Needles, needles, and more needles

To start the IVF process, the doctor put me on birth control pills for a month. When the month was nearing an end, they called us in for our injection classes and to get our schedule. The first needle the nurse showed us was really no big deal. I had spent ten years of my life being poked and prodded with needles during my bout with rheumatoid arthritis and had grown accustomed to giving myself shots. The second and third needles were okay, but when she showed me the final needle I found it hard to swallow. I had never seen a needle so large, and when she informed me that I would have to have this shot for 10 weeks I face grew very pale. The needle was the size of a large paperclip, 22 gauge and Don would have to give it to me. That’s when I noticed Don was very pale too. The nurse brought in a ball for him to practice on, and once again I saw his hands shake. I thought then, that even though most of the IVF process would physically happen to me, it was affecting him too. After we left we would go back the next week to do a baseline ultrasound, one last check, before starting the injections.