Egg retrieval

I marched into the ART center at the hospital today armed with a bag full of necessities.
-Adhesive heating pads
-Tylenol
-Panty liners
-A good book
-Comfortable clothing
I was a bit nervous about the egg retrieval since I clearly remembered the pain after the first one.  The kind of pain that makes you writhe, the kind that makes you want to run away from your own body.
I laid quietly in a hospital bed for the first 1 1/2 hours of my stay at the ART center, hooked up to an IV, meeting a plethora of health professionals who would soon see my goodies, and answering the questions "What’s your full name?", "Date of birth?", "Social security number?", "Are you allergic to anything?" over and over.  Which, I don't mind.  I don't want anyone to mistake me for Michelle or Trisha down the hall.  But, the anticipation was killing me.
Finally, they came for me.
I was rolled into a sterile operating room with stirrups, surrounded by people I'd just met, shamelessly naked under a too-loose hospital gown and asked to position myself on the table with my legs in the stirrups.  Exposed.  Before I could pass out from modesty the anesthesia got me.  Thank God.
I woke up to the soft laugh of my friend who came with me.  Apparently I'm quite repetitive when coming off of anesthesia and just couldn't seem to thank the staff enough and remind them of the great job they did.  Then, the pain.  Then, the Demerol.  Brief relief, more Demerol.  Vicious cycle.  But, I finally got the good news.  They aspirated 16 eggs.  I'm happy with that.  I'll learn over the course of the next several days how many fertilized, how many are developing properly and when my embryo transfer will be.  I'll be getting a phone call every day about the status of my little embryos, and I'm praying for good news.
In the meantime, I'll try and shake this awkward posture the pain in my lower abdomen is causing.  It's very Disney movie villain.  Try and work through the pain with heating pads and Tylenol, take my medication and stay busy enough that my days fly...hopefully.