Fertile Wishes: Dr. Gordon's Fertility Blog

And now onto Part 3 of this extended Holiday blog...

First a brief recap...DrG demonstrated a complete lack of basic dog ownership skills and managed to lose not just one but two beloved family pets in the woods of Western Maryland (local motto: we have lots of wildlife that loves to snack on your pets). Dog #1 returned within 7 hours but Dog #2 was lost for over 48 hours (including 2 overnights). Did I mention that both dogs were dragging their leashes behind them in the woods? Against all odds, DrG himself did not require rescue nor did he become bear chow...and Lucky (dog #2) did return home exhausted, damp and smelly. Happy ending all around.

So how in the world can a story about a wandering dog and an owner with impaired judgement (Did I mention the dogs were dragging their leashes? Thought so. Also did I mention that spending hours alone in the woods...at night...in the snow...after an exhausting day of hiking may not have been the best decision either?) relate to the treatment…

Quick Recap:

DrG and family took brief day trip to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Metro DC area. That brief sojourn quickly turned into a stressful adventure replete with poor decision making and excessive risk-taking as DrG attempted to turn himself into bear kibbles while searching for his lost dog....who was trailing his leash behind him...in the woods...Did I mention that there was a possibility that the leash would get hooked on a branch or tree effectively condemning Lucky to a very sad fate? Did I mention that every single person to whom I have told this story mentioned this exact issue?  Yes. Bad dog owner. Shame on me...

Day 3:

7:00 AM: I leave the DC suburbs to head back to the lake and begin searching for Lucky with a professional. I know when I am beaten and I am not a tracker or hunter (even though I am an Eagle Scout). I wonder if this is a totally useless endeavor...

9:45 AM: I arrive back at the house. No Lucky. I was hoping for a quick and happy ending.

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I see that it has been far too long since I have posted a blog but events of this past weekend have motivated me to share the following story with you...O Faithful Reader..This is a story told in three parts...so be patient.

Readers of my musings are aware that Gordon men have an irrational attachment to our canine companions. This attachment is so prevalent that my son Aaron warned his new sister-in-law during his wedding toast to the newlyweds that "as a Gordon wife you have to realize that you may never really know who he loves more...you or the dog!"

So last weekend we planned a one day dash up to Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland to put up our Christmas tree and go sledding in the 8 inches of new snow that had recently blanketed the area. At 2 pm I walked to the sledding hill accompanied by my wife, our 14 year old daughter and all three Gordon dogs. Lucky (big white shelter dog) and Belle (medium black retriever mix) were on leashes. The sledding hill backs up to th…

Today is Halloween which means that tonight Dr. Gordon will be out in his front yard doing his best to scare the living daylights out of the kids in the neighborhood. Scaring kids is not as east as it used to be....Now that the internet has provided them easy access to scenes of gore and violence (that we never saw until we were old enough to see an R rated movie) kids are just unimpressed with jump scares. In fact in Bethesda, the kids are so immune to being scared by movies that I bet that I would scare them more by dressing up as a Princeton Alumni Interviewer and telling them that their chance of being accepted is similar to their chance of being struck by a meteorite...That'll teach them to go out trick or treating instead of studying for their PSATs...Good grief, they are already 10 years old....it's never too early to start stressing out over standardized tests! 

Speaking of tests....There has been a lot of buzz on the internet recently regarding the AMH test. Testing …

We spent Saturday at Annapolis where the undefeated Navy Midshipmen were playing service academy rival Air Force. Last year Navy lost to both Air Force and Army but hopes were high that Navy would prevail at home this year. For three quarters it looked like Navy had the game firmly in hand...until they suddenly didn't...Air Force scored a touchdown on every possession in the second half.

With just under 2 minutes left in the game, Air Force took the lead for the first time and the crowd was pretty silent as Navy dug deep to try and move the ball for a winning touchdown. After a 25 yard completion on 4th down and 3 yards to go we started to hope that maybe a miracle finish was possible. When Zach Abey completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyler Carmona with just 15 seconds left the stadium erupted! We were all jumping up and down and screaming like lunatics. It was a game for the ages. I am sorry for young men on that Air Force team but they sure came close to ruinin…

We love having visitors at the office! This morning I was so happy to meet another new Dominion Fertility baby!

I have been helping her Mom and Dad for over 10 years. They first came in as new patients way back in 2008. Since that time they have twice conceived and delivered (her older brother is now in First Grade!) and both success came on the 2nd IUI cycle.

When patients have success I usually recommend that we go back to whatever treatment worked rather than reinvent the wheel and ramp up by running through a multitude of treatment options. But sometimes the simple stuff can work and does work!

It is such a joy and honor to help patients achieve their goal of having a family. I have been blessed to work in a field of medicine where my efforts can result in such an obvious joyful outcome! Just remember, I don't take credit for the well-behaved babies and it's not my fault if you end up with a baby that is a fussy, non-sleeper!