Moving swiftly onwards.  Since we came back from our vacation in August, I’ve been suffering on and off with pain in the left side of my neck, and shoulder.  I don’t know what’s causing it, but it feels like a pulled muscle.  The first few days I had it, I could barely turn my head, or use my left arm properly.  Thanks to a good friend who had some prescription pain pills, I was able to minimize the worst of the pain, and  after a week, I was almost back to normal.  Since then, I’ve had it once more, though the pain wasn’t as bad, and a couple of days of using some Rub A535 cream, it faded.  Now, it’s back again.  It started the day before yesterday – again, the pain isn’t as bad as it was that first time, but it’s enough to let me know it’s there, and it’s starting to worry me.  It could be something as simple as needing a new pillow in bed, which I hope to fix this weekend, or it could be something more serious – and that’s the part that worries me.  I don’t have Canadian Healthcare yet, though I am covered under Jeff’s health plan at work.  It means that we’ll have to pay for any treatment up front, though it will be refunded (usually within a couple of days) through Jeff’s plan at work.  Fingers crossed the pillow change does the trick.

Moving on now to the soap making.  It’s literally all I’ve been able to think about over the past couple of days.  Last night, Jeff bought me a book from Chapters called ‘Soapmaking – The Natural Way‘ and I’ve read my way through it from cover to cover.  It’s highly informative with many photos, and makes me feel really confident that I can do this.  It includes tons of recipes that I can follow and adapt to my own tastes and those of the people around me – not to mention potential customers.  I also have a couple of books winging their way to me from Alibris.  Those should be with me in a week or so.  Having a Facebook account will come in handy for customers.  A number of people on there have expressed interest in buying from me once I get started, and a few of my close friends have given me website links to recipes that I can use, which I’m so grateful for.  Also, living in an apartment building means I can create a flyer and put it up on the main noticeboard at the front of the building.  Hopefully, this will result in a few sales.  If not, no matter.  Friends have promised to spread the word if they like my products, so it’s all on me to make sure the products are of a great quality.

Having researched a little more the last day or so, I discovered that most, if not all of the ingredients can be bought at a Craft Store very close to where we live.  It just opened a few weeks back, and so I dragged my friend Andy in to see if they sold what I need.  They do, but it took some finding.  After finally asking a member of staff, it transpired that we’d walked past the section 3 times without noticing it lol.  I figure that the initial set up will cost us a couple of hundred dollars, and then this will just keep on repaying us with the sale of finished products.  Most of the essential tools I already have, but some do need to be replaced, and others need to be bought for the first time.  Roll on a week on Saturday when I can get things started!

And on that note, it’s 6am.  I’m heading back to bed to try and get more sleep … If the bloody cat will let me!

Ciao.

Since knowing that I’m now eligible to work, or rather, at least apply for my permit, I’ve really been racking my brains as to what to do for a living.  Back when I lived in the UK, I either worked in a care home for the elderly, or in stores.  While I loved both those jobs, me being the social butterfly that I am, I knew that it’s not really what I want to do in Canada.   While those are jobs that I enjoyed, I hate the thought of being tied down to a job and an employer, earning slightly above minimum wage, because I’ll be classed as a new immigrant.

This all changed yesterday.  Jeff and I, along with our friend Andy, went to an Artisan Farmers Market in Burnaby, not too far from where we live.  We only found out about it a week ago, and decided to tootle along, and see what was what.  I honestly wasn’t getting my hopes up.  I guess I expected a whole lot of nothing, but in fact, it was really good and a whole lot of fun.  We spent waaaaay more than we should have, and enjoyed every second.  One of the stalls there was run by a lady, selling all natural, handmade soap, bath teas and those little sachets you can use to freshen up your dresser drawers.  I bought a lavender gift basket for $12, containing one each of the above.

As I lay soaking in the bath last night (after adding the Bath Tea), musing over the same old ‘What can I do for a living?’ question, it hit me!  If the lady at the stall could make all natural, handmade soap in her kitchen, why couldn’t I?  Resisting the urge to jump out of the bath and start researching immediately, I laid back and relaxed, getting out only when I’d had to add hot water to the bath twice.

Most of the rest of the evening was spent researching how to make this happen.  I figured starting out mail order/online would be best, but this morning, Jeff suggested starting out locally.  He told me that I should start out selling to friends, and friends of friends, and as word of mouth spreads, placing ads, starting up a website, and even attending some artisan markets as a vendor instead of as a customer.  Then we can maybe think about expanding to different countries, such as the States,  and the UK.

Of course, even before that, I have to source ingredients, and experiment to see what kind of products I can come up with, and improve on the quality of them before I start to sell them.  And so far, I have no lack of willing Guinea Pigs (friends) to test them on.  Two friends have already told me that if I make it, they’ll buy it.  Sounds good to me.

In terms of actual products, I’ve come up with a list of a few already.  Soaps, Shampoo Bars, Body Lotions, Bath Teas, Bath Bombs, and bubble baths.  I also would like to do a range for men.  A lot of times, these products are stereotypically geared towards women.  A lot of the scents are decidedly floral, and/or perfume – y.  I’d like to change that and market a range of products towards men too.  Hopefully, I’d also like to start making Gift baskets and selling those.  Stuffed full of all natural, homemade smelly stuff, women in particular will go nuts for them!

So, there you have it folks.  I’ve finally made a decision, and with a little bit of work, and a lot of hope, I am going into business for myself.  More details will be posted as they happen.  Watch this space!

Ciao.

The second stage won’t be so easy though.  Even though my children are not accompanying me to Canada, they do have to be found to be admissible, which means that my ex would have to take them for a medical examination in the UK, which he is point blank refusing to do.  This isn’t good.  It means that I MAY NOT be approved to live and work here.  I have had family members talk to him for me (because he’s too cowardly to talk to me himself) but he’s not changing his mind.  My only option now, is to get in touch with his solicitor and see if she can talk to him for me.  If he still refuses, at least she will respond to me via letter, with an official solicitors letterhead letter, so I can send that to immigration at least, and hopefully it won’t be a problem.  It’s just annoying that after doing everything he can to keep me from having contact with the kids, he doesn’t realize that it’s in his best interests to comply with immigration’s needs if he still wants to keep me from having contact.  *Sigh*  More on that as it happens I guess.

On a happier note, Jeff and I spent a week in Ontario visiting with his parents in August.  With the exception of the flying visit we had at Christmas a couple of years ago, this is the first time we’ve seen them in 6 years. We stayed for 8 days and had a ball!  We were able to see a lot of old friends, and spent a lot of time lazing around the Park that his dad (still) runs.  It was nice to see that with the exception of a fantastic new pool house and office, nothing has changed.  We had a few walks round the lake, met the new resident Trumpeter Swan, and also went to Canada’s Wonderland and Niagara Falls.  With the exception of a severe thunderstorm that spawned Tornado watches (and freaked me out), and heavy rain the morning we were at Canada’s wonderland, the weather was amazing!  I managed to get terribly sunburned legs and shoulders on our last full day there, but I couldn’t complain after saying I was so desperate to get a tan lol.  We’re now hoping to return for Christmas again, and we are going back next Summer for sure.  I was hoping it’d be around the time of my birthday, but I should definitely be working by then, so I guess it depends what dates I can get.

Right, time to get offline and to the store.  Need to get what I need for tonight’s dinner.

Ciao!

As early as 5am, residents of Vancouver were downtown, with rubber gloves, dustpans and brushes, brooms, garbage bags and tongs to help in the clean up, which is expected to go on till Saturday if needed.  Many of these selfless volunteers were reduced to tears as people on the streets thanked them for their efforts, and all were united in their goal – to clean up their beautiful city.  Even First United Church got in on the act, mobilizing homeless people to help in the clean up.  Many of the homeless helping had watched the game, and suffered the same disappointment as the rest of the fans when the Canucks lost.  The riot left them outraged.  They’re eager to help restore the dignity of the city of Vancouver.  Everyone from men in business suits, to teen girls with green mohawks could be seen joining in the collective apology to their city by bending down and picking up remnants of the night’s excesses.

Plate glass windows that had been smashed had been boarded up, and in no time at all, the boards were covered with words of hope and apologies on behalf of last night’s hooligans.  You can see a photo gallery of these words right here.  I looked at these images and burst into tears.  Vancouver is where I chose to make my home.  To see such violence and destruction broke my heart.  To see so many getting in on the act of cleaning up, and showing others the TRUE spirit of Vancouver gave me a lift like nothing else could.  It’s just amazing – and although I’m somewhat biased, I don’t think there are finer people in the world than in Vancouver.  Sure, last night a minority brought Vancouver to it’s knees, but this morning, a HUGE number of people lifted the hearts of Vancouverites as high as the clouds.

Boston fans all through the series final of the Playoffs called Vancouver fans classless.  Today, we finally proved them wrong.

Earlier this evening, the Vancouver Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins.  In doing so, they ensured that the Stanley Cup would NOT be coming home to Canada – at least not THIS year.  Over 100,000 fans packed into Downtown Vancouver streets to watch the game live on Big screens, along with all the fans at the actual game.   This is the culmination of a season that saw Vancouver crowned as Winners of the Northwest Division, and finished on top of the entire NHL League.  They scored more goals than anyone else, and they made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  They beat the Chicago Blackhawks in seven games, followed by the Nashville Predators in six games, then the San Jose Sharks in five games.  It left them to face the Boston Bruins in the final, and it went all the way to seven games.  Unfortunately, Vancouver lost.  And the fans went crazy.  Even before the game ended, objects were thrown at the big screen, damaging it.

For the past 4 hours, myself, the hubby, and our friend sat glued to our TV screen, as CTV showed the events unfolding in downtown Vancouver.  London Drugs, The Bay, Sears and Chapters – all stores that have been looted.  Banks and other stores have had their windows smashed in.  Cars overturned, set on fire, including two police cars, fireworks were set off in the streets, portapotties were overturned, trash cans and newspaper boxes overturned and set on fire, fans fighting each other, their fellow fans, not Boston fans.

A Boston Fan fell off the Vancouver Viaduct, after trying to jump a gap and came up a little short.  He is now in critical condition in Vancouver General Hospital.  It has been confirmed that he was NOT pushed off the viaduct, and certainly not by a Canucks Fan mob as is being reported on Twitter.  There have also been at least two stabbings, including a person stabbed in the neck.

Riots don’t faze me.  I grew up in a country where booze sodden soccer fans riot with fans from opposing teams (Sheffield Wednesday/Barnsley fans come to mind – I was caught in that riot in the early years of the new century. (I forget which year) with my three young children.)  However, what really bothers me is that some fans are simply unable to accept the fact that their team lost, and as a result, they then feel the need to go out and cause chaos, beat the opposing fans, smash a few windows.

In saying that, that’s where it usually stops.  Tonight in Vancouver, that was just the beginning.  Stores were broken into, a few lost ALL their merchandise, others were heavily looted, and in the case of Chapters bookstore, they broke in, then threw the books out onto the street.  I am so so saddened and disgusted by what happened tonight.  I understand that the fans are angry, upset, disappointed, put whatever term you want on it.  But the fact is, Vancouver lost. No amount of burning cars, fighting, looting and generally making Vancouver look classless is going to change the result.  Those of you arrested tonight, may want to think about that when you wake up in your cells tomorrow morning.

To the rest of you standing about watching it all unfold?  You cry and whine about how disgusting it is that all this is happening, but wait a second.  Why are you still there, standing around with your fucking smartphones taking photos of the action?  Are you going to be adult, and mature enough to show your photos to the police to help identify the thugs?  I think the Vancouver Police Department is going to be sorely disappointed at the low number of people who will come forward and share their images.

This following link is to a Youtube video of the rioting.

This following link is for a series of 50 photos from the chaos that ensued after Vancouver lost to the Boston Bruins.

http://www.tickity.com/t/21936416548208352

Vancouver is a beautiful city, and 95% of its residents are truly great people.  Tonight, a small bunch of them ruined it for the rest of us.  Way to go Morons!

Ciao.

Financially things weren’t an issue.  My partner back then, worked a good steady job with a good wage, and I worked at several different jobs during the course of our relationship, at least till my daughter, Jordanna arrived.   What bugged me was that even though I’d moved out, my parents  (My mom) would be looking into everything when she came to visit.  If a single cup was on the coffee table, she’d take it into the kitchen and wash it.  On more than one occasion, I hadn’t even finished the contents.  It got so bad that I banned her from the kitchen for the course of her visits.  When I did that, she started checking the bookshelves for dust, seriously!  It was like she didn’t believe that I was capable of taking care of the home I shared with my partner.  Now, not to say that I don’t have faults.  I do, we all do.  But mom totally doted on my partner back then.  He was like the son she never had.  So when we finally split up for good, she told me that it must have all been my fault, not his.  No, never his, because the sun shone out of his rear, at least as far as my mother believed.

Fast forward a year to 1999.  I moved in with my new partner in October.  In December 1999, we found out we were expecting my eldest son.  He worked and I was a stay at home mommy to my daughter.   Less than 2 weeks before I was due to give birth, we moved away from Bradford and into his parents place till we could rent a place of our own.    Living with his parents was a hard thing for us.   There were 5 of them living there already, add another 3 of us, with another little one on the way, and it was a tight squeeze.  Tempers frayed occasionally, but we all muddled through.   I gave birth to my eldest son while we were living there, via emergency Caesarean Section.  He was born on the 5th of October 2000, a year after we got together.

My partner got a job, and we moved into our own rented place on the 1st of December that year.  My mom and her partner helped us to move in.  It was snowing lightly, I’ll always remember that – and bitterly cold.  However, we had our own place to live again, and 2 gorgeous children.  My partner had a job and life seemed good.  In January of 2001, we discovered we were expecting yet again.  This was a HUGE shock!  We worked it out that this child was conceived when my son was 5 weeks old.  Incredible odds!  However the shock hadn’t even worn off when I suffered a miscarriage at the end of January.  I think that my body just wasn’t ready to carry another child so soon.  My mom, in her usual blunt way told me that it wasn’t meant to be and I just needed to move on.  Incredibly sympathetic no?  We decided to try for another child, and found out we were expecting in March.  Apparently my partner had super swimmers.  We talked things over and decided that this was to be our last child, and that I’d have my tubes tied.  Given that I knew I’d be having another Caesarian section, it seemed the natural way to go.

At the beginning of April, my partner woke me up early one morning.  He was extremely short of breath and in a lot of pain.  I called for an ambulance and he was taken to the Hospital.  It turned out that his lung had collapsed.  They fixed him up overnight and sent him home the following day.  This happened on an almost regular basis, and it was decided in May that he needed surgery.  Surgery was performed at the end of May, and the problem was fixed – until his other lung started collapsing.  He’d had to leave his job, because they didn’t want to run the risk of it happening at work, and suddenly we were short of money.  He was claiming Jobseekers allowance, and so long as we had money to pay the bills and keep food on the table, we’d be okay.  Because he claimed Jobseekers, our rent was paid for us, along with council tax, which truly saved us.  Without that help, we would have been homeless.

Our youngest child was due on the 18th November2001.  In late October, my partner had the same surgery performed on his other lung.  They told him no heavy lifting or housework for 6 weeks.  I mean, it was major surgery.  At the end of October, I was told I needed a blood transfusion due to extremely low Iron Levels.  Iron pills just weren’t doing their job.  I spent the night in Hospital wide awake worrying about how my partner was coping at home.  He told me the following day that he’d struggled a little bit, but once the kids were in bed, he’d been okay.  Before I left the Hospital, I was visited by a consultant who told me that I would definitely be having another Caesarian section.  They were worried that the baby would be big, because an ultrasound had revealed that he was around 8lbs, with 3 weeks still to go.

They set the big day of November 9th as our baby’s birthday.  It gave us very little time to prepare, and my partner was still recovering from major surgery.  My surgery went well and our son was delivered with no problems.  However, that presented another problem.  My partner had been told 3 weeks earlier after his surgery, no heavy lifting and no housework for 6 weeks.  Guess what they told me after my surgery?  Yup, exactly the same thing.

The midwife caught me vacuuming when she visited one day shortly after the delivery and had an absolute fit!  She asked why my family, or my partners family couldn’t come and help us out till we were fit enough to get back on our feet.  Neither of us had wanted to call our families to ask for help, and my partner blankly refused to ask his.  So I called my mom.  The same woman who used to obsess over a single cup gave me many excuses as to why she couldn’t come and help.  First it was a long way to travel.  That excuse was blown when I said she traveled much further 3 times a year when she went on vacation overseas.  The second was that she couldn’t travel so far on the bus.  I pointed out that her partner had a car, she said he couldn’t drive that far.  Another excuse blown when I pointed out that he’d driven a truck full of our furniture the exact same distance when they helped us move.  At that point, I gave up.  She just didn’t want to help.  It never occurred to me that it could have been him calling the shots.

My sister gave birth to a little boy in October 2003.  He died unexpectedly at 20 days old of Strep B infection, and it devastated the whole family.  Both sides of the family turned out for the church and graveside service and then onto a small pub where we held the wake.  A friend looked after our three kids, and another one drove us there because my mom told us there wasn’t room in the car for us.  (quelle surprise!)

After the wake, my friend drove me and my partner home.  He asked to talk to me for a few minutes and so my partner went to get the kids.  My friend told me that he’d been disturbed by the way my mom’s partner had been acting.  Apparently, he’d spent his time at my sisters before the funeral telling everyone how much he hated my partner.  This incensed me.  I even began to wonder if my friend had heard wrong, or somehow misunderstood.  A call I received from my sister a few days later confirmed that my friend had in fact gotten it right.  More than one person had commented on it to my sister.  Now I respect everyone’s right to their own opinions, but there’s a time and a place for them.  His complete lack of tact dumbfounded me.  When I called my mom, she denied everything.  Everyone else was wrong, and just had it in for him according to her.  Nobody even knew him!  Why on earth would they have it in for a man they didn’t know?  I didn’t speak to my mom for 4 months after that episode.  I just couldn’t deal with her covering for him at every turn, knowing full well she was wrong.

I guess the whole point of the above stories are to sort of reveal the kind of relationship I’ve had with my mom through the years.  We’ve been through some very rough episodes, that have angered me, saddened me and just plain irritated me to the point even of wishing that she wasn’t my mom.  I know that sounds harsh, and I understand.  For the longest time, we just didn’t understand each other, and we clashed horribly at times.  It wasn’t until I moved out of the UK that things finally began to come together.  Seven years down the road, and we have a strong bond.  Tentative at times maybe, and we still have differences of opinion, but I know now that if I need her, she’ll do whatever she can to help.  So maybe this is why, this evening, and in the last few days, even weeks, I’ve found myself homesick.  I wish I could call mom and say ‘Hey, lets meet for coffee’ or ‘Are you free?  Want to do lunch at my place?’  And I wish I could take her out for Mothers Day and spoil her.

I miss my mom.

Happy Mothers Day mom, I love you.

Today, Jeffers and I headed to Gardenworks.  We haven’t been there since we moved to Surrey, and I really wanted to get a Cactus or an indoor plant for my new Dining Table.  Unfortunately, the Cacti that Gardenworks had in stock didn’t catch my imagination … but their herbs did.  We ended up coming home with some Oregano, English Mint, and some Chocolate Mint, which I’m dying to use!  So, once I had them planted and watered, it was time to sit and look through recipes using mint.

I came across one for Frozen Mint Lemonade, which I plan to make tonight when Mr Andy comes over.  It’s an alcohol free drink, but I’m going to make it alcoholic using a splash of Vodka – just because I can.  I’ve finally gotten it into my head that I do NOT have to go out and buy processed foods and drinks.  Why spend all that money when it’s far cheaper and far tastier to make the stuff at home yourself, not to mention healthier – unless you’re on a dessert kick like I was!

Jeffers himself has actually gotten into the kitchen today to try his hand at something, which surprised me somewhat.  He’s not the kind of guy to get into the kitchen and try his hand at something new, but today, he made his own Hot Sauce.  I can’t stand Hot Sauce, the stuff rips my insides apart, so I won’t be trying it, but I did get a nose full of it, and the fumes almost made me pass out!  For someone like Jeffers, with Asbestos lined insides, I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.

So, on my list of recipes to try, are the Frozen Mint Lemonade, Mint Jelly, and something with Mint and Chocolate.  Haven’t quite made my mind up on that last one yet, and if you have any ideas, be sure to drop me a comment.    It’s times like these when I’m more than glad the internet came into being.  There are hundreds of thousands of recipes to find, and try, which means there’s always something new to experience.  As such, it’s an introduction to food that you maybe wouldn’t have tried before, and I find that incredibly exciting.

I’ll never be a Bobby Flay, or a Gordon Ramsey, but I can at least enrich the lives of myself and Jeffers, and the few friends that we have over for dinner now and again.  Good food is always important, but when you have good friends to share it with, it’s much better.  I’m lucky in that I have those friends to share with.

Ciao.

I can’t say that anything exciting has happened in my life since the New Year though.  Not really.  My thoughts have been full of the reversal surgery, and what  impact a child would have on myself and Jeff.  Meant in a good way of course.   I have a couple of family members who no longer speak to me, because when I didn’t bring my children to Canada with me, they automatically assumed (or were rather ‘helped’ to that conclusion) that I left because I didn’t care.  It would be intriguing to know what their thoughts are when/if I fall pregnant after the surgery.  They say that blood is thicker than water, but the fact that they never asked me personally why I left my kids behind hurts me somewhat.  They say I didn’t care, but they didn’t care enough to come to me.  So be it.  I’m not interested in anyone else’s opinion of me anymore.

I rejoined a website that I joined when my daughter was 6 months old.  It’s called Babyworld, and it’s been a great source of help for me.  Lots of women write pregnancy diaries there, and their birth stories after they’ve given birth.  Some of the stories give the highest of highs, but also the lowest of lows.  A friend of mine from there lost her baby at full term just a couple of weeks ago.  One night she was waiting to go into labour, and the next morning, she was told her child had died sometime during the night.  It was devastating news for all who were involved in that, and also to everyone who followed her diary.  It turned out that the umbilical cord had a true knot in it, and it was also wrapped around her son’s neck three times.  Poor wee baby never stood a chance.

In a way, I wish I hadn’t read her diary.  It really brought home to me that anything can go wrong at any time, and you may not even know it.  When I was pregnant with my children, that sort of thing never even entered my head.  Young and full of hope I guess, along with the requisite stars in my eyes, rose tinted glasses and so on and so forth.  My next pregnancy will probably be very different, especially knowing what I know now.  Chances are I’ll be a very paranoid momma to be.  Not exactly a good thing no?

On a different note, I’ve also been busy trying to work out the design I want for my new website that I hope to have up and running really soon.  It’s a website about PTLS, and will be offering support, not just for the women who suffer, but for their friends and family members too.  I’ve heard harrowing story after harrowing story from women, telling me how their marriage fell apart because their husband didn’t understand what happened to the woman he once knew.  I think that, while there’s a lot more information out there now about PTLS, there’s a distinct lack of support for all those involved.  I hope that my website can become that source of support and a place where people feel they can talk about things openly and not be mocked, as GP’s are wont to do when someone mentions PTLS.  I currently have a Facebook group about PTLS, with over 400 members so far.  Of course, once the website is up and running, the link will be posted there.

When I posted my first post about PTLS back in June of 2006, I NEVER expected the response I got!  Currently I have 263 comments, and every few days, another one or two comments are added, even now.  The result astounded me.  Women thanking me for posting, saying that they finally realize they’re NOT going crazy, that these symptoms are real.  I set the ball rolling with that first post all those years back, and my new website will be a culmination of all of that.  I really can’t wait to get it up and running.

Reading back through the comments on that post breaks my heart all over again.  And as always, the one question prevails.

WHY?

How and why do Doctors get away with this?  Why are women NOT given the information they need before having a Tubal ligation performed?  And why do the Doctors say that pre-surgery counseling is mandatory, when not one single woman I’ve spoken to has been given that?  (I wasn’t given counseling either.)  Now, I’m one of the lucky ones.  I have a chance to get things put right.  But thousands of women don’t.  They can’t afford surgery fees, because to have a Tubal Reversal, you more or less HAVE to go private.  This HAS to change, and it appears that it’s up to us sufferers to get the word out.  My hope is that Doctors will be forced to review the whole topic of PTLS, and that they HAVE to tell women who are thinking about a Tubal Ligation, of the possible side effects, BEFORE THE SURGERY TAKES PLACE.  I know of women who had a tubal ligation done, right after having a caesarean section.  The Doctors had asked them if they wanted one, WHILE THEY WERE STILL ON THE TABLE!  That is NOT informed consent!

I say it again.  This.  Has.  To.  Change.

Ciao!

Just thought I’d plop that in there as I haven’t been around in a week or so.  Yeah I know … but I am getting better at remembering to blog!!  I promise!

As most of you are all aware, I suffer with a condition that was caused by having my tubes tied back in 2001.  However, as painful as it is, I always knew that I’d eventually have the tubal ligation reversed.   More recently, Jeff and I have talked about having a child together.  It is something we’ve always wanted together, but after my sister had little Harrison last year, I began to feel very strongly that now is the right time.  While some people said I’m just broody, it’s more than that.  Maybe I finally began to realize that, being in my early 30′s, my biological clock is well and truly ticking.  Again, for this to happen, I need the surgery.

After finally coming to the conclusion that this surgery isn’t possible on Health care anywhere, I toyed with the idea of flying home for a few months and having it done back there.  Unfortunately, the cost of flights would have been around the same as having it done down in the States (where we would have had to pay for the surgery) so it really didn’t make any sense.

The other day, I was browsing around a website that has a forum attached to it, and the subject of IVF came up.  From there, I ended up researching IVF in Vancouver, partly because I wondered if that would be an option for us, and partly because I was curious as to the cost of it.  I’m well aware that it’s expensive and all, but I didn’t know exactly how expensive.  Anyway, I came across a website for a clinic here in Vancouver, called Genesis.  Genesis is a fertility clinic that provides a wide range of fertility treatments, such as IVF, ICSI, and fertility surgery too.

The IVF treatment is expensive.  Very expensive!  At $12,000 a pop, it’s definitely not an option!  However, they also do Tubal Ligation reversal surgery.  The cheapest we’d seen for this surgery previously was $6000, down at the Chapel Hill Centre in North Carolina.  We’d toyed previously with the idea of starting up one of their finance plans and paying into it, till we’d saved up enough money for the surgery there – however, we’d also need to take into account the cost of flights down there, and two nights accommodation.  In the end, our total cost would have been around $8,000 up to $10,000.

At Genesis, the cost of surgery is $4,500.  It’s mini-incision surgery, and you leave the clinic the same day the surgery is performed, barring any problems arising.  The surgery takes between 2 – 3 hours, and the chances of successfully carrying a child after this surgery are around 75%.   It takes around a month for women to recover from surgery, and then they are able to start trying to conceive right away.  Also, at Genesis, they have a link to a thing called a Medicard.  Basically, what Medicard do, is pay the cost of your treatment up front, and then you pay them back, pretty much like a credit card, with much lower interest rates.  However, it’s not clear whether Medicard is available for all of the treatments at Genesis, or just for their IVF, so it’s something we would have to enquire about.  The best thing about all of this?  Genesis treat patients from all around the world.  I don’t have to be a Canadian Citizen, or even a permanent resident to have this surgery.

So now, the countdown begins.  The debts have been cleared, and we start 2011 with a new slate.  Will we end 2011 with a baby on the way?  Watch this space!

Ciao.