Leah called at noon today and got the results of our recent tests. Drum roll, please….
Leah’s blood work came back all normal. So that’s good. Most of my sperm analysis came back fine. My pH was a little high. Normal range tops out at 8, and I was an 8.2. Always overachieving. Doc doesn’t think that’s any problem. Sperm count was good. I had 134 million sperm/milliliter, and normal is 20 million and over. The kicker: My “morphology” was not good. I.e., only 8% of the sperm in my sample had a normal shape. Quick online search reveals possible causes, which include varicocele (abnormal enlargement of the veins in the scrotum draining the testicles), drugs, heat, infrequent ejaculation, infection, and smoking. A fast assessment of my current lifestyle whittles those suspects down a bit. I don’t have any idea about the varicocele, and the drugs, infection, and smoking are out. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Ava was conceived in December? The heat thing can be addressed, and Leah’s already offered a hand in the infrequency matter. According to the doctor, morphology is subject to change over time, so a subsequent test could come back normal (or at least more normal). I guess Leah didn’t think to ask what would happen if one of these abnormal sperm managed to run the gauntlet and impregnate her.
I’m sure I’d be not so cavalier about all this if I couldn’t sit here and think about my beautiful daughter running around in the sunshine right now at daycare (actually, she’d better be napping). We’ll go back in a month to retest my semen, and we’ll keep “trying” in the meantime. Another date with my little brown lover…fantastic. I just knew I’d see her again, somehow, someday.
Here’s “an artist’s” representation of a normal sperm compared to what the vast majority of my sperm look like.
Normal:
Mine:
