve had the few Christmas market visits so far. There are a few more on my radar I’d like to visit in the near future. I’m even willing to take on some of the increased security measures to do so. But I also fear many will shut down or not even open because there won’t be enough visitors. It’s a bit sad because if it weren’t for Covid, I’d visit the markets in Hamburg, Hannover, Kassel and so on. They would be filled with people, laughter, food, drinks, snacks, lights, decorations and fun. It would be a time to spend with family and friends and make memories. Maybe I’m idealizing the experience a bit because it’s been so long since its been that way for me. The first few years after graduating medical school because I wasn’t in Germany and the last two years because of Covid.

If pandemics of the past are any indication however, this time of restriction too shall pass. I guess I’m also grateful that my baby is just that, a baby and won’t remember this time anyways. Hopefully, by the time long-term memory kicks in, Christmas markets will be back to their old glory and we can eat, laugh, drink, play and make memories together then.

mfg

Motherhood

Let’s talk about Postpartum (Part 1)

November 9, 2021 1 Comment

Peanut is now 6 months old and it feels like just yesterday but also oddly really long ago that I was in the postpartum phase of my fertility journey.

As a medical student and resident physician, I did not receive a lot of training about the postpartum period. The postpartum period is generally considered the 6-week timeframe following delivery. I knew the big pointers and things often tested on exams:

the difference between Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression
vaginal bleeding goes through different phases of coloration
the uterus size decreases over several weeks
breastfeeding does not necessarily come naturally to the birthing person and/or baby
sore nipples if breastfeeding
how to monitor baby’s weight gain appropriately

That’s about it. I would venture to say that most of you reading this know about most of those things even if you or your partner haven’t gone through the postpartum period personally.

My co-residents/baby doctors visiting us Postpartum Day 1

Learning from experience

I definitely did not feel fully informed/prepared for the recovery time after delivery. All of my knowledge was so generalized. Yes, I knew I would bleed, but for how long? I knew that I would have sore nipples if I was successful with breastfeeding, but for how long? And I figured the vaginal area would hurt after pressing a human out of it, but again, for how long? When would it be ok to start working out again? Which workouts would be best?

I had a great birthing experience, was able to do it without pain medications, but I did have an episiotomy. Every birthing story is unique and I can only speak from my own experience from the singular birth I’ve ever gone through (as the birthing person). So the experience is likely very different for someone who had an epidural or difficult delivery or there were problems with the baby.

Talking to my tribe

Speaking with my friends in Germany who have given birth and following their postpartum journey, I was reminded of how very different the postpartum period is depending on your location. It’s a special feeling speaking with others who have gone through labor and delivery because they can understand and relate so much better than someone who hasn’t. That’s essentially the case with any experience in life though really. That’s why support groups can work so well.

I asked my friends and my Instagram followers to share some of their stories and experiences with me. I want to summarize some of the things they shared over several posts. Additionally, I’d like to highlight some of the differences between a postpartum journey in the USA versus Germany. Finally, I’ll share some of the products birthing people and their partners shared with me which they found particularly helpful during the postpartum period. (I am not receiving any merchandise or financial reward for mentioning any of the products. These are purely recommendations from people who felt it made their postpartum lives a bit easier.)

Postpartum Surprises

Personally, I didn’t anticipate how hard it would be to just sit down anywhere after my episiotomy. Healing from that was really the only thing I disliked during my postpartum period. Everyone gets instructed on perineal care after delivery even if you don’t have a tear or episiotomy that needed suturing. Essentially every time you use the restroom, you have to flush the area with water to keep it clean. Now imagine a major wound healing in the perineal area. It made walking uncomfortable and sitting comfortably nearly impossible.

Add to that the normal bleeding after delivery. Going to the bathroom was such a process. Changing the blood-drenched padding, waiting for the water to be somewhat warm so you could fill the squeeze bottle with it, flushing the area, patting the area dry, applying the pain-numbing spray, and getting all dressed again, every. single. time.

Poop PSA

Speaking of using the bathroom. Let’s be very frank about pooping after delivery. (Pooping during delivery is totally normal and I assure you neither the nurses nor the doctors care one bit. If you are worried about your partner feeling some type of way about it, maybe reevaluate your choice in a partner) Postpartum pooping is not a joke. My advice to everyone having a delivery… DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE STOOL SOFTENERS! Between the hormonal changes, not drinking sufficient (if any) water during or after delivery, the organs shifting into a new place after the baby is out, and extremely decreased physical movement after the delivery, constipation is nearly unavoidable.

I was very diligent about taking Miralax during my pregnancy. In the hospital, I was given a stool softener. When I arrived back home 24 hours after the delivery,… I forgot to continue taking the Miralax. BIG MISTAKE. I have never been so constipated in my life. I was also worried about the episiotomy wound healing ok while trying to have a bowel movement. If you remember anything from this post, please remember to take your stool softeners after delivery!

What surprised the Tribe?

Here are some of the responses I received when I asked, “What surprised you the most about the first few weeks after birth?”

How I slept with the light on because I was afraid of everything!
How awful breastfeeding is./The struggles relating to breastfeeding./ That breastfeeding is not a given and works right away
All the blood. All the belly. And how quickly it went away!
The impact of sleep deprivation on every. Single. Area. Of my life
How little sleep I actually needed
My joints did not feel strong for a long time! They almost felt wore out. Boo!
That first post-birth poop. Nothing prepared me for that lol (Remember people, stool softeners are your friend)
No time for anything – even though we were two people. Sometimes hardly found time to eat
How tired/emotional I felt, how terrified I was of doing something wrong
Bladder control after, cramping while nursing, overproduction of milk
Crying for no reason!
How the baby was emotionless until week 4-6. Cried at birth, but within 10 minutes just quiet and examining.

I can relate.

I could relate to quite a few of these. It took me a few nights to figure out just how much light I needed in the room to sleep and function when the baby was awake. I tried different night lights and having the lights on in the hallway. Eventually, I landed on just having the light from my Owlet base station be enough for me to see in the dark once my eyes adjusted. That is still all the light I have on during the night now.

My breastfeeding experience was rather uncomplicated except for the sore nipples. Oh my. It is quite the transition from not using your nipples and trying to avoid wardrobe malfunctions to having them constantly being used and whipped out in all sorts of settings. I’ve been a rather flat-chested person for most of my life. The engorgement and sudden seemingly Pamela Anderson-sized boobs were an experience. There were definitely a few days where it hurt pretty bad for the first 30-60 seconds when the baby latched on. With time, lots of nipple cream, and repeated use, the pain disappeared and the cracks healed. My boobs had a different shape, size, and consistency to them multiple times a day for the first several weeks. Eventually, those changes become more subtle.

Sleep deprivation was not a huge issue for me. It just feels like I have been on call for the past 6 months lol. Medical school and residency definitely trained me well. A while back, I learned that breastfeeding parents don’t interrupt their sleep cycles like non-breastfeeding parents do when they are awake with the baby. The body is wired in a way that allows breastfeeding parents to quickly fall back into the sleep cycle pattern they woke up from. Mother Nature’s way of trying to help with the sleep deprivation a bit, I guess.

Postpartum awareness

Society at large knows more about pregnancy than it does postpartum. There is also the weird fact that pregnant bodies are admired and praised while postpartum bodies are immediately judged and misunderstood. I hope to raise some awareness about postpartum and normalize it. It’s the fourth trimester and belongs to pregnancy as much as the first three trimesters with the baby still in the belly. It has its own unique challenges and I would say a much steeper learning curve than any of the trimesters with baby still on the inside.

I would love to hear from you about what surprised you the most about your own or your partner’s postpartum journey! Let’s share our experiences so postpartum parents don’t feel so alone in their experience and soon-to-be postpartumers are a bit more prepared for what’s to come!

mfg

Happiness, Travel, Uncategorized

Oh The Places You’ll Go

October 26, 2021 4 Comments

Well hello again!

It feels like forever since I last posted…almost two months ago! It definitely wasn’t my intention to wait this long but I’ve been rather busy.

I spent the first week of September visiting my sister and her family in Rochester, New York. Then it was back to Ohio to get things moved out of my apartment and into a storage unit. Since I wasn’t going to be working in the area, it didn’t make sense to keep an apartment. When choosing the storage unit, I wanted one that was climate-controlled and big enough that I could set up my garment racks, dressers, and shelves in it. I didn’t want to have to look through boxes when I make pitstops in Ohio to exchange items between contracts.

Once the storage unit was found, I spent the next couple of weeks slowly moving things into it. At the same time, I was in the process of selling the car I had been using. I was also interviewing and working out details with the Au Pair agency. All of this didn’t leave much time to write.

Then, on October 7th, I flew back to Germany with my child and this time, Omi (my mother) came along!

Quarantine Baby

At the time of our arrival in Germany, children under the age of 12 had to go into quarantine for 5 days. This even applied to infants. Luckily my mother and I did not have to quarantine since we are both vaccinated. In order to make the most of the time either one of us could leave the apartment, I booked us an AirBnB right by Jungfernstieg in downtown Hamburg.

I’ve visited downtown Hamburg many times but usually only for day trips or I’d be in the suburbs visiting family. It was nice to be able to leave the building and be in the middle of the action. I let my mom be out and about most of the time. I spent my time playing with my child or crocheting (I’m really into that at the moment).

The Car Seat Saga

When I did leave the apartment during nap times, I spent most of the time looking for and buying cloth diapers. The car seat I had checked in at the Cleveland airport didn’t make it to Hamburg when we did. I had fastened the entire cloth diaper collection I had into the seat before checking it. I wasn’t about to buy disposable diapers. Luckily, I found some muslin cloth diapers and a new diaper cover I quite liked.

Three days later, I received the notification that they had found the car seat in Amsterdam and would be sending it to Hamburg the next evening. This would’ve given them a whole day to deliver it to the apartment (a 20 min trip from the airport) however, the night before our planned departure, it still hadn’t arrived. There wasn’t anyone I could call either, it was all done via email with the airline (not the baggage handlers).

I ultimately gave them the address of my uncle’s place and told them I’d have to rent/buy a car seat in the meantime since we had a long driving trip ahead of us. They said the car seat was already with the delivery service and that they would inform them of the new address. We took the train to go pick up my uncle’s car that was parked at my grandparent’s house. I went to a children’s store fully expecting to buy a new seat but the owner was so cool and offered to rent one to me instead.

Can a car seat earn airline miles?

Several days later, I received a call in the middle of the night (luckily unnoticed since I silence my phone at night) from Cleveland. The voicemail informed me that my car seat had made it back to Cleveland and they were wondering where they should send it. I called the baggage department back and actually got the same guy on the phone that left the message. We agreed that he would send the car seat back to Hamburg and that it would then stay there until I came back to drop off my mother for her return flight.

Luckily, this saga has a happy ending since I was able to retrieve the seat when I dropped off my mom.

The Germany Road Trip

The three of us covered quite a lot of road… about 2000 kilometers or about 1250 miles. The map below doesn’t include all the stops because Google Maps wouldn’t allow me to add more stops. You can get a pretty good idea of the distance we covered.

For my American friends, driving from Hamburg via Stuttgart to Munich is just a bit further than driving from Milwaukee, WI to Pittsburgh, PA. However, driving that distance in a European country means spanning various cultural differences in dialect, food, landscape, and traditions.

We had a fabulous time visiting family and friends along the way. Below are some pictures from our journey!

The First Illness

During the second to last leg of our tour, we were in Göttingen, the town I went to medical school in. Amongst other activities, my child and I went to visit some of my college girlfriends who now both have daycare-aged kids. We had a great time visiting, catching up, and playing with the kids. The day after our visits, however, my baby started the morning off by vomiting up all the milk they had just consumed. They then continued to frequently vomit copious amounts over the next two days. All that counseling I had done with new parents during residency when they were dealing with their baby’s first illnesses was taken from theory into practice. At one point, I was feeding just drops of pumped breast milk at a time with a little dropper bottle in the hopes that my baby would keep it down.

Many more outfit changes and long snuggles ensued before my little one felt better. Luckily, we didn’t have any baby vomiting incidences the day we traveled back to Hamburg. Unfortunately, now I had become a bit nauseous and developed body aches. The driver seat heater in the car was much appreciated. Fortunately, I didn’t have to vomit. I can’t say the same for my poor mother. She was not feeling well at all the night before the flight and I was contemplating changing her flight.

Luckily, I had a small home pharmacy of Zofran, Protonix, and Ibuprofen with me that got us through it. I felt back to normal the next day and my mom managed her flight back home fairly decently as well.

I guess I’ll have to be a bit more specific when it comes to “sharing is caring” with my kid. Sharing your germs is not ideal.

So what’s next?

As of right now, I will be in Germany until the end of December. I have a few more people I want to visit. I’d also like to explore a bit more of my immediate surroundings. I haven’t often been a tourist in Germany since I spend so much time visiting family and friends. I’m hoping to see a few new places and revisit a few old ones. Pre-christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. I wrote about it last year. You can read that post here. I’m so excited to be in Germany for it again this year. It’s been 6 years since I was last here to enjoy the Christmas markets. With the way Covid is currently looking, I should be able to enjoy some markets again this year.

I have a few ideas for things I’d like to write about. I’d also like to share more of Germany with you as I explore it. It definitely shouldn’t take another 2 months before my next post. But you never know what life throws at you.

Hope you are happy, healthy, and well!

mfg

Locum

From Sea to Shining Sea

September 2, 2021 6 Comments

Originally, I thought I would be starting a new job this week. I’m so happy I’m not. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride getting here though!

{Bridge near where I was living in Germany}

The Search

Often, with locum work, a job is found and agreed upon a few months prior to the start date. I work with two locum agencies. Doing so provides me a broader range of job offers. I told my recruiters that I would like to have a job near my mother in Ohio for September through December and starting January 2022, start traveling again.

One of my recruiters reached out in April with a job offer in Oregon. We presented me with a start date in January. Simultaneously, we were looking for a job for Sept-Dec.

Ohio Option #1

One of the first offers was an outpatient position about 3.5 hours from my mother’s place. I offered 4 days a week instead of 5. They countered and asked if I would work 3 days. Heck yes! More time with my child? I’ll take it. They offered to pay for a hotel as our accommodations. I found an Airbnb in the area and suggested that instead. That way, I could get set up in one place for the duration of the contract. Now that a child is in the picture….so is their crib, diapers, toys, etc. I did not want to move all of that every week. I also didn’t really look forward to a 3.5-hour drive twice a week but I did like the possibility of a 3-day workweek.

Ohio Option #2

While option 1 was being discussed back and forth, my recruiter from the other company reached out with an urgent care option 3.5-hours in a different direction from my mother’s place. They were looking for a physician to work 8-10 twelve-hour shifts a month. I figured I’d at most want to do four shifts in a row. That would cut down the 3.5-hour drives from weekly to about every other week. More pros included fewer workdays, freedom to create my schedule, and a higher hourly wage.

This option moved quickly and within a few days, I had an interview. The interview went really well. They even actively helped me look for child care options. I started filling out paperwork for credentialing and handed in the days I wanted to work in September. However, a few days later, they decided that they only needed night shifts covered. … Well obviously that wasn’t going to work.

Ohio Option #3

While option #2 was falling apart, my recruiter was already working in the background to find a backup option. Usually, hospitals or clinics reach out to the locum company with a need for a doctor. However, my recruiter and her co-worker flipped the script and started reaching out to clients around Ohio. A clinic 50 mins away took the bait. At this point, I was already in Germany. So instead of telephone interviews, we did Zoom calls to avoid international charges.

The first interview was with the CEO and COO. It went well. The second interview was with the medical director. It went well also. A few hours after that interview, the medical director called me back and asked if I would seriously consider a permanent position. I told him that I am a traveler and I could commit to four months. They were looking for at least a 6-12 month commitment. With that, this option was over.

Many, many options

After option #3 fell through, I reconnected with my agent from the first agency. I had told her about option 2 when it seemed like that was going to happen so she didn’t need to continue looking for Sept-Dec. Since we weren’t finding an option in Ohio, I opened up our search to everywhere. Within a few hours, I had so many options emailed to me. There were offers including New Mexico, Colorado, New Hampshire, Kansas, and Washington. I really liked the Washington offer but getting a license in Washington can take several months.

Simultaneously, my other agent really wanted to get me placed somewhere (I’m pretty sure they get paid a commission for placing physicians). She called me with an option in Indianapolis. I got really excited because one of my best friends and former co-resident/roommate lives and works in Indianapolis. The office looking for a locum was located RIGHT NEXTDOOR to the office of my friend! I was so excited.

An interview was scheduled a few days later. I know I mentioned that the other interviews went well but this one didn’t only go well, it was also a lot of fun. I instantly connected with the ladies. The work environment they described sounded great: a very diverse patient population with many non-English speaking patients. I like caring for patients from different cultures and working with translators. My friend and I discussed all the fun we would have if/when this option worked out.

Of course, the Indianapolis job was just too good to be true. They wanted me but there was an issue with licensing which wouldn’t allow me to work there in time.

Running the numbers

After the Indianapolis job fell through, I decided to run some financial numbers to see if I could afford just not working for the remainder of the year. Having saved most of the money I earned in South Dakota, falling into a lower tax bracket if I didn’t make any more money this year and that freeing up the money I had put aside for taxes, I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to extend my maternity leave!

If the perfect job had presented itself (the Indianapolis job was indeed my favorite), I would’ve liked to be back in the office seeing patients. My mom guilt would likely be a bit reduced for a job I truly enjoyed rather than just working any job. I definitely could have found just any ole job if I wasn’t the one being so restrictive. However, I refuse to work more than 4 days a week while my child is so young. I didn’t want to go to such a remote area that child care options weren’t available. Additionally, I wanted to be somewhere new and not work somewhere I’ve worked before. I’m grateful that I am in a position to be that picky.

So, I have extended my maternity leave through the end of the year! I’m back in the US for a few weeks before heading back over to Germany until shortly after Christmas.

2022

The job I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the one in Oregon, worked out! I am scheduled to work in a Family Medicine Clinic four days a week starting in January through July 2022. I’m currently in the process of finding an Au Pair to come live with us.

I am beyond excited to spend a few more months full-time with my child and family/friends. It’s great that I have new adventures to look forward to in January.

The process of finding a locum contract might seem messy and stressful. However, I actually find the journey rather exciting and thrilling. It can definitely be an emotional roller coaster to imagine yourself in various places from coast to coast in a 24 hour period. The process is not for everyone. But as of right now, it’s exactly what I want and need.

mfg

Herstory, Motherhood

How to make a baby. No birds or bees necessary.

July 31, 2021 No Comments

Fertility treatments are on a spectrum of how much is involved in achieving a pregnancy. On one end, you have home insemination kits where you buy the sperm and it gets injected into the vagina. The sperm then have to find their way through the cervix to the uterus, up the fallopian tube where they hopefully find an egg coming their way. On the other end of the spectrum lies IVF. This can involve many hormone shots, egg retrieval procedures, fertilization of the egg with a single sperm, genetic testing of the embryos, and implantation into the uterus.

My journey as one step up from home insemination. No turkey baster for me!

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

The procedure I had performed was called intrauterine insemination. In other words, washed sperm is injected with a syringe and tubing that has been placed through the cervical opening directly into the uterus. It’s essentially a fast pass for the sperm because they don’t have to find their way through the cervix themselves. “Washed” sperm means that any mucous and non-motile sperm have been removed. This leaves the good swimmers left and increases the chances of pregnancy.

Eisprung

Eisprung is the German term for ovulation. Literally translated, it means egg jump. I’d like to think of my eggs as little athletes who have to jump to get where they want to go, lol.

Before the IUI could be performed, I had to predict when my ovulation was going to happen (i.e. when the egg gets released from the ovaries). To do this, I would start using an ovulation predictor kit (available at drug stores/grocery stores and online)about 4 days after my period ended. Each woman has her own cycle length. I had recorded mine for many months prior to starting to try to conceive using an App. That way, I had a pretty good estimate of when things might happen since my cycles were fairly regular.

Ovulation occurs about 14 days before the next menstruation starts. That’s only helpful information if you know the average length of your cycle. Otherwise, when your period starts, you can only say you ovulated about 2 weeks prior. That’s not helpful when you need to know when you’re going to ovulate for a procedure. There are some physical signs you might be ovulating soon. The consistency of the cervical mucous changes to become more watery around the time of ovulation. This allows for sperm to more easily get through the cervix to their destination.

Smile! You’re about to ovulate!

To use the ovulation predictor kits, you have to either pee on the tester or dunk it in a cup of pee in the morning and wait. The one I used showed a smiley face if your ovulation was likely to happen in the next 24 hours. The test looks for the LH (luteinizing hormone) surge. The surge in LH triggers ovulation.

For the first round of IUI, my smiley face unfortunately presented itself the day before my family medicine board exam. I wouldn’t have been able to move that so I spoke with my doctor and decided to do it a day later. This drastically decreased my chances of it working out. However, I had ordered two vials of sperm and was only going to be in the area for two months. I didn’t want to pay for storage or shipping fees if I would’ve had sperm left over.

Not surprisingly, the first round didn’t work (even with my fertility dance). I wasn’t too upset about it since I knew the chances were slim.

Round two went much more smoothly.

Making a baby with my mom in the room

My mother was with me for both of my IUI sessions. I felt it was really nice to share that moment with her and I think she quite enjoyed it as well. Great story to tell my child someday.

So when the smiley face showed up the second time, things really fell into place. I was able to get off of work to have the procedure done the next day.

First, we had to show up an hour before the scheduled appointment to sign off on the sperm. This allowed the fertility clinic to process the frozen sperm for the procedure. An hour later, my mother and I were sitting in the exam room. A nurse practitioner came in, verified my identity, and had me verify my sperm donor’s information on the vial. Then I laid back, relaxed, put my feet up and the NP injected the sperm into my uterus. Afterwards, I laid there for about 10 minutes. That was it. Pretty uneventful. Not painful. And less fun than the alternative way of getting pregnant.

Two lines!

Two weeks after the IUI and on my last day of residency, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive!

My excitement was contained. I was very happy that it worked. I had never been pregnant so I was excited that I now knew I could become pregnant. Knowing how many more steps there were until I would be able to hold my hopefully healthy baby, my reaction to the positive test was not comparable to that in the movies. But I was definitely excited for the many milestones ahead and knew that with each of them, my excitement would grow.

Check, please!

One of the questions I often get is how much this all costs. I can only say what I paid. Each fertility journey is different with MANY different factors that can effect the cost. Some fertility clinics have all-included packages or reduced prices for self pay. I was self pay since my health insurance didn’t cover fertility treatments at the facility.

My expenses, including office visits, genetic testing, labs, imagining, IUIs, and sperm came to about $3,750.00 total. Each additional round of IUI would’ve cost me about $820 (sperm + IUI procedure).

I was grateful to be a position where I was able to save up and afford this. It would be nice to see health insurances increasing their coverage of fertility treatments. Maybe not primarily in my scenario but rather for people dealing with infertility. Infertility is a medical disorder, it’s not something people choose to have. My opinion is that it should be treated as such and be funded like other medical disorders are too.

Correction

Before I wrap up this post, I did want to make a correction to my previous post. I have since then learned that it actually IS possible for single women and lesbian couples to have fertility treatments done in Germany. I had someone come visit me a few days ago who is currently pregnant, a single mother by choice and had her procedure done in Germany. Apparently, the laws have changed somewhat which created a gray zone in the legislature. This made it possible for fertility clinics to start offering the services. So YAY to that!

mfg

Herstory, Motherhood

The Workup

July 15, 2021 2 Comments

Greetings from Germany! Peanut and I have been in Germany for almost two weeks now. Family and friends are stopping by to get to know peanut and I’m eating a ton of yummy German food.

In the last post, I explained how I chose my sperm donor. Before I could try becoming pregnant, however, there was a list of things I needed to do first. Keep in mind that each person’s fertility journey is unique and every clinic has its own unique protocols. I can only speak from experience about my journey with the clinic I chose.

The R.E.I. Specialist

No, not someone who is really into camping and works at the Recreational Equipment Inc. but rather a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist. First on the list was a consultation with an REI specialist. As I had mentioned, a lovely woman I met during residency, who was finishing up her REI fellowship, recommended I have a consultation with her friend and co-fellow. This was during the beginning months of the pandemic, so it was a virtual visit.

We discussed my general medical history, sexual history, and desire to conceive. She explained the process and the steps that would be necessary to move forward. She ordered some basic labs as well as labs more specific to fertility such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and anti-mullerian hormone (AMH). Sexually transmitted infections testing was also done. A pelvic ultrasound was ordered to take a look at my ovaries and uterus. A hysterosalpingogram (HSG) was ordered as well. An HSG is a radiological procedure where a contrast solution is injected into the uterus through the cervix to show the contour of the uterus and assess if the fallopian tubes are open.

I also opted to have genetic testing performed to look for an exhaustingly long list of recessive genetic disorders. My sperm donor did not have genetic testing done prior to being allowed to donate. The sperm bank I used now requires all new donors to be tested. I really wanted this particular donor and felt that if my recessive gene test panel was negative, then I could move forward with him. For those of you who don’t remember how recessive genes work, both parents have to have the recessive gene AND pass it on to the child for it to affect the child. So, if I wasn’t positive for any recessive genetic disorders but the donor was, my child wouldn’t be affected. They could still be a carrier for the disease but I’ll end the genetics lesson here. Thankfully, my entire workup was unremarkable.

The Cardiologist

Prior to my REI appointment, I had an echocardiogram done to assess my heart. I have always had somewhat hyper-mobile joints and am quite tall with low back issues at times. The possibility of Marfan’s disease had crossed my mind on several occasions. I was never too worried about it until I was seriously contemplating becoming pregnant. It didn’t necessarily help when a physician assistant at one of my rotations told me the story of how she knew a girl whose mother died during childbirth from aortic rupture due to undiagnosed Marfan’s syndrome. Thankfully, my heart is fine.

The Geneticist

Despite the normal echo, I also met with a geneticist to discuss genetic testing for Marfan’s syndrome and other connective tissue disorders. I had a genetic connective tissue disorder panel done. Again, thankfully it was all normal. Now I felt like I could definitely move forward with trying to conceive and carry a child.

The Psychologist

A mandatory step prior to trying to conceive with the fertility clinic was meeting with a specialized clinical psychologist. We discussed my desire to become a mother, why it hadn’t happened with a partner yet, and how I plan to raise the child. She gave me really great insight into several topics.

Motherhood: this means different things to different people. There are also different aspects to motherhood and you may use all of them or just some. Motherhood can mean contributing your DNA to create a child and/or being pregnant and/or raising a child. I am very, very fortunate to be able to have all three aspects with my child. Some people use surrogates or require an egg donor. Some (myself hopefully included someday) adopt and raise children. These people are all mothers. For some, certain aspects might be particularly important. I really wanted the experience of pregnancy and knew I would be very sad if I couldn’t.
Sperm donor children: apparently, there are online sites where you can register with your sperm donor’s number/sperm bank information and find other families that used the same donor. This way, the half siblings can meet up. I do not plan on doing this unless my child decides they would like to. Then, I’ll support it 100%. My family is big and I have a lot of friends, so I don’t currently feel the need to expand that even further.
Single mother by choice: there is definitely a community of women, like myself, who have decided to be single mothers. There are websites, forums, Facebook groups, etc. where I could go and find support should I need it.
Raising a donor child as a single mother: the psychologist told me that there are multiple children’s books available that address this topic. In today’s world, there are so many different types of family structures raising children: mom & dad, mom & mom, dad & dad, single mom, single dad, step-parents, grand-parents, aunts & uncles, etc. I have to raise my child showing them all these different structures so that they don’t feel like someone (“dad”) is missing.

Checklist complete

Luckily, my entire workup was unremarkable and I received the green light from the psychologist to move forward with trying to conceive. I selected my sperm donor and ordered the sperm. Although the fertility clinic recommended I order four vials of sperm, I only ordered two. They had told me that most people conceive within three rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI) (I’ll go into more detail about this in a future post). I was only going to be in the Ohio area for two more months before traveling and then heading out to South Dakota for work. If it hadn’t worked in two rounds, I would’ve established care in South Dakota and would’ve shipped more sperm there.

My appointment with the REI specialist was June 1st, 2020. My first round of IUI was July 14th. It took about a month to get the entire workup completed. I was then able to start the routine for the IUI. That will be the subject of my next post!

Svikki MD

On a different note, things are in the works for my next assignments! The first assignment will be somewhere in Ohio from September through December. In January, I will most likely be out in Oregon for 7 months! I’ll share more details once things are locked in.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. I’ve really loved the outreach so far and getting to speak with people about sperm donor pregnancies. Really exciting news pertaining to this came out of France this week. France has passed a law allowing single women and lesbian couples to get fertility treatment! This was previously only allowed for heterosexual couples. Similar rights exist in 10 EU countries, the UK, Norway, and Iceland. Germany is unfortunately not one of the 10 EU countries that allow single women and lesbian couples to receive fertility treatments.

I am so thankful I was allowed to pursue my dream of motherhood on my own terms.

mfg

Herstory, Motherhood

So many choices

June 24, 2021 1 Comment

It has been a great 7 weeks so far as a mother. We took a two-week trip to Wisconsin to visit family and have been back in Ohio for almost two weeks now. There has been some increased crying over the past two weeks but the nights are still very manageable. We’ve applied for the American and German passports and received the American one in the mail yesterday!

Ok, so let’s talk about the process of how I got pregnant a bit more. I’ll share different parts of the journey with each post. I already shared why I decided to become a single mother by choice in my previous post. As I had mentioned, I happened to meet a reproductive endocrinology and infertility doctor during residency. She gave me some recommendations on sperm banks she liked working with. That is where I began the journey.

Choosing a Donor

If you were to line up the men I dated over the past 10 years, you’d notice they are quite the diverse group of fellas. They all had fairly similar personalities, however. Something obvious would be that the majority of them were black. Over the past 10 years, when envisioning my future children, I often envisioned them to be mix-raced due to the men I was dating. When it came to choosing a sperm donor, however, I decided to choose a caucasian donor.

Although I mainly dated black men in my life, I did not think it was fair for me to have a mixed-race child that society would see as black and not have a partner present to help that child navigate the world (especially in the USA) as a black child. I don’t know what it’s like to be black. I’m aware I live in a world that (besides my gender identity), is built for me to thrive in and I do not have the same obstacles. Although I intend to adopt in the future and there is a chance my adopted child will be black, they already exist in the world and I am giving them a loving home to grow up in. In that case, I will also make sure they have exposure and connections to that community.

So once I decided on my donor being caucasian, I narrowed down the list with a few aspects. I wanted the donor’s description to be as close as possible to someone I would be attracted to. I first narrowed it down to donors who are taller than me. Then, I eliminated the blondes. Although I’ve dated a blonde or two, they usually aren’t what I’m attracted to. That narrowed the list down to around 10 donors. I requested extended profiles for each of them.

Tell me everything!

The extended profiles were about 30 pages worth of information on each donor. They covered information including:

Donor Fertility History
Donor Health History
Nutrition
Exercise
Medical History
Exposure History
Tobacco Use
Alcohol Use
Caffeine Use
Work History/Experience
Sexual History and Relationships
Family Health History
Ancestry
Children’s Medical History
Personal Essays
Personal Characteristics
Physical Features
Psychological Profile
Detailed Family History of Father, Mother, Siblings, Grandparents, Aunt and Uncles

As you can see, that’s a lot of information. I’d venture to bet that is more than some people know about the person they decided to procreate with.

My donor was the third profile I read from the ten I requested. Everything was perfect for me except for a cat allergy (and there is loratadine for that should my child inherit that particular trait). Some important aspects for me were Family Medical History, Psychological Profile and Physical Features. His personality is similar to mine and we have many of the same interests. The personal essays were interesting to read. While my donor had a very genuine and kind reason for wanting to be a sperm donor, others were less impressive. My favorite answer from one of the donors when asked why he wanted to be a sperm donor was “honestly, I didn’t know I could get paid for this!”. While I appreciate your honesty, bro, no thanks.

I was visiting my father at the time I was vetting through the profiles and would read them out loud to him. When I excitedly read my donor’s profile to him, he asked if I was choosing a donor or my next boyfriend. I guess that is a good sign.

Show me the money!

You can spend a fortune on choosing a donor if you so please. Firstly, different sperm banks have different prices for a vial of sperm. It was recommended that I order 4 vials. I only ordered two, but more on that in a later post when I talk about the process. The sperm bank I went with charges $500/vial. There are sperm banks that charge upwards of $1000/vial.

Besides the extended profile, the other extra thing I paid for was some childhood pictures of my donor. My sperm bank does not provide current photos of their donors but does mention celebrity look-a-likes. Other sperm banks do supply a current photo for a fee. The only other extra item my sperm bank offers is an audio file of the donor. I opted not to purchase that (although maybe I will in the future). Other sperm banks have a plethora of extras you can purchase. This can quickly make the sperm donor choosing process an expensive one.

Call me, maybe?

One last thing that was very important to me: an open donor. This was important to me and also strongly recommended by the reproductive psychologist I had an appointment with (more on that in a future post). This means that my child will have the option to contact the sperm bank and obtain contact information of the donor when they turn 18. In a day and age of DNA test kits, the last thing you want is your child to take a test, find their biological father and that person wants nothing to do with them. I will support my child’s decision, whichever way they decide to go with this.

What’s in a name?

That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. That might work for Shakespeare and his Montague and Capulets. But what do you or your child call the sperm donor? Do you always say “sperm donor”? I don’t really want my child to refer to that person as “the sperm donor”. I still have a bit of time before this actually becomes a topic of discussion with my child, but currently, I am leaning towards referring to the sperm donor as their father when talking to others. When it comes to talking with my child about it, I still haven’t decided how exactly I’ll refer to the sperm donor. Supposedly there are children’s books available for these situations. I’ll have to find and buy them soon.

I feel father is a formal name for a person whose DNA helped create a child. The term “Dad”, in my opinion, is reserved for the person who raises the child. There are many different family structures in the world and I’m interested to know how other families have decided to handle their titles.

Gratitude for the Donor

My fertility journey could not have gone more perfectly than it did. I had an amazing pregnancy, wonderful delivery experience and now have a beautiful, healthy child to hold and call my own. Although I don’t know who the sperm donor is, I am grateful for him. I’m grateful that he decided to become a donor. The other candidates I looked through weren’t nearly as great on paper. In a way, I know a lot about this man from the information in his extended profile (granted he was truthful about his supplied information).

Potentially I’ll get to know more about him in 18 years if my child decides to reach out. But even if that doesn’t happen, I am content with the information I do know and believe that he is a person I would enjoy being around. I’m sure I will see glimpses of him and his family in my child when I don’t recognize certain aspects as being from me or my family.

One thing I do know, is that I will speak kindly about this man to my child because without him, my child wouldn’t be who they are.

mfg

Happiness, Motherhood

My newest adventure and greatest responsibility

June 1, 2021 5 Comments

For those who follow my Instagram feed, you probably already know where this is headed. At the beginning of last month, I was fortunate to experience something truly amazing. I gave birth to a healthy baby!

Many are probably asking themselves, “wait…what? I didn’t even know she was pregnant.” That was intentional. I really wanted to enjoy my pregnancy for myself, my family, and my close circle of friends and coworkers. Although I have a blog and social media accounts, I actually believe it is really important (and a luxury) to have some privacy and just enjoy life without being worried about posting or comments. This is obviously a personal decision and some people want to share every step of the pregnancy on social media.

I don’t think either way is right or wrong, it should be whatever the pregnant person is most comfortable with. As the belly grows and you begin to show, society already thinks they have a right to comment on your body and give you unsolicited advice. It’s up to you if you want to open that forum up on social media as well.

As a physician, I also am aware of what a miracle it is to actually become pregnant and then stay pregnant and ultimately deliver a healthy baby safely. There are a thousand things that can go wrong along the way. A danger of oversharing is possibly having to confront curious people if the posts suddenly stop because something went wrong. I was cautiously excited with every new milestone of the pregnancy: the positive pregnancy test, the 12-week mark, the genetic testing, the 20-week anatomy ultrasound, the 24-week viability mark, making it to full term. With each milestone, I became more excited. I was still cautious about my excitement until I held my healthy baby after delivery.

My Journey to Motherhood

A year ago today is when this journey officially started. It started with a telemedicine call with the University Hospital Fertility Center in Cleveland. I was visiting my father in Wisconsin at the time, it was the early days of the pandemic, so the newly widely available telemedicine really worked in my favor.

Although June 1st, 2020 was the official start, I have wanted to be a mother for as long as I can remember. I put it off during medical school and residency because I didn’t have the time or the means to have a child. Nor did I want to have a maternity leave of just 6 weeks. I also wanted to completely focus on medical school and residency because there was a lot to focus on. My plan had been to become pregnant about a year out of residency. However, my plan was also to travel a lot during that first year out. With the Covid-19 pandemic, that wasn’t really an option. So I figured, if I can’t travel, I can be pregnant instead and pulled by timeline up by a year.

The birds and the bees

A rather common first question after sharing that you are pregnant is “who is the father?”. Although I completely understand why that is the case, it was not the question I focused on when deciding to try to conceive. At least not so much WHO the father is but rather, WHAT his genetics are like.

You see, I’ve always envisioned myself as a mother, but not necessarily as a wife or partner. Sure, if I found the right person to raise children with, I wouldn’t be opposed to a relationship. However, I can’t say I was actively working on making that scenario happen. I’ve dated various men but rarely was it anything serious. And with those with whom it was, it didn’t work out for different reasons. That was never a major concern for me though. I have said for many years that I would use a sperm donor to conceive if the right man wasn’t in my life at the time that I was ready to have kids.

I’m very happy with my life not being in a partnership, I am grateful to be able to travel for work and I have a ton of projects I want to do around the world. Throw in having a strong personality, being a doctor, and a global pandemic, and the pool of potential candidates dwindles very quickly. But that’s perfectly ok by me.

Unconventional but On-brand

When I first started telling my family and friends that I was seriously considering a sperm donor pregnancy, I received a lot of support. I typically had to elaborate on my reasoning. Afterward, everyone could see why this was a good option for me. (At least to my face… who knows what was said when I wasn’t around.) Many weren’t phased at all by my plans because they had heard me talk about it before. I thought I’d get different reactions from people who didn’t know me that well, but to my surprise, many women said I was a genius and they wish they had done it that way. Baby-daddy drama is real, y’all.

I didn’t know anyone personally who had had a donor pregnancy though so I had a lot to learn. Luckily, a lovely woman I met a couple of years ago is a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist. She was just finishing up her fellowship in Cleveland. She set me up with her good friend and co-fellow for my first consultation. Prior to my appointment, she gave me recommendations for sperm banks so that I could do a little research.

Sharing the Journey

I want to share my journey to motherhood on this site because I think its important for people trying to conceive to know that this is an option. Its definitely not for everyone but it might be for someone reading this that didn’t realize it was an option. It might also be educational for the rest. To protect my child’s privacy, I will not be sharing very specific information regarding the donor or my child. I will also not be sharing pictures of my child on any social media platforms that show their face. I grew up without an internet presence until about middle school at which point I was able to share what I wanted about myself (for better or for worse). I’d like to give my child that same opportunity. Although I realize it’ll be a lot harder in this technological day and age.

I’m pretty much an open book otherwise and happy to answer questions or help with information should you need some help. I am not shy about the fact that I used a donor (as evident by this public post) and actually am quite proud of it. So please don’t feel like it’s an awkward situation. As long as you are coming from a sincere place of wanting to understand and learn, I welcome any questions.

So over the next couple of months, I will share the various stages of my journey on this site as I enjoy time off of work and raise a baby!

Svikki MD

In terms of work, I plan on starting part time in September. I’m hoping to find a job for the rest of the year near my mother in Ohio. Starting January 2022, I’ll start 4-6 month assignments again. At which point, I would like to have a live-in German Au Pair nanny. I’ll give updates on jobs as they come.

mfg

Happiness, Mother Nature

Amateur Advocate

April 25, 2021 No Comments

Today, April 25th, is World Malaria Day. Earth Day was just a couple days ago. Two causes that are important to me. So let’s dive in!

World Malaria Day

Malaria is a parasitic infection that is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. Refugees, pregnant women, and children are most vulnerable to the disease. In fact, every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria. The disease is preventable and treatable! In 2019 however, there were still 219 million new cases and 435,000 deaths. Children under the age of five made up 70% of those deaths.

There is good news though. About a century ago, malaria was nearly everywhere in the world. Through innovation, scientific progress, financial investments, and governmental/non-governmental programs, more and more countries are being declared malaria-free! Just recently, Algeria, Argentina, and El Salvador were declared malaria-free!

Malaria Fun Fact: the word “Malaria” comes from the Italian “mala aria” or “bad air”. It used to be believed that the disease was caused by bad air around marshes.

Nothing But Nets

I don’t just happen to know all these facts and figures out of nowhere. I’ve traveled to malaria-endemic countries, like Ghana, and was placed on preventative medications at the time. During medical school, I learned about the disease. What really got me in-the-know was something much more recent. A friend of mine posted about the Nothing But Nets Leadership Summit on Instagram that was planned for April 18th-20th.

Since I am currently on a break from work and wanted to fill my time with interesting things, I signed up for the summit. I’ve always had an interest in Global Health and plan on doing international work in the future, so it seemed like a good fit. Part of the sign-up process asked if I’d be willing to speak to my members of Congress on the issue. I haven’t done a lot of formal advocacy work so I thought this would be a good opportunity to get my feet wet.

In the weeks leading up to the summit, there were a couple of virtual meetings that were held going over the congressional meetings and the summit lineup. I researched the pages of Nothing But Nets, the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI), the Global Fund, and the members of Congress I’d be involved with. All of the organizations do amazing work and have continued to do so during the pandemic as well. Set up a successful system to combat one disease and you are ahead of the game to help combat another!

The first two days of the summit were a few hours each afternoon and had all sorts of speakers associated with the Nothing But Nets organization. There was representation from the WHO, the PMI, the Global Fund, the Luol Deng Foundation, artists, models, activists, etc. Videos transported us to the frontlines of where the work is being done. It was pretty cool.

Congressional Meetings

The last day was our day of meetings! I was in a group with 5 other people representing Ohio. There were four virtual meetings lined up with the two Ohio senators and two Ohio representatives. We spoke with members of their staff rather than the Congress Senators and Reps themselves. We had a script of information we divided up amongst the six of us. Every office was receptive to what we had to say and appreciated hearing from constituents on the matter. Each of us had a different reason why Malaria elimination was important to us. Some are survivors of the disease, some are part of Model UN, and some like myself, are avid travelers interested in Global Health.

Our goal was to get them interested (many offices already were) in the fight against Malaria. But also, to ask for two main things while Congress continues considerations of the fiscal year 2022 appropriations. The first being flat funding for the Global Fund at $1.56 billion. This ask is in line with the three-year commitment that the U.S. Congress made around the Global Fund replenishment conference in October 2019. This will allow the Global Fund to save an additional 16 million lives. Secondly, we are seeking an increase for the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) from $770 million to $902.5 million so that PMI can do three main things:

A) increase procurement of next generation bed nets to overcome insecticide resistance,

B) train and deploy more community health workers to reach at-risk populations, and,

C) address global supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 that led to increased manufacturing and freight costs for malaria commodities.

Bottom line: Advocacy is fun and important!

The meetings were totally not intimidating and the staffers really enjoyed hearing from us. We had former congressional staffers working for Nothing But Nets now that reported that they really liked talking with constituents while on the Hill. So if you find a cause you are passionate about and can get involved with congressional meetings, do! Hopefully next year, I’ll actually be able to go to Washington D.C. and show up in person for the meetings.

If you’d like to learn more or even donate to the good cause, check out these links:

Nothing But Nets: https://nothingbutnets.net
The Global Fund: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/
The President’s Malaria Initiative: https://www.pmi.gov

Earth Day

I could write a whole blog of its own on the topic of saving the beautiful planet we live on. So, I will keep it short here and keep content for future posts. Short and simple, we need to care about our planet and climate change. We need to care NOW and act NOW. Limiting climate change isn’t just selflessly for the planet but also very much selfishly to keep the human race alive. Many humans, mostly in the poorer regions of the world, are already suffering greatly from global warming. The cruel irony is that the people who contribute the least to the problem are the ones most imminently and strongly effected by it.

Live Earth Concert – Wembley Stadium London, UK – One of eleven benefit concerts held across the globe to help raise funds to help combat climate change. It’s hard to imagine being in such a packed crowd now, but that was an amazing concert to attend!

I have been interested in living in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way for a long time. I remember buying books about the subject in my teenage years. It started off with an awareness of turning off the faucet when not in use, turning off lights, unplugging electronics, and recycling appropriately. My vegetarianism was not initially motivated by the environmental impact but it solidified my stance when I learned about how many resources the meat industry uses to produce a pound of meat.

Over the course of the my life, I have taken opportunities to learn more about what needs to be done. I continuously analyze different aspects of my life and think about how I can live a more sustainable, environmentally friendly life. I’ve swapped out various products for environmentally friendly, plastic free alternatives (I’ll share some of my favorites in the future!). I try to reduce my consumption of goods, reuse items I have or buy second hand, and try to recycle everything that is recyclable. If I can, I walk everywhere I can instead of getting into the car. If public transportation is available, I try to utilize it. There really are limitless ways to help and many have the added bonus of being good for you or your wallet.

As I said, I will touch on the subject more in future posts. I believe everyone can change little things in their life if they are made aware of them! It is not hard implementing measures but you first have to be consciously aware of them. Once you are, it becomes second nature. It’s becoming more prevalent in the mainstream as well with more car companies reporting converting their fleets to electronic cars and President Biden’s commitment to combating climate change at the recent Climate Summit that included 40 world leaders. It’s happening and it needs to! We need to be better residents of this precious planet. Mars doesn’t look very inviting yet.

mfg

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