Christa's Thoughts on Costa Rica, Panama and IVF out of the Country

I wish I would've kept my daily journal better than I had.  I have so many things to say about this trip, but I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of them.  Here I go.

Traveling with a child/children for a long periods of time- This was something we couldn't avoid on the trip.  I wasn't about to leave Ella (who is an active 22 month old) home for 3 weeks, so it was inevitable that she was joining us.  Having said that, it was one of the most difficult things Adam and I have been through in a while.  She is a good kid, but trying to get her adjusted to things in a different country was beyond challenging.  She was cranky, teething, and couldn't be consoled at times.  Much like at home, right?  Wrong.  Even though we managed to pack a bunch of toys, books, crayons, etc, she got bored, and we know what  happens to toddlers when they get bored. 
  There are also very limited things that you can do with a child.  There were different tours offered in Costa Rica which we couldn't enjoy because it would've been virtually impossible to have a child in tow.  Ella liked the pool sometimes, but got sick of it fast.  She hated the ocean water, so it was hard to relax and swim.

Hotels- We were fortunate enough to have a free place to stay most of the time.  But as Tracie said, it's very difficult to travel back and forth like that for appointments, however, when searching, there are very few cheap (under 100$ a night)  hotels by either of the hospitals we were at, especially in Panama City.   If you do find a relatively good priced one, it's usually booked up. 
  If we hadn't had a free place to stay, it probably would've jacked the price up a good 2 grand for the whole time, but don't quote me on that.

The Doctor- Dr. P is a very nice man.  He is a busy man.  He takes on a lot of patients at once.  He knows very basic English, which proved to be difficult at times, especially if I had concerns about something.

 I think he has a standard way of handling all his patients and is a fair guy.  I also think there does need to be some variance with different patients considering we each need different things.  I had to remind him a few times that I have severe endo, which was scary to me, considering I had to remind him that I needed to fast for 24 hours before ER.  Eeek.
  He does seem to know what he is doing all in all, but I can't say that I felt completely comfortable walking out of every appointment.  As Tracie said, I'm wondering about all the "extras" and whether they were done or not, but I'm not too worried about that.

When I look back on the trip- I'm not sure that I would do this again.  If we were to do fertility treatments again (which we aren't) I would probably save up the extra cash and do it in the U.S. or Canada where I could get a doctor who is fluent in English and would give me a personalized protocol.
  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did this trip, I enjoyed some of the experiences I had and had fun doing a little sight seeing.  I would not, however, call this a "vacation".  MAYBE if we hadn't brought Ella it could have been, but you have restrictions on what you can do, obviously because you are going through medical procedures, so that makes it difficult to fully expand your horizons and enjoy the day zip lining through the jungle.
  This IS for some people, not for all.  For those of you who know some Spanish, it may be easier.  For those of you who are better traveled than I, it could be for you!  We got to see new sites, try new food and enjoy a different culture for 3 weeks.  But BOY is it GREAT to be home:)