A Mother’s Day Letter to those Women Suffering from Infertility, from Courtney
I’ve known this guest writer since 2008 when I met my husband. I didn’t know of her struggle then, but as we became friends and eventually experienced the unfortunate reality of infertility, we were able to talk about it and share stories with each other. I’m so happy for her as her journey was longer and harder than mine, but now she is blessed with a perfect and beautiful little boy.
Here is her story….
August 2008 seems like a lifetime ago. This is when our infertility roller coaster would start. I had no idea the path we were headed down would bring such loss, sorrow, anger, fear & ultimately joy.
I was stubborn and determined for the first 2 years. I was convinced we didn’t need help that it would just happen. After becoming educated on fertility treatments my husband and I decided to take the plunge. It was very scary & uncomfortable. We met with an amazing team of doctors, nurses & support staff. They were all very welcoming and encouraging.
Much to our despair we were cheated month after month. Testing, drugs, needles, more testing and still nothing. We met our match…my reproductive system was as stubborn as my personality, but I was persistent. Fast forward to August 2013…now 5 years on this roller coaster, we were exhausted! The specialists told us that this was the end of our journey with them because my body was not responding to treatments. I kept researching and grasping for any hope that this wasn’t how it was going to end.
I’ll take this time to educate some of you. GET YOUR THRYOID CHECKED! Yes, I’m screaming it from the depths of my lungs. Not just a TSH level but specifically the T4 level. The thyroid is our epicenter. It will have an effect on all of our body systems if it is out of sync.
Knowing I have hypothyroidism (elevated TSH) and treat it with medication, I requested a full thyroid panel be checked to make sure it was firing on all cylinders. My T4 level was low so the doctor tweaked my medication dose. Now in the doctor’s defense, there were other labs and diagnostic tests that gave us a pretty clear answer as to why we weren’t conceiving naturally. The doctors didn’t think that this would solve my fertility issues but it was a necessary adjustment none the less.
Fast forward to December 6, 2013. I spent the day with a wandering mind. Four days past my due date for the monthly disappointment and obviously feeling hopeless. I went ahead with a pregnancy test because it would ease my mind. BOOM! I was taken my surprise as I saw that double blue line instantaneously fill the window on the test. So my journey to motherhood was finally beginning.
I will leave you with these parting words….
Good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who are patient, but the BEST things come to those who don’t give up!
