Tamerah Duncan

Nov 2010

Update!!!   We are expecting our son May 24, 2011 after almost 2 yrs after our TR....(in which the tubes had to be reattached to the womb )

Dec 2008

My name is Tamerah Duncan and since I really can't add much to what my husband will be telling you I thought I would give you just a bit of background.

Fairy Tales do come true !

I was in a very abusive marriage for all my adult life - Through the strength of God and my 4 children we made our way out of the abuse and started all over again and in doing so I eventually met my now Wonderful husband. It has been a long hard road learning to function in a world that had been shut off to me for so many years. Matt has shown my children what a true Caring & Thoughtful Dad is and to me he has opened up a whole new world that I never knew existed. God is good! I am truly Blessed! I can't believe I have such a Wonderful Family around me and on top of all the unbelievable blessings we have shared already I am now whole again *HUGE GRIN*. Hand and hand we started this Journey together and together our family is looking forward to what the future has in store for us next .

Keep us in your prayers -

Matt's point of view

Our trip was a very wild experience! Going from Missouri, to Rio Bravo, Mexico is a bit of a culture shock to say the least! We went by way of Tulsa, OK. Being an Army Veteran, I have flown a lot - Tamerah, however, had never even been on a plane! I gotta tell ya, it was a real treat to be able to introduce the thrill of flying to my best friend. I think she enjoyed that part more than anything else next to being whole again, that is. We took a lot of pictures the whole way, and of course when we took off and landed. I am a rather big guy, so the plane seats were kinda cramped, but all in all I really enjoyed the trip, too. It doesn't hurt that I REALLY love to fly!   OK, so we land in McAllen by way of Houston, and we are met shortly there after by Cassandra. She spoke a little English, but just enough to where we could make ourselves understood. Now, the things that worried me the most at this point were as follows: My weak bladder and the potential wait at the border (wasn't bad at all - don't worry guys! lol) and the LINE OF CARS AND TRUCKS we saw waiting to go from Mexico to the US. OMG!!! That was a long line, and here we were worried that we would never get back over the border in time on Thursday Morning. We had to be at the airport at least an hour in advance, and the shuttle was supposed to take us with just enough time to spare.  It really pointed out that it wouldn't take much for something to get screwed up, but blessedly, it ended up just fine, travel and all.

We made it to the hospital - driving VERY carefully through traffic that I was surprised with (and we live in a tourist town). When we pulled up we could see that the building was going through a renovation. It looked rough because of this, but we weren't deterred! We walked in, and were shown to our room. VERY CLEAN!!! I was more than impressed. We had a main room, a "dining room" and then a bathroom - so it was more like a suite. Plenty of room for the both of us, and we were quite comfortable.  We had a bit of a wait as we got there around 11:30 am. The nurses took Tamerah's blood pressure, gave her an EKG (with an older but very cool and obviously well maintained machine like nothing we had ever seen before!) started the IV, and got her in a hospital gown - not necessarily in that order... When the doctors got there that evening, we met them all and talked to them for pre-op stuff - they made sure of Tamerah's allergies and such.

I got my scrubs on and made ready to observe the operation - AND WHAT AN OPERATION IT WAS!!! I am no expert, but these guys KNOW what they are doing! I had never experienced anything like this before in my life. They gave Tamerah an injection to calm her down (she gets anxious easily) and then set the epidural. I had never seen that before either, and it was wild. I never knew how long the tube is they use for it. Then they waited for the epidural to take effect. Tamerah was loopy by this time, but she was still lucid enough to make everyone aware that she could still move her right leg! The epidural just didn't work for her. So, they made her sleep. Now, I know everyone says their lady is something special - but let me tell you, Tamerah showed just how strong she really is. Dr. Levi told us that they normally have to use 2 vials of anesthesia for the entire surgery. Tamerah kept waking up, so they had to use 6 on her!!! The Drs kept saying "she can't be feeling that" when she really was! But, they would give her more and she would go back under, and it turned out alright.  Through this all, I really enjoyed watching the whole process. And Dr. Levi brought things to my attention. I got to watch the actual re-attachment of the tubes to the womb, and I got to see that the tubes were re-attached and open and flowing with my own eyes! I could tell what I was looking at from the pictures and images we had seen on line. When Tamerah had the tubal done, the doctor really botched the operation, and her tubes were cut way too close to the uterus. Dr. Perez was able to open the original opening where the tube had been attached, and he sewed the tube right back to it at the same place. He did the inside stitching, and Dr. Levi did the outer walls of the tube - and then they switched sides. They did the same things over on her left side, and then said they were both open, flowing and 4 to 5 cm each. I have to say, I would think it would be more reassuring to see it with your own eyes. I saw it myself that the tubes were repaired and flowing just fine. WAY COOL!!!!! Then they closed Tamerah up, using the coolest stitch I have ever seen. The thread didn't even go over her skin. Sub-cutaneous stitch, I think? Anyway, it was great, and just simply closed the wound.

Back in the room, Tamerah was still out and I was starving - so Dr Levi and his brother took me out for tacos. That was great too. The food was very good, and I really enjoyed talking to the doctors, too. That night was rough on Tamerah, as she has always had a high tolerance for pain medications, and even though her epidural was still in, it hadn't done much for her in the first place, so it wasn't much help. She had a really hard time sleeping that first night, but by morning she felt a LOT better. What a difference a day makes! The next day we even walked to the 7-11 a few blocks away. The 7-11 was a disappointment (my family had one when I was a kid - I practically grew up in a 7-11) THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SLURPEE'S, MAN! LOL. She was able to shower and dress in her own (matching, of course) scrubs and slept a lot better Wednesday night.

Thursday morning, Tamerah felt really good, though still very sore, of course. We got our stuff together, talked to Dr Levi again, and his mom took us back to McAllen. On the way we were worried about that huge line we had seen on the way in, but it wasn't NEAR as bad as it had looked from the other side. We had no trouble at the crossing - had to give reason for being in Mexico. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The flights to Houston and then Tulsa were very cool (great shots of the sunset from that high up!). We were able to drive back to Missouri that night, and we slept in our own bed. The next few weeks were rough on Tamerah - She did well most of the time, but every now and then I had to remind her she was recovering from surgery and to take it easy. I am So blessed to be with her, it's unreal!  Suffice it to say my wife is amazing. I brag on her all the time, because she gives me AMPLE reason to. She's strong, beautiful, caring and an amazing mom. I CANNOT WAIT to see her rear a child from the start. My head swims just thinking about it.

I'm proud of Tamerah - she's the best!
That's my story and I'm stickin to it.