• Today was injection day number 1 and the number of injections required was 2.
• 2 injections means 2 holes in the skin.
• The number of holes in skin for today = 5
• It wasn’t the best of starts to the injection schedule

So today Dani and I started the injections for IVF. We have previously done 3 injections for IUI and so have had a limited amount of practice. The nurse took us through all the steps for mixing the drugs and it seemed fairly straight forward. So when it came time to do the first injection Dani pinched an area of her tummy and I moved in, needle in hand.

3 … 2 … 1 … jab

We do a count down so Dani knows when the needle goes in, only, on this occasion the needle did not go in.

(Chris) “erm ….. it wont go in”

(Dani) “What do you mean it wont go in?”

(Chris) “I mean the needle wont go in.”

(Dani) “What…”

(Chris) “I didn’t inject you. The needle wont go through your skin.”

… pause …

(Dani) “WHAT…?!?”

At this point I had started to worry that I’d somehow blunted the needle whilst extracting the drugs from the vial. I was also worried that that I was wasting some VERY expensive drugs by not getting them inside her.

Two more attempts and the needle still didn’t go through Dani’s skin. I was getting really worried at this point, the needle was making tiny pricks that bled but wouldn’t go all the way through the skin. Each time I tried to do the injection I knew it was hurting Dani, small spots of blood formed on her stomach. This was the lowest point of the entire process for me, I’m not sure how Dani kept so calm, she is perhaps even more scared of needles as I am. Dani is AMAZING!

We looked at the instructions again and decided we’d done everything right with the mixing and the syringe filling, it appears that I just needed to push harder. So with 3 holes in her tummy already we pinched the skin again and I prepared to inject harder.

In reality I probably didn’t have to push very hard but in the moment it felt like I was trying to jab the needle through her entire body. I used the ‘dart’ method, holding the syringe like a dart and jabbing it hard at the skin. This time the needle went in smoothly all the way to the ‘stopper’, the drugs were injected and the needle came out smoothly without a single drop of blood.

We disposed of the needle, tidied the mess and then we both went to lie down for a minute. I was feeling light headed and a little sick … how daft is that? Dani is the one being stabbed and having reasonable quantities of drugs pushed into her body and yet I’m the one lying down feeling woozy. I really cannot say how much I admire and love her, she is going through so much and yet still finds a way to comfort me. What an amazing girl.

After a couple of minutes snuggled together, skeptically examining the collection of puncture marks on her tummy from the first injection, we prepared for the second injection. This time things went much better. I prepped the syringe and Dani lay propped up in bed, a patch of tummy swabbed and ready. On the count of three I launched the syringe towards her with such force the skin stood no chance, parting under the extreme pressure of the assault Dani’s tummy had no choice but to accept the drugs. 10 seconds in and out and it was all over.

2 injections, 5 holes in the skin. Not a good ratio considering we have 70(ish) more injections to go, but I’m confident we’ll get better at this – hopefully by tomorrow!