To quote James......

Mommy, I'm playing pass the baby....its your turn now.

Warning- Road Blocks Ahead!

Our journey to the Bananas was a difficult one filled with many obstacles. A few months after we got married we decided to start a family. Everyone that knows me is well aware that I have always wanted kids. 2 months after we started trying I started to get pregnancy symptoms. We were pretty excited so we decided to take a home pregnancy test. The test came back negative. I was devastated. Jason and I were confused because I was having some very obvious pregnancy symptoms. So off to the doctor I went to get some answers.
The doctor (to this day is still the best OB/GYN I've ever had) asked me all the typical questions- "When did you start trying, how long, when did you come off BCP, etc..." I answered all of them and told her my symptoms. All of sudden she got this expression on her face, the one that you know means something's not right, and told me she wanted to run a few blood tests and have me get an MRI. I didn't understand why I would need an MRI when I was at my OBGYN and immediately called Jason and asked why is she looking at the wrong body part. He said to just do what she says, so I did.
1 week before Christmas I received a message from my doctor asking me to call her. I told Jason this can't be good, it's a Saturday afternoon and my doctor is calling me with news. I tried to remain positive as well called her but it didn't stay that way for long. The blood test results showed that I had an unusually high prolactin level which prompted the MRI which showed I had a Pituitary Adenoma.
What is a Pituitary Adenoma you ask, my definition- it's a benign tumor on your pituitary gland that completely messes with your hormones. I was given a medication that had horrible side effects and that I would have to remain on long-term. The medication was suppose to lower my prolactin level but no one told me how long it would take. With my prolactin level being so high there was no way for us to conceive until it was in normal range. We decided to put the baby making on hold for a while until my levels were stable. Little did I know how long that would take.
Fast Forward to the end of 2007. Jason and I are now living in San Diego. We just purchased our first home in December and are now ready to try for a baby again. We decided to go straight to a Reproductive Specialists to get some questions answered and speed up the process. We received the same answer, we can definitely help you but you need to bring your prolactin level down. The doctors told us our best course of actions was Intrauterine Insemination or IUI with Clomid.
For the better part of 2008 my prolactin level decreased, increased, and decreased. At it's lowest we decided that it was time to move forward with the IUI procedure but right when I was about to start the Clomid cycle we were hit with some bad news. I cannot go into detail but the bad news caused a great deal of financial strain on us and it just would not be logical for us to procede. Once again, I was devasted. How long would I have to wait while everyone around us was having babies. When was it going to be my turn?
For the rest of 2008 I waited patiently and spent my time with friends celebrating, having fun and faithfully taking my medication, little did I know we were about to experience another hurdle. In Fall of 2008 we decided to start trying again but this time we came across an insurance issue. Due to my condition every insurance company denied me coverage. After speaking to numerous financial people in the healthcare industry, the only solution we had was for Jason to incorporate himself which would allow us to file for small business insurance. This was a big expense for us but there was no other solution. So in January of 2009 Jason R. Cook, Inc. was formed with 2 employees. We were now ready to start again.

Jason and Karen- The Short Story

Well, I'm finally starting the long awaited blog. It's taken me a little over 2 years to get here but I'm finally here! For those of you who don't know our story Jason and I met in 2002 on a blind date. On our first date he took me to Maggiano's at The Grove and went all out. Pretty impressive huh, well don't get too excited. On our second date he took me to to the Burger King drive-thru and even said I could super-size. Right then I there I knew he was a keeper. Little did he know- I love food!
The next few years Jason and I had great times as well as quite a few adventures that really tested our relationship. Though it was a rocky road I wouldn't change anything because it has lead us to the place we are now.
2006 was a big year for us. We were getting married, Jason was graduating from USC with his Masters and we were moving to San Francisco. May 2006 looked something like this: May 7th- get married, May 12th- Jason graduates, May 17th- Jason takes the boards and May 19th- move to San Francisco. To this date we still have not had time for an "official" honeymoon. Moving to San Francisco was a big change for me and I absolutely hated it there but looking back on it I realize that it was a great experience for both of us. San Francisco is the beginning of our adventures to the Bananas.