|
Joe &
Nicola Pederson
February 2004
~~~
Tubal ligation
Apr 1, 1996
Tubal reversal
Feb 21,
2004
~~~
Pregnancy #1
It's a Girl! 3/11/05
Pregnancy #2
edd 10/24/06
~~~
7 cm both sides |
|
|
|
She's here!
Imogen
Moira Jaydenn
Born
March 11, 2005 @ 12:59 pm weighing 8lbs 12 oz and 20 inches
long. She couldn't be more beautiful! Everything went very
well and everyone is healthy. We had our beautiful baby girl
just barely a year after our reversal and we have you guys (Dr
Perez and Dr Levi) to thank for it, you guys are the greatest!
We feel so very blessed from God and the wonderful doctors that
made this happen!! |
|
|
February 2006
We wanted to
share that we're expecting our second TR baby!! I am 6 weeks
along. This baby is due October 24, 2006. Our first TR baby was born
March 11, 2005. We went to Dr Perez February 21st, 2004 and
ended up with 7 cms both sides.
We feel so
blessed with these babies that these wonderful doctors helped give
us!
Nicola and Joseph Pedersen
July 2004
We are excited to tell you that
baby Pedersen is on it's way! Thank you so much Dr Perez and
Dr Levi for all the great work and kindness!!! Dr Levi said that he
expected to hear pg news in three months and so here you go Dr Levi!
Our EDD is March 10, 2005. TR 2-21-04 (7 cm both sides)
got pg June 2004
This is the testimony of the
Pedersen family that includes; Nicola (29), Joseph (30), Nevin
(10), and Storm (7). I had my TL the day after my daughter Storm
was born which was 4-1-96, and had my Tubal Reversal with Dr.
Perez 2-21-04 about 8 pm.
I found a few things helpful that I
want to share first that might make your journey a little
easier.
When it comes to the planes, on the
way back make sure you tell them you just had abdominal surgery, get
the wheelchair request on your itinerary, ask for the seats directly
behind first class which are usually seats 7A-E (they even moved a
couple people so we could have those seats) cause those seats are
less walking distance and have a lil more room, and don't forget to
request PRE-boarding too (this way it's easier for them to get you
down in the wheelchair and nobody's bumping you) cause sometimes
those ramps are long. Also I found ice packs very helpful for the
pain.
We got our tickets through -hotwire.com- because it was definitely
the cheapest route for buying the airline tickets. We paid
$480 for two round trip tickets from Atlanta GA to McAllen TX that
was with American Airlines and we got them one week before leaving.
We arrived at the airport at 5 am and planned to arrive in McAllen
about noon but that didn't go as planned because the first plane we
boarded that took off ended up landing soon after take off due to
engine failure so then we had to wait for room on another available
flight. We did end up getting there about 3:30pm, so we still didn't
end up getting there real late.
Aimee was there awaiting our arrival and asked if we wanted to go to
the hospital first. We didn't have a problem with that at all so off
we went. We went right through the border without stopping, besides
to pay the $1.75 to cross. It was great having someone take us who
knew exactly where to go, could talk to the nurses, translate, and
let us know who else was at the hospital and who had just been
there, but other than that, I could not recommend their service to
someone else.
Dr Levi came within a few minutes to the nurses desk. He said that
we could go shopping and when we returned we'd do surgery that night
instead of the following morning as planned. I wanted to go shopping
first because I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much after surgery. We
left our things there and Aimee stopped by Jenell's room on the way
out the door and so I got to meet her and her husband Chris then. It
was nice being able to meet another family and to put a face with a
name off the group. I believe Aimee took us to Nuevo Progresso
, instead of Reynosa. Aimee said that there was more
outside vendors and stores there and we figured she'd know more then
us about that. We got our kids Mexican blankets and t-shirts. We
thought the Mexican blankets were something the kids could always
keep for years and years of remembrance of our trip and got the
t-shirts for them to wear, especially to school where they had
already told their friends and teachers all about our trip with much
excitement.
We got back to the hospital about 7 pm which they told me right away
to get undressed completely, including all jewelry and we'd get
everything going. On my way back to my room from asking a question
before putting on my gown I met a gal in room #3 but don't remember
her name cause she had called out to me as I passed by but couldn't
stay since everyone was waiting on me. Very shortly after getting my
gown on Dr Levi came in and started my IV which was a lil painful
but was only one poke and usually everyone has a hard time getting
my veins the first try and sometimes the second. A nurse came in and
wheeled me down the hall to right outside the OR. where Dr Levi then
introduced me to the rest of the doctors and nurses, although I
couldn't really tell who anyone was since I didn't have my glasses
on, but they looked as though they were all waiting on me to get
there. I like the fact that he told me who everyone was so it wasn't
like a bunch of total strangers working on me like it normally is.
I remember getting on the operating table and having Dr Moreno tell
me to get in the fetal position and that's pretty much it (I don't
remember them putting the epidural in, the catheter, shaving or
nothing). I remember asking somewhere near the end what my lengths
were and if I had any cysts, but don't remember the answer just the
fact that someone did say something. Joe was holding my hand the
entire time but said he couldn't stand to watch the person he loved
getting her insides cut open, so he concentrated more on me then the
actual surgery.
I remember saying before or after the surgery that Joe hadn't had
dinner yet since I couldn't eat earlier but Dr Levi told me not to
worry that he'd make sure that Joe ate cause they'd go out to
dinner. I really was amazed and quite grateful on how friendly Dr
Levi was, he was really personable the whole time we were there in
the hospital!! I recall getting taken back to my bed and the guys
leaving for dinner and that's about it for awhile. The nurses came
in and out every couple hours to take vitals and give me more pain
medication through my epidural. About noon Sunday they took my
epidural, catheter and IV out, and I was very glad to get it all
out. They don't like you leaving the hospital before being able to
get around good enough for a shower, so I tried sitting up as much
as possible but did feel queasy at first (probably due to the
medicines still wearing off). I did get into the shower later Sunday
evening and stayed one more night since I had originally planned on
staying Sunday night before the surprise of getting my TR done early
and didn't have anywhere to go. Dr Levi also likes you to walk
around a bit before getting discharged so before Joe woke up Monday
morning probably about 6am, I started walking up and down the halls.
Dr Levi caught me and asked how much I had walked and he said "keep
it up, you need to do more :)" but I told him that Joe and I were
going outside as soon as I woke him up. So about 8am I woke up Joe
and we walked around the block that the hospital was on, then we
came back and Joe packed everything up cause the plan was that we
were leaving at 10 am at the same time as Jenell and Chris with
Aimee. We went shopping one more time for Chris and Jenell cause
they hadn't gone yet. We got our future baby a blanket which we only
found fitting to get there in Mexico where everything happened.
Shopping after surgery was OK but I really enjoyed it more before
surgery. After getting into McAllen Aimee dropped Joe and I off
first at the Holiday Inn Express (by the airport) before taking
Jenell and Chris to catch their plane. I don't think we would've
stayed at that hotel if we would've known what a headache it was
especially for paying $74 for one night. Our TV didn't work right,
we had massive ants in our room, when they moved us to another room
where we ended up with a toilet that squeled and ran every ten
minutes all night, and then finding out the airport shuttle had very
limited hours and that was the main reason why we chose there was
for the shuttle.
The next morning we found out our connecting flight was canceled so
we had to do more waiting in the airport for another flight. We were
very glad to get home and start looking forward to the fact that I'm
a whole woman again and will be hoping to conceive after our 3 month
healing period. I ended up with at least a 90% chance of conceiving
with 7 cm's on both sides. We paid $2090 for surgery. We paid a lil
more cause I had two cysts on the right and one cyst on the left
that was removed. Besides the air delays and the unsatisfactory
hotel experience we were very happy with our decision of going to Dr
Perez, Dr Levi and staff !! We couldn't have been happier with what
they did for us and how they did it!! Since Dr Levi told us that he
reads all the testimonies here, we wanted to make sure we Thanked
you all so much Dr Perez, Dr Levi, and staff and we will keep you
all updated on when we conceive!!
Nicola Pedersen
These are the words that my hubby, Joe wrote down to add to my
testimony :
Although our trip got off to a rocky start (the first plane had to
turn around due to engine failure), I am excited to be back home
knowing that in a few short months we will be expecting our first
baby together! The doctors in Rio Bravo may not carry themselves the
same way American doctors do (stiff and impersonal), they do however
give you a warm, comfortable feeling and a very confident
impression. One could not ask for better physicians to perform this
procedure. Their faith and their hearts were and are in the right
place. The Lord guided their hands and the results are outstanding.
When we arrived at 4 pm, we were greeted by Dr Levi and his staff.
He offered to perform the surgery that evening after we returned
from shopping instead of Sunday morning as scheduled. We got our
kids their own Mexican blankets and t-shirts as well as other
souvenirs. We almost forgot to get something, while we were
shopping, for the new baby we will be having soon, but Nici
remembered seeing a really beautiful baby blanket which only seemed
fitting for our baby's first present to be from the place it was
made possible for us to conceive.
Immediately after we returned, about 7 pm, we were shown our room
(our stuff had already been transferred there), Nicola got changed
into her gown and we were off to the OR.. Every other time Nicola
had an epidural it was administered with a considerable amount of
pain and discomfort. Nicola was glad to learn that Dr Levi & Dr
Perez prefer to administer an injection to take the edge off prior
to the epidural, so this was the first of 5 epidurals in her life
that was virtually painless. Initially we were going to chronicle
the procedure through pictures, but I could not bear it, I chose
instead to take just a couple here and there. Except for when I took
pictures, I sat next to my wife and held her hand during the whole
procedure. She was in and out, but conscious enough to answer
questions about comfort and concerns. She was a trooper! The doctors
and nurses were focused yet jovial the whole time. If only I knew
Spanish because whatever they were saying during the TR was very
funny.
During the TR Nici asked me to ask the doctors how things looked,
and Dr Perez said she was ovulating! He also said to us that there
were 3 cysts, 2 on the right and 1 on the left. Later they informed
us that they burned them off rather than cut them out for fear of
scar tissue building on her ovaries. When I told her they were
finishing up the TR she asked how long her tubes were and Dr Perez
happily said 7 cm each! His following words were "You'll be pregnant
soon!" After Dr Levi closed up the incision, they returned her to
her room where she went right to sleep.
Meanwhile Dr Levi offered to take us (myself and Chris Chow,
Janell's husband) to a local restaurant for dinner. Jenell had her
surgery Saturday morning and was still recovering. We enjoyed some
good conversation during dinner and I got some great insight into
why Dr Levi and Dr Perez do what they do. I feel very blessed to
know that they are solely concerned with helping people 1st and
foremost. By charging less for TR's, they can help more people. They
are truly a Godsend.
I admire and appreciate that my wife, Nicola, was willing to undergo
this painful procedure so that we may bring a child into this world
with our love. I am glad that we made the trip and will continue to
recommend them to others. We were treated very well and did not want
for anything.
The staff were very nice, courteous and helpful. The language
barrier not withstanding, we were able to still communicate with a
little patience and translation help, along with hand signals. We
both appreciate what Dr Perez, Dr Levi, and staff have done for us
and thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
~Joseph Pedersen (Nicola's husband, TR 2-21-04)
|