Getting married to Charlotte was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have a stability now that I never really knew. Flying out to Vegas to get married by ourselves, so that we could escape all of the unavoidable headache associated with planning and having a wedding was a great decision. But, when we were there, we had a little hiccup and almost didn't get married. But, we eventually got past it and did indeed tie the knot.
We had talked about children early on in our relationship, and when we got engaged, we agreed that I would schedule a vasectomy reversal after we were married.
TALK ABOUT PAIN!
Having a vasectomy was relatively painless. A quick shot, a few snips, and the smell of tubes being burned close, and it was all over.
Having it reversed, on the other hand, was a bit more involved.
First, it's about a 6 hour operation. You get put under, and they slice both sides open, pull the entire contents out, and go about slicing and dicing and flipping parts, and sewing them back together, and clearing out the tubes where they were burned closed, and remove any old, dead swimmers from the pool.
The recovery was BRUTAL. For about 4 weeks, it felt like I had been kicked square in the groin, 24/7. It was at times, unbearable.
The thing they don't tell you about a reversal, is the first time after the surgery, when you 'finish' its a lot of clots, blood, and other odd looking and smelling liquid. GROSS!!!!!
Then, you have to return every few months and give a sample to have analyzed to see how many swimmers you have, and how active they are. Well, after 8 years of NOT producing and being killed off in the tube, mine were there, but not really active, and not in great numbers. Our doctor put me on a prescription medication that was supposed to help boost production, but it really did nothing.
Distraught, we looked online and found some pills that had a large combination of vitamins and supplements that were supposed to help boost the numbers. And, they did. A little.
Months and months of trying to time "the time" coupled with the stress of having to perform, and produce a healthy dose of semen was taking it's toll on me.
Charlotte was becoming increasingly stressed out as well, fearing we'd never have a child together.
But, right after thanksgiving, when it was ovulation time, I made it a point to say a prayer after each time, asking God to help. It had been nearly 18 months since my surgery and I was also afraid things were not going to happen for us.
One morning, I was awakened by Charlotte busting through the door saying "ITS POSITIVE!" But, I was half asleep and didn't get what she was talking about. Then she finally held up the little test stick and said it again. That's when it hit me, and I was sitting there, in shock. Happy as a clam, but totally overwhelmed. I don't think Charlotte was convinced I was happy. I know I usually am very outgoing with my emotions, but this was something that has had me thinking a billion thoughts a minute whenever I think about it. I am beyond happy. I finally get a chance to be a father, from birth till adulthood. I missed that being gone in the navy, and then getting a divorce with my first wife. I've been looking forward to this for such a long time, I am just trying to process it all. Either way, I am happy.
I know I've neglected you journal, but I promise I'm going to be updating more in the weeks to come!
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